Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Russia, inflation, Rolls-Royce, Sainsbury's

...From November 2015, the ambassador, Alexander Yakovenko, courted Banks and Wigmore, inviting them to multiple events and meetings in the run-up to the European referendum, many of which, the documents suggest, they attended. Documents seen by the Observer suggest further meetings and discussions took place between the businessman and Banks and Wigmore, including a trip to Moscow in February 2016 during which Banks was scheduled to meet high-level officials from the state-owned bank. - Observer

A temporary customs arrangement with the European Union could still be in place in 2022, a Cabinet minister has suggested - shortly before another minister said this would not be acceptable. David Lidington refused to say whether a customs "backstop" deal will be over by the end of 2021, hinting it could still be in place during the next election. The Minister for the Cabinet Office said it was Theresa May’s “intention” and his “hope” that the backstop deal would be over by 2022. - Sunday Telegraph

Theresa May is facing an autumn ambush to try to force Britain to accept freedom of movement after Brexit as a menacing cabinet split opens up over immigration. A European ambassador has warned the government that the EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, will put freedom of movement back on the table at May’s moment of maximum weakness ahead of the Conservative Party conference. - Sunday Times

Conservative rebels must back Theresa May this week or risk paving the way for a government led by Jeremy Corbyn, according to to two of the party’s most senior backbenchers. In a highly unusual show of unity across the Brexit divide, Amber Rudd, the pro-Remain former home secretary, and Iain Duncan Smith, a leading Eurosceptic, call on “every Conservative” to “march in lockstep” with the Prime Minister ahead of a series of key Commons votes on the Government’s Withdrawal Bill. - Sunday Telegraph

Keir Starmer has urged Conservative MPs who want Britain to remain in the EU to vote with Labour on a series of crucial Brexit amendments that come before the House of Commons this week. As the Commons enters a momentous week, several votes – including on the customs union and the role of parliament in approving the final deal, known as the meaningful vote – remain close. Opposition MPs need only a dozen or so Tories to join them to disrupt Theresa May’s Brexit plans. - Observer

A damaging culture of “extraordinary secrecy” inside government is blighting its ability to plan for Brexit, according to a comprehensive study of Whitehall. Officials are being forced to look at key documents in special reading rooms, while some papers are confined to the offices of the most senior civil servants. - Observer

Hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey – who recently demanded Theresa May’s eviction from No 10 saying she couldn’t be trusted to carry Brexit through – stands to make huge profits from the woes of the UK economy. His firm Odey Asset Management has taken out more than £500 million ‘short’ positions – which are essentially a gamble that a share price will fall – on some of Britain’s biggest firms, implying that he expects a poor performance from them. - Mail on Sunday

G7...OR IS THAT G6?

Donald Trump has left the G7 network of global cooperation in disarray after he pulled the US out of a previously agreed summit communique, blaming the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau whom he derided as “dishonest and weak”. The US president, who arrived at the summit in Canada late and left early to fly to Singapore to prepare for his summit with Kim Jong-un, shocked fellow leaders with a bellicose press conference on Saturday in which he attacked the trade policies of other countries. - Observer

Despite repeatedly embarrassing the British prime minister at a politically bruising G7 summit in Quebec, Donald Trump’s controversial visit to the UK next month would still appear to be on. Theresa May insisted that she had exchanged warm greetings with the US president and he had said how much he was “looking forward” to his visit. - Observer

Costly trips to petrol pumps and higher energy bills are expected to keep pressure on price rises, holding inflation at 2.4pc for May, economists predict. Official figures, due on Wednesday, are likely to reflect a sizeable monthly increase in fuel prices, with petrol prices having risen by £0.06 per litre in the past month, according to the RAC. - Sunday Telegraph

...Stubbornly high inflation, coupled with last week’s surprisingly strong purchasing managers’ survey for the dominant services sector, has led to growing expectations that the Bank’s monetary policy committee will raise interest rates in August. Weak growth in the first quarter of the year, in part due to bad weather, scuppered plans for a rate increase last month, but markets indicate investors see a roughly 60% chance of an August rise in Bank rate. - Sunday Times

Listed companies will be forced to reveal the difference between the pay of chief executives and their staff under new laws to be laid out in parliament tomorrow. The move will mean that businesses with more than 250 employees both have to publish and justify the ratio between the earnings of the chief executive and the average worker’s salary. - Sunday Times

The taxpayer should fund six months paid work for anyone struggling to find a job, under an ambitious plan to “abolish” long-term unemployment to be launched by MPs this week. The “employment guarantee bill” is being spearheaded by Labour’s Frank Field and Conservative Sir Nicholas Soames, and has the backing of a cross-party group of more than 30 MPs. - Sunday Times

When a local newspaper closes, the cost of government increases. That’s the conclusion of new survey from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, which draws a direct line between loss of the watchful eyes of local newspapers and a decline in government efficiency. Paul Gao, a professor of finance at the college, said he got the idea for the study while watching Jon Oliver’s Last Week Tonight about the decline of local newspapers almost two years ago. - Observer

COMPANY NEWS

Rolls-Royce is expected cut thousands of jobs this week as chief executive Warren East details how the engineering giant’s latest restructuring will work. Up to 10pc of the FTSE 100 company’s staff could go in plans Mr East will outline at a capital markets day on Friday, equal to 4,000 jobs. - Sunday Telegraph

The private equity giant Apax Partners is reportedly eyeing a takeover bid for the owner of car-buying website WeBuyAnyCar. BCA Marketplace, which used to be British Car Auctions, has yet to receive a formal offer. City sources claim a move could come after its full- year results this month. - Sunday Times

Supermarket giant Asda faces a £100 million pay row after it emerged its staff are on worse contracts than those at Sainsbury’s. The two grocers have announced plans to combine to create a £51 billion giant with 2,800 stores and 330,000 employees. - Mail on Sunday

WPP has claimed that it cannot reveal the subject of the investigation that triggered the downfall of chief executive Martin Sorrell because of data protection law. As the advertising giant prepares to face shareholders at its AGM on Wednesday, it said that as well as a confidentiality agreement with the 73-year-old it is bound by EU laws designed to guard privacy. - Sunday Telegraph

Sir Martin Sorrell — who stepped down as chief executive of the world’s biggest advertising agency in unexplained circumstances — was investigated over whether he spent company money on a prostitute, it has emerged. Sorrell, 73, left WPP after the Wall Street Journal reported in April that the company was looking into an allegation of improper personal behaviour and misuse of corporate assets. - Sunday Times

A leading shareholder in housebuilding company Persimmon is investigating whether chief executive Jeff Fairburn can be prosecuted under the Companies Act over his £75 million bonus. Top investor Aberdeen Standard Investments, which manages £650 billion of pensions and savings, has instructed its in-house lawyers to find out whether there are grounds for a criminal prosecution. - Mail on Sunday

The new boss of BT Group should consider slashing the dividend to reduce the company pension fund’s black hole, influential Labour MP Frank Field warned this weekend. Field, who chairs the work and pensions committee, said the pension fund shortfall should be the first priority for whoever takes over from departing boss Gavin Patterson. He or she should look at reducing the dividend payout to keep a grip on the pension deficit, which stood at £11.3 billion at the latest count. - Mail on Sunday

Water industry bosses are braced for renewed criticism this week after thousands were left without water in the wake of the “Beast from the East”. Following the storm, which struck in February and again in March, Ofwat’s new chief executive Rachel Fletcher promised that the regulator would “get to the bottom” of why thousands of people were left without water for days. It is expected that she will deliver the first major verdict of her tenure this week. - Sunday Telegraph

As many as 1,500 jobs could go as a result of the merger of Virgin Money and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group (CYBG) as top investors demand that the axe is swung to win their support for the £4bn tie-up. CYBG won backing in principle from the Virgin Money board for an improved all-share proposal last week, with a deadline of June 18 to make a firm offer. - Sunday Telegraph

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is expected to give its blessing for the owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks to use its name after the expected takeover of Virgin Money. Virgin Money pays Virgin Enterprises an annual royalty of about £8m for using the brand, or 1% of revenues. The same basic formula is expected to be applied to the enlarged CYBG group, meaning it would eventually pay Virgin about £17m a year. - Sunday Times

Property giants are considering legal action against House of Fraser as the department store chain attempts to cut rents and shut stores. A group of about a dozen landlords is in talks with City law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) over a potential move to block House of Fraser’s company voluntary arrangement (CVA). Last week, the retailer revealed plans to close more than half its 59 stores, with the loss of up to 6,000 jobs. - Sunday Times

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has become the latest victim of House of Fraser’s woes after it emerged that he has written off £11 million from the value of his stake in the stricken retailer. Ashley’s firm Sports Direct owns 11 per cent of the department store chain, whose fortunes have declined rapidly. Last week, it announced it was closing 31 stores, including its flagship Oxford Street branch. - Mail on Sunday

Roman Abramovich has rejected an approach from Britain’s richest person to buy Chelsea Football Club. Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire boss of multinational petrochemicals giant Ineos and a season-ticket holder at Stamford Bridge, expressed an interest in buying the club amid speculation the Russian oligarch could be prepared to sell. - Mail

The food watchdog is investigating claims meat was found in ready meals advertised in major supermarkets as suitable for vegans and vegetarians. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) made the move on Friday after a newspaper report alleged that traces of pork were found in Sainsbury’s own brand “meat-free” meatballs, and traces of turkey were detected in a Tesco macaroni ready meal, which is part of the supermarket’s new vegan foods line. - Observer

Ministers must come clean to households about the higher energy bills they face if the UK continues to deter new onshore windfarms, the government’s top climate change adviser has said. Lord Deben, the chair of the committee on climate change (CCC), said there was no logical argument against onshore wind turbines in the parts of the UK that want them. - Observer

Big four audit firm PwC is braced for a stinging fine from the accountancy regulator for its role in auditing collapsed retailer BHS. PwC has been under investigation for two years over its conduct. The firm signed off on the store chain as a ‘going concern’ only days before former owner Sir Philip Green sold it to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for a token £1. - Mail on Sunday

A British chip maker, which is one of Apple’s biggest suppliers, is believed to be in merger talks with a US touchscreen manufacturer. Reading-based Dialog Semiconductor, whose power management chips are used in iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches, has been approached by Californian rival Synaptics. - Sunday Times

Paul Pester is fighting a last-ditch battle to save his job as chief executive of troubled bank TSB following the IT meltdown that has already cost the lender £70 million. The bank’s calamitous move on to a new IT platform left 1,300 customers the victims of fraud. - Mail on Sunday

A contemporary of David Cameron at Eton is set to crystallise a multimillion- pound fortune through the stock market float of his training business. Octavius Black, who was in the year below the former prime minister, has hired advisers from Liberum Capital to handle a listing of Mind Gym, which uses behavioural science to encourage its clients’ staff to think differently. - Sunday Times

Chicken tycoon Ranjit Boparan is preparing to sell one of Britain’s oldest pie makers as he scrambles to rescue his business empire. City sources said the 2 Sisters Food Group, owned by the Midlands-based entrepreneur, is weighing a disposal of Holland’s Pies, which has been making “proper pies and puddings” in Lancashire since 1851. - Sunday Times

An oil and gas company that plans to become one of the biggest independent players in eastern Europe by developing a £30 million prospect in Georgia is listing on the stock exchange on Monday. Fund managers Miton Group and Amati Global are among investors who have raised £5 million funding for Block Energy through an oversubscribed share placing. - Mail on Sunday

Patients with sickle cell disease could soon be cured using gene-corrective technology developed by biotech minnow MaxCyte. The AIM-listed company will announce tomorrow that it has signed a deal with the US National Institutes of Health to work on therapies that could transform the way sufferers are treated. - Sunday Times

Universal Pictures has been handed £22 million by Revenue & Customs for filming the latest instalment of the Jurassic Park series in Britain, according to accounts. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom features American actor Chris Pratt battling genetically-modified dinosaurs, supposedly on a Pacific island. - Mail on Sunday