Friday newspaper round-up: Trade deal, HMRC, Dell, FOBTs

“Cracks are showing” at HM Revenue & Customs because the taxman is struggling with a daunting workload, MPs have said. Efforts to prepare for Brexit and dealing with other issues means that tax credit fraud and errors are expected to increase while the department has failed to grasp the costs of some tax reliefs, the public accounts committee said. - The Times

A French investment bank has become the first big City employer to tell its staff that they must move to the Continent or face losing their jobs as financial institutions activate plans for a no-deal Brexit. The move by Société Générale will raise fears that it may be too late to stem the loss of jobs from banking amid concerns at the prospect of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement for the financial services sector. - The Times

The multimillionaire Brexit campaigner Arron Banks is under criminal investigation over claims that he hid the source of illegal overseas donations used to fund the referendum campaign. The National Crime Agency is also investigating Better for the Country, the organisation that ran the Leave.EU referendum campaign, Leave.EU itself, and Elizabeth Bilney, the Leave.EU chief executive. - The Times

The National Crime Agency investigation into Arron Banks will inevitably examine his contacts with Russian officials in the run-up to the EU referendum, and a series of apparent deals offered to him by Moscow. Banks has consistently denied receiving money from Russia. On Thursday he angrily dismissed as “ludicrous” the decision by the Electoral Commission to refer him to the NCA, which concluded a number of criminal offences may have been committed. - Guardian

One of Wall Street’s most powerful financiers has warned that the United States is heading for a fully fledged trade war with China. Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive of Blackrock, the world’s largest money manager, said he believed that President Trump would make good on a threat to impose tariffs on all imports from the country. - The Times

The United States has charged companies in China and Taiwan and three individuals with stealing trade secrets from a US semi-conductor company, the justice department announced on Thursday. The prosecution comes amid heightened trade tensions between China and the US, and as American officials raise alarms about the threat of Chinese economic espionage. - Guardian

The number of households already in debt to their energy supplier before winter begins has grown by more than 300,000 in the past year, according to research, with a total of nearly £400m owed to power companies. Following a round of price hikes, the amount of debt collectively owed to energy companies in the UK hit £393m in October, an increase of almost a quarter on the same time last year. - Guardian

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has sued Dell Technologies over the PC maker's $27.1bn (£20.8bn) plans to take the company public again. Mr Icahn said on Thursday he had begun litigation proceedings against Dell, alleging the company did not disclose financial information related to its plans to re-list its shares. - Telegraph

Conservative MPs vowed last night to exact revenge on Theresa May after she forced Tracey Crouch to quit in a row over action to curb highly addictive gambling machines. The sports minister resigned after the prime minister refused to bring forward to April a cut in the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2. - The Times

British summers could be entirely powered without fossil fuels by the middle of the century without breaking the economics of the energy market, according to a report. But while wind, solar and nuclear power would provide nearly 91% of the country’s electricity by then, up from about 50% today, gas power stations are still expected to be needed during winters. - Guardian

Sales in Ikea’s British division have jumped by nearly 6 per cent to just under £2 billion as the Swedish group’s array of flatpack furniture and home decorations continues to attract shoppers. The homewares giant said the surge in sales was a result of investing in its stores and improving its online business. Its share of the UK home furnishings market rose to 8.4 per cent in the year to August 31, up from 8 per cent a year before. - The Times

The consultancy and audit firm EY has announced bumper growth in client fees in Ireland for the end of the most recent financial year. The figures, as of end June, suggest a 28 per cent increase in income to €316 million from €247 million in 2017. That jump sees the company’s Irish operation slightly outstrip its overall global revenue growth figure of 7.4 percent, with annual income of €30.5 billion for the firm’s worldwide operations recorded for the 2018 financial year. - The Times

The US justice department has charged two former Goldman Sachs bankers and the Malaysian financier Jho Low with conspiring to launder billions of dollars embezzled from Malaysia’s state development fund. The criminal charges are the first to be brought by US authorities over the vast, long-running scandal at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). - Guardian

"Unhealthy" high streets could be taking two and a half years off your life, according to a new report. Research by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) found that residents living in towns with lots of bookies and off-licences die younger than those with plenty of libraries and pharmacies. - Telegraph

The world’s first foldable smartphone has been put on sale by a California start-up, beating companies such as Samsung to the punch. Royole, a specialist in flexible screens, unveiled the “FlexPai” phone at an event in Beijing. It says it will start shipping the device, a combination between a smartphone and a tablet, in December. - Telegraph