Sunday newspaper round-up: Spain, UK economy, Rolls-Royce

The UK economy may not recover from its Covid-19 contraction until late 2024, influential forecasters say. The EY Item Club, which uses the Treasury’s model of the economy, has added 18 months to its forecast of a recovery to pre-Covid levels. Despite retail sales back to regular levels, the forecasters now predict an 11.5% drop in gross domestic product this year, rather than 8%. “Even though lockdown restrictions are easing, consumer caution has been much more pronounced than expected,” said Howard Archer, the club’s chief economic adviser. - Sunday Times

Rolls-Royce is exploring an emergency sale of a division that makes parts for the Eurofighter Typhoon amid efforts to raise billions to see it through the pandemic. The engineer is in early talks to spin out ITP Aero to a private equity buyer, as it battles a collapse in fees it normally makes from selling and maintaining jet engines for airliners. City sources said buyout firms including KKR, Blackstone and Carlyle had held discussions about buying ITP Aero, which is based in Spain and builds parts of engines for jets, helicopters and ships. - Sunday Telegraph

HSBC has been forced to deny reports that it “framed” Huawei, the Chinese tech giant embroiled in a legal battle with America over alleged sanctions-busting. Britain’s biggest bank insisted it was not involved in a decision by the US Department of Justice to investigate Huawei over alleged breaches of Iranian sanctions, after Chinese media reports that it had been “setting traps” for the tech giant since 2012. HSBC issued the statement via WeChat, the Chinese social media app, after China’s official People’s Daily newspaper accused HSBC of being an accomplice of the American authorities. - Sunday Times

A video by the Alliance for American Manufacturing leaves little doubt over the alleged dangers of battery-powered public transport. “At first glance, it seems too good to be true. A Chinese company called Build Your Dreams [BYD] decides to assemble electric buses in America. And some US cities begin to purchase these buses as part of a move towards clean energy,” the report from last autumn says. “But BYD is just another ploy by China to dominate the global auto industry.” The video says BYD’s “ties to China’s authoritarian government run deep”. And “members of the corporate leadership have ties to the government or communist party”, it claims. - Sunday Telegraph

TUI, Europe’s biggest holiday company, said on Sunday it had decided to cancel all Britons’ holidays to mainland Spain up to and including Sunday 9 August following the UK’s decision to imposed a two-week quarantine on those returning from the country. “TUI UK have taken the decision to cancel all holidays to mainland Spain up to and including Sunday 9 August 2020,” the company said in a statement. “We know how much our customers look forward to their holiday abroad and some will be able to accommodate the new quarantine restrictions. Therefore all those that wish to travel to the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands will be able to travel as planned from Monday 27 July.” - Guardian

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is in talks to seal a blockbuster move into green energy by backing a company that turns household rubbish into 'clean' power. City sources said the billionaire founder of budget airline easyJet is in talks with a group of entrepreneurs about licensing his 'easy' brand to a company set up as Easy Power International. The talks come as Easy Power International looks set to be launched with the construction of plants that have the technology to convert waste to clean energy without creating toxic emissions. - Mail on Sunday