Thursday newspaper round-up: Banks, steel, trade, trains
US regulators have started rowing back on banking restrictions brought in following the financial crisis, in a move seen as a significant victory for the Trump administration. The Federal Reserve has proposed altering the so-called Volcker rule, which was designed to stop banks from engaging in proprietary trading while accepting taxpayer-insured deposits. - Telegraph
Royal Bank of Scotland directors have faced angry questioning from shareholders over planned branch closures and the bank’s treatment of small businesses – and the bank’s finance chief has warned that now may not the best time for the government to restart sales of the taxpayers’ 71% stake in the lender. Speaking on the sidelines of the bank’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Edinburgh, Ewen Stevenson – who also unexpectedly announced that he is quitting RBS – said recent stockmarket jitters meant that an immediate sale may not be the best timing. - Guardian
British steelmakers face steep tariffs on exports to the United States from tomorrow (Friday) after President Trump’s top trade official poured cold water on the prospect of reaching a deal with the European Union this week. Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, batted away European calls for a permanent exemption from duties of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium. A temporary reprieve is due to expire at the end of the week. - The Times
The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has called on the world's largest trading powers to come together in order to reform international rules as trade tensions escalate. There must be “a complete update of global competition rules”, Mr Macron said in a speech in front of world leaders at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conference in Paris on Wednesday. - Telegraph
MPs and rail passenger groups are demanding “emergency measures” from the Department for Transport to end the travel chaos on Govia Thameslink services in and out of London over the last 10 days. Since the new timetable was introduced on 20 May, commuters trying to use the supposedly upgraded network have experienced mass last-minute cancellations, long delays and severely overcrowded services. - Guardian
Online estate agents Emoov and Tepilo are entering into a £100m merger, teaming up to create the second largest player in the digital market behind industry leader Purplebricks. The pair said they were also incorporating online letting agency Urban.co.uk and had entered into a deal with Channel 4's Commercial Growth Fund to launch a major TV advertising campaign. - Telegraph
Women aren’t a good fit in boardrooms, most of them don’t want the hassle of a big job and they don’t understand the complex issues discussed in board meetings. That is according to executives at the UK’s biggest firms, who have offered the excuses to explain why their boardrooms are dominated by men. The business minister Andrew Griffiths, responding to a report released by the his department on Wednesday, described the comments as “pitiful and patronising” as he sought to highlight how far FTSE 350 companies have to go on diversity at the top level. - Guardian