Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, BHS, PPI

Heathrow has sought to pressure the Government into giving a controversial third runway the go-ahead by warning that ministers’ much-heralded “Northern Powerhouse” idea is “at risk” if the airport if not expanded. The airport claimed that the North of England is losing £710m in import and export trade every year because the London hub is full, which is forcing long-haul fliers to and from UK regional airports to travel to via hubs abroad instead of Heathrow. – Telegraph

The UK’s biotech sector is in fine fettle, having raised a record amount of capital last year, but the Government should do more to support growth and investment to ensure Britain becomes a global hub for the life sciences industry, according to a report. British biotechnology companies raised a record £489m in venture capital in 2015, up from £323m in 2014 and accounting for more than a third of the European total. - Telegraph

Marks & Spencer has been criticised for cutting the pay of approximately 10% of its shop-floor workers by removing premiums for working Sundays and antisocial hours and trimming back bank holiday payments. The retailer plans to increase basic pay for its 69,000 shop-floor workers by 15% from next April to £8.50 an hour but has offset the cost of doing so by cutting special pay rates. – Guardian

The biggest revelation was that Sir Philip Green can talk for six hours without swearing. Few would have suspected that. He could not, however, do so while being polite. The Topshop billionaire was determined to throw jabs at as many members of the committees as possible. MPs were variously told not to stare, to put on their glasses, to stop bullying him (as if) and to rephrase questions. Iain Wright, chairman of the business select committee, was right: Green is remarkably thin-skinned. – Guardian

The Financial Conduct Authority has caved in to banks over payment protection insurance compensation by backing their call for a two-year deadline for new claims, against the view of its own experts. The shift — revealed in internal documents — is the latest example of the FCA softening its stance with banks and comes after a public row this year over its decision to scrap a review of banks’ conduct. – The Times

Big companies with large pension deficits have paid dividends to shareholders in the past two years that would have plugged black holes in their retirement schemes. Analysis shows that 54 FTSE 100 companies that have funding deficits in their staff pension schemes paid out a total of £48 billion in dividends a year for the past two years. This compares with a deficit in their pension schemes that collectively stands at £52 billion. – The Times