Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Ryanair, McCarthy & Stone, Sky

Theresa May has ruled out the idea of another general election before Brexit day, saying it “would not be in the national interest”. Speculation about the idea of an autumn election to break the Brexit deadlock within the government has increased since the prime minister’s Chequers plan got a cool reception from EU leaders in Salzburg. - Guardian

Theresa May is to use her trip to New York for a UN summit to sell her vision of Brexit to international business leaders, insisting that her Chequers plan is still viable. The prime minister will address executives at a business forum organised by the former mayor Michael Bloomberg which will be attended by leaders from companies such as Google and the international brewing conglomerate InBev. - Guardian

David Davis has accused Theresa May of being disingenuous in her claim that there is no viable alternative to her Chequers blueprint for Brexit. In a letter to The Times today, the former Brexit secretary hits out at the “constant drum beat” from Downing Street that the government’s proposals for a deal with the EU represent the only realistic plan on the table. - The Times

Labour conference delegates overwhelmingly backed the party’s Brexit policy on Tuesday after Keir Starmer sparked a burst of sustained applause for dropping into his conference speech the line that “nobody is ruling out remain as an option”. Brexit has been among the most contentious issues in Liverpool. Labour’s members are overwhelmingly pro-remain; but some MPs from leave seats in the party’s traditional heartlands are concerned about any shift that might smack of trying to reverse the 2016 referendum. - Guardian

ITV is to broadcast a home makeover series entirely bankrolled by homeware company Dunelm in a pioneering “advertiser-funded programming” deal. Back To Mine, which begins on ITV1 on Sunday, is a cross between a dating format and a home improvement show. - The Times

The Bank of England’s huge bond-buying programme that it has used to stimulate growth since 2009 can be wound down without disrupting financial markets or the economy, a leading policymaker said. Gertjan Vlieghe, who sits on the Bank’s monetary policy committee, said that unwinding quantitative easing should not have a material impact on the economy, nor should it cause long-term interest rates to rise sharply, as long as it is properly communicated and done gradually. - The Times

Jeremy Corbyn will on Wednesday attack the “greed-is-good” capitalism that he claims has resulted in large swaths of the UK being left behind, promising a raft of new policies including a “green jobs revolution” that will create 400,000 new positions. The Labour leader will attempt to reset the theme of the Labour conference which has so far been dominated by deep divisions over its Brexit stance and return to his core argument about the failure of the broken economic system. - Guardian

Almost 50,000 property purchases have been delayed with first-time buyers forced to scramble for cash at the last minute because of widespread confusion over how the Help to Buy Isa works, according to a survey published today. The Isa was launched at the end of 2015 by George Osborne and offered first-time buyers a bonus of 25 per cent of their savings up to a maximum of £3,000 or £6,000 per couple. - The Times

Around 30,000 Ryanair customers will suffer cancellations this Friday after cabin crew across six European countries launched a mass walkout. The Irish airline has cancelled 190 planned flights following an announcement by staff from Spain, Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Italy and Germany to strike. - Telegraph

Ryanair faces a fresh clash with Britain’s aviation watchdog after insisting that passengers affected by a strike by cabin crew this week would be ineligible for compensation. The budget airline announced yesterday that 190 flights would be cancelled because of industrial action by staff in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and Germany. - The Times

Technology giants such as Facebook and Google should be compelled to pay a “licence fee” to help fund high-quality journalism, a government inquiry has been told. A content licensing agreement would ensure that publishers receive a fair reward from digital platforms that feature their content in news feeds and search engines, helping to preserve independent reporting. - The Times

Executives at Unilever have come out fighting in the battle to convince its shareholders to back plans for a single headquarters in the Netherlands. In a co-ordinated counterattack after signs of a shareholder revolt, the consumer goods group has stepped up its efforts to sell the proposals. - The Times

Chinese power plants run on coal, thought to have been cancelled because of government edicts, are still being built and are threatening to “seriously undermine” global climate goals, researchers have warned. Satellite photos taken in 2018 of locations in China reveal cooling towers and new buildings that were not present a year earlier at plants that were meant to stop operations or be postponed by orders from Beijing. - Guardian

Britain’s biggest retirement housebuilder has appointed a new chief executive and begun an overhaul of strategy that will focus on boosting its margins rather than building more homes. McCarthy & Stone said that John Tonkiss was taking the top job, replacing Clive Fenton, who retired at the end of August after four years. - The Times

Comcast has appointed consultants DF King to round up small Sky shareholders as it attempts to pass the 50pc threshold required to seize control following its £29.7bn takeover offer. The US cable giant revealed this morning that it had already acquired 29.1pc of Sky following a sweep of the hedge funds that bought up large stakes before a record-breaking head-to-head auction at the weekend. - Telegraph

About 500 jobs are at risk after Novartis revealed plans to exit its manufacturing site in Grimsby by the end of 2020. The Swiss pharmaceuticals company said the decision was not linked to Britain’s impending exit from the European Union but was part of a global transformation of its manufacturing network. - The Times

Argentina’s currency crisis deepened yesterday when the country’s central bank chief resigned three months into the job. The peso fell by 5 per cent against the dollar after it was announced that Luis Caputo had resigned for personal reasons, as bailout talks continued between Argentina and the International Monetary Fund. - The Times

Prolific corporate dealmaker Andrea Orcel – who once advised on the disastrous takeover of ABN Amro by RBS – has been named the new chief executive of Santander. Mr Orcel joins from Swiss rival UBS, where he has run the investment bank since 2012, helping turn around a toxic division that almost pulled the bank under during the financial crisis. - Telegraph

Pret A Manger did not respond to nine warnings that its baguettes could cause a deadly allergic reaction before the death of a teenager who ate one, an inquest was told yesterday. Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, died on a British Airways flight to Nice after eating an olive and tapenade baguette from a branch of Pret A Manger in Heathrow Terminal 5. - The Times

Britain has recorded Europe’s biggest fall in teenage drinking, with regular alcohol use down 80 per cent since 2002, according to research by the World Health Organisation. More time on social media, greater health consciousness, better parenting and a backlash against the drunkenness of previous generations have been suggested as possible reasons. - The Times