Tuesday newspaper round-up: Consumers, Amazon, UK tourism, Facebook
The most important driver of UK economic growth is likely to slow further this year as PWC predicts that consumers will continue to scale back their spending in the face of higher inflation and squeezed incomes. The accountancy giant has forecast that consumer spending growth will slow to 1.1 per cent this year, down from 1.8 per cent in 2017, before edging up only slightly to 1.3 per cent in 2019. - The Times
Amazon is weighing up whether to buy sites from Toys R Us, reports suggested this evening, just days after the toy retailer announced plans to wind up its US business. Amazon would not keep the Toys R Us branding if it did buy the locations, but instead would be looking to turn those sites into its own facilities. - Telegraph
The company at the centre of the Facebook data breach boasted of using honey traps, fake news campaigns and operations with ex-spies to swing election campaigns around the world, a new investigation reveals. Executives from Cambridge Analytica spoke to undercover reporters from Channel 4 News about the dark arts used by the company to help clients, which included entrapping rival candidates in fake bribery stings and hiring prostitutes to seduce them. - Guardian
Politicians will be told today by a travel industry chief not to sacrifice governing “for the benefit of citizens” on the altar of Brexit. In a speech, the chief executive of the travel association Abta will accuse both UK and European politicians of being “long on rhetoric” but of failing to be straight about the potential consequences of leaving the European Union for ordinary voters. - The Times
Scrapping EU tariffs on foreign imports after Brexit would do little to cut the cost of a weekly shop in the UK, according to a report. In new research contradicting Brexiters’ claims that leaving the EU could lower the price of food on the shelves, the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank said consumers would see little benefit from the removal of trade tariffs, which are a form of tax applied on imported goods. - Guardian
Council tax is “outdated, regressive and functions like a poll tax”, according to a think tank which wants it replaced. The poll tax was abolished in 1992, in large part due to the unfairness of a flat-rate tax where families generally paid the same amount irrespective of the value of the property they lived in, features which the Resolution Foundation has found are shared by the council tax today, in particular in having only a very weak link to property values. - The Times
One of the biggest institutional shareholders in GKN has come out against the £8 billion hostile takeover of the aircraft and car parts maker by Melrose, after another dramatic day of counterpunches between the rival parties. Columbia Threadneedle, which has a 3.4 per cent stake in GKN and more than £350 billion of assets under management, said it would vote against the Melrose deal and support GKN management. - The Times
Offshore energy titans are vying for a Government support package worth hundreds of millions of pounds with both renewable power and fossil fuel industries making a case for a "sector deal". The offshore wind industry will kick start its bid for a “transformative” partnership with the Government on Tuesday by promising to attract £48bn in investment by 2030 and more than double the generating capacity in UK waters. - Telegraph
Their photographs of holidays, clothes and beauty products inspire admiration, envy, and big bucks for the brands involved. Now celebrities who fail to make clear that they are being paid to promote products on social media could face heavy fines after the advertising watchdog announced a clampdown. - The Times
Fake World Cup tickets and dubious Brexit investments could be the weapon of choice for scammers this year alongside a radical overhaul of Britain's banking sector, warned security experts at NatWest. Open Banking was launched in January, though few British banks are yet on board, and will allow consumers to securely share their banking data with third parties, such as price comparison and budgeting apps. - Telegraph
Poor paternity pay and leave rights too often force new fathers to go back to work while pushing mothers to stay at home for longer, undermining the drive for gender equality, a major new report from MPs has warned. Fathers increasingly want to share more of the childcare duties, the Women and Equalities Committee found, but are unable to take part because policies focus on maternity rights. - Telegraph