Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit setback, debts rise, FOBTs, Virgin Money

EU member states have warned that they would veto any temporary customs union with the UK that gave British companies a competitive advantage. After a meeting with Michel Barnier in Brussels yesterday, European ministers warned that “room for manoeuvre” in Brexit negotiations was very limited and that a deal was far from certain. - The Times

Theresa May publicly rebuked Brussels last night for forcing the pace of a divorce deal as negotiators worked frantically to conclude an agreement by tomorrow. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, angered Downing Street by claiming that today’s meeting of Mrs May’s cabinet would be shown the parameters of an agreement. - The Times

Labour will launch an attempt to force ministers to publish the government’s legal advice on Theresa May’s Irish backstop plan before any Brexit deal is put before parliament. The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, will on Tuesday use the humble address – an ancient procedure used by the party last year to force the release of Brexit impact assessments – to demand the government produce the backstop papers for scrutiny. - Guardian

Efforts from regulators in the EU and UK to try to avoid the damage of a disorderly Brexit might come to nothing if a deal is not secured on data sharing. The potentially catastrophic implications of having no Brexit deal on data for the City of London and financial centres across the EU were laid bare at a gathering of financial experts at Chatham House on Monday. - Telegraph

A worldwide economic slowdown will add fuel to the rise of populism and anti-globalisation movements in 2019, according to credit ratings agency Moody’s. The agency has offered a bleak outlook for next year up to 2020. It expects softening economic growth, higher borrowing costs, and an uptick in market volatility. - Telegraph

A sharp rise in the value of student loans and finance deals for new cars is putting Britain on course for debt levels as high as they were during the financial crisis. The country’s total debt is projected to reach £6.7 trillion by 2023, with households accounting for £2.6 trillion of that, a larger share than both the government and non-financial companies, according to an analysis by PWC. It compares with £5.1 trillion of total debt last year, when household debt stood at £1.9 trillion. - The Times

France has launched a feverish campaign to shore up the euro before the next global downturn, warning that monetary union is not strong enough to withstand another crisis and faces disintegration without fiscal union. Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, said there are just weeks left for Germany and the Dutch-led "Hanseatic League" to grasp the nettle on long-delayed reforms. - Telegraph

Philip Hammond is facing almost certain defeat over his budget plan to delay a crackdown on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs). Amendments designed to force ministers to bring forward a cut in the maximum stake from £100 to £2 have been signed by 21 Conservative MPs, including 12 former ministers, and four Democratic Unionist Party MPs. - The Times

At least £20 billion has been wiped off the value of shops on the high street in the space of five months. CBRE, Britain’s largest valuer, said that yields on “prime”, or good quality, high street shops had moved from 4 per cent to 4.5 per cent between June and November, which equates to a 10 per cent fall in capital values. - The Times

Stobart chairman Iain Ferguson rejected allegations of “brazen rigging of a shareholder vote” as he faced down the company’s former chief executive Andrew Tinkler at a packed High Court. The first day of a trial triggered by a bitter power struggle at the Southend Airport owner heard claims that Mr Ferguson manipulated a staff share scheme to defeat an attempt by Mr Tinkler to vote him off the board. - Telegraph

The new owner of Virgin Money has axed a lucrative deal with former Barclays' boss Anthony Jenkins. CYBG, which owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, said its £1.7bn takeover of Sir Richard Branson's bank has led it to cut ties with 10x Future Technologies, which was founded by Mr Jenkins, and to instead build its own IT platform. - Telegraph

Political uncertainty has become the top concern for European companies, which are increasingly pessimistic about the outlook for revenues, according to a survey of 1,373 chief financial officers by Deloitte. A total of 26pc of European companies said they were less optimistic about the financial prospects for their company than they were three months ago, more than double the 12pc that said the same thing in the previous survey six months ago. - Telegraph

The Restaurant Group faced questions over its proposed £559 million takeover of Wagamama yesterday as it announced a £315 million rights issue at a deep discount to the prevailing share price. Although the rights issue is fully underwritten by JP Morgan Securities, there were raised eyebrows that Numis Securities, which two weeks ago had been listed as co-underwriter, was no longer listed. - The Times

A third runway at Heathrow would not be enough to satisfy passenger demand for flights within the next 30 years, a senior government official has warned. Estimates for passenger numbers made three years ago were “already looking quite out of date, with demand at a national level growing 10 per cent faster” than assumed, according to Sarah Bishop, deputy director of aviation policy at the Department for Transport. - The Times

Bankers, lawyers and public relations advisers working on Takeda’s takeover of Shire are in line to receive almost $1 billion in fees. Shareholder documents disclosed yesterday show that advisers to Takeda, the Japanese drugs company, are in line to receive $733.4 million in total. - The Times

Five British companies have failed to appoint a single woman to their boards more than two years after the government ordered the UK’s 350 biggest firms to ensure that women hold at least a third of boardroom positions by 2020. A further 75 companies were on Tuesday highlighted by the Hampton-Alexander review of UK boardroom diversity for appointing only one woman to their boards in a “tokenistic gesture”. - Guardian

It has the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, great beaches for surfing and now Spain’s Basque Country is adding something else in the hope of luring Britons to move abroad after Brexit: tax breaks. The wealthy northwestern region will guarantee a 15 per cent reduction in income tax for the first five years for British citizens who move there after the UK has left the European Union. - The Times

The City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has paid tens of thousands of pounds in compensation to consumers who complained about incorrect information on a crucial industry register, it has emerged. Telegraph Money lodged a Freedom of Information request to establish how many people had lost out because of poor quality information on the regulator’s Financial Services Register.

Timpson has volunteered to be the guinea pig in an experiment that its supporters say could help millions of people to save for a rainy day for the first time. The National Employment Savings Trust is testing “sidecar savings”, with the shoe repairs and key-cutting chain becoming the first employer to sign up. - The Times

The world has so many existing fossil fuel projects that it cannot afford to build any more polluting infrastructure without busting international climate change goals, the global energy watchdog has warned. The International Energy Agency said almost all of the world’s carbon budget up to 2040 – the amount that can be emitted without causing dangerous warming – would be eaten up by today’s power stations, vehicles and industrial facilities. - Guardian

The TV production company behind Poldark and Vanity Fair has bought the rights to a critical biography of Sir Philip Green. The life of the clothing tycoon, who controls Arcadia Group, the owner of Topshop, could be turned into a high-profile drama about how power and finance works in the UK – and how it affects people when high street shops close. - Guardian