Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Scottish bank, gas prices, Sky
Britain will refuse to pay its multibillion-pound Brexit divorce bill until Brussels backs down on attempts to keep Northern Ireland subject to European Union rules, David Davis warned last night. In an uncompromising letter sent to Tory MPs, the Brexit secretary said that Britain would not finalise financial payments to the EU until “all the issues” of concern to Britain had been addressed. - The Times
The Scottish government has committed to a publicly owned national investment bank that campaigners and leading economists hope will tackle the country's chronic lack of investment. Speaking on Wednesday at the launch of the implementation plan, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the “truly transformative” measure would be operational by 2020. - Guardian
Tax relief on pension saving cost the exchequer £38.6 billion last year, equivalent to one and half times the defence budget or roughly two thirds of total education spending. The relief to employees and employers worked out at £1,200 per worker. - The Times
The UK government must put the car industry at the heart of Brexit negotiations or risk the loss of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds of investment, MPs have warned. In a gloomy assessment of prospects for UK car manufacturing, the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) select committee said Brexit was negative for the sector, with “damage limitation” the best possible outcome. - Guardian
Wholesale gas prices in the UK more than doubled on Wednesday to their highest level in at least 10 years, as freezing temperatures across Britain drove a spike in demand and raised fears of a supply shortage. Within-day prices rose 108% to 160p per therm, after hitting am earlier peak of 190p per therm. Day ahead prices were up 6p at 95p. - Guardian
European industry risks falling behind Asia and the United States because of a failure to invest in new mobile networks, according to the head of Ericsson. Borje Ekholm, chief executive of the Swedish group, said that Europe was falling behind the US and Asia in deploying 5G mobile technology, which will allow a range of new services and millions of connected devices. - The Times
Toyota will build the new model of its Auris car in the newly revamped factory in Burnaston in Derbyshire, in a major vote of confidence in the UK. The new model will start rolling off production lines before the end of this year. The factory typically made around 140,000 of the previous Auris models per year. - Telegraph
An activist investor increased its position in Sky, a day after the broadcaster found itself at the centre of a takeover battle between Comcast and 21st Century Fox. Elliott Management lifted its stake to just over 2.5 per cent after buying a slug of shares at £13.31 a share and boosting its derivatives position. - The Times
The editors of the Daily Express and Daily Star have resigned days after the publisher of the Mirror completed its £200m takeover of Richard Desmond’s national newspapers. The Daily Star editor, Dawn Neesom, the longest-serving female national newspaper editor, and her counterpart, Hugh Whittow, who has edited the Daily Express since 2011, have announced they are leaving. - Guardian
Carillion’s former chairman Philip Green has been accused by MPs of showing either a “woeful lack of leadership” or having “no grip on reality” as it emerged that he was planning an upbeat financial announcement just five days before the company made £845m of writedowns last July. Minutes from a Carillion board meeting on July 5 were made public on Thursday by the joint business and pensions select committee as part of their investigation into Carillion. - Telegraph
The boss of consumer goods giant Unilever saw his pay package surge by 51pc to €11.6m (£10.3m) in 2017 and is line for a bumper hike in salary and potential bonuses under an overhaul of executive pay. Chief executive Paul Polman's mammoth 2017 pay deal includes a €1.15m annual salary, €2.3m annual bonus and €7.2m in long-term bonus scheme shares, according to the group's annual report. - Telegraph
Utility companies in Britain should consider moving overseas to guard against the threat of nationalisation by Labour, a leading analyst at an Australian investment bank has argued. Foreign investors would enjoy higher standards of protection than British ones in the event of an expropriation by a future Labour government, Dominic Nash, Macquarie’s utilities analyst, said. - The Times
The music streaming service Spotify filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday, becoming the first company to file for a direct listing of up to $1bn with the US. A direct listing is an unconventional way to pursue an IPO without raising new capital, helping the company eliminate the need for a Wall Street bank or broker to underwrite the public offer. - Guardian
Amazon has thrown down the gauntlet in the home security market and bought a leading maker of video doorbell systems for upwards of $1.2 billion. The purchase of Ring is its second largest takeover after Whole Foods, the upmarket grocery chain that it bought for $13.7 billion last year. - The Times
Google has a “bro-culture” that allowed the daily sexual harassment of a female software engineer, a new lawsuit from a former employee alleges. Loretta Lee, who worked for Google from 2008 to 2016, filed suit this month against the Silicon Valley giant for sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and wrongful termination in California state court. - Guardian