Friday newspaper round-up: UK wages, lack of staff, RBS, Thomas Cook
Britain is set to have the worst wage growth of any wealthy nation next year, ranking behind Italy, Greece and Hungary, according to analysis by the TUC. The UK is forecast to come bottom from 32 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development wealthy nations for wage performance in 2018, according to the study of OECD figures by the unions’ umbrella group. - Guardian
British businesses are already suffering from a lack of workers as EU staff quit their jobs and leave the country, and continental sources of labour dry up. Hotels and hospitality firms fear they may have to close as a result, while engineering and manufacturing companies are considering moving overseas to find the staff they need - harming British workers in the process. - Telegraph
The A380 superjumbo could be running out of runway after reports that Airbus will end production of the world’s largest commercial aircraft if it does not receive a new order from Emirates. Airbus did not deny reports last night that it was drawing up plans to phase out production of the A380. - The Times
British companies need “unity, clarity and certainty” from politicians rather than the constantly changing policies of the past year if business is to thrive in 2018, according to the CBI. In a year-end letter to members which also set out priorities for the the next 12 months, Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the business lobby group called for an end to the near-total focus on Brexit after what she described as a “jaw-dropping, roller-coaster” year. - Telegraph
Britain’s biggest oil and gas pipeline should resume normal flows around the new year, its operator said yesterday. Ineos previously had expected the Forties pipeline, which was shut on December 11 because of a crack, to resume normal operations early next month. - The Times
Passengers lost at least 3.6m hours due to significantly delayed trains in 2016-17, according to research. Delays of at least half an hour affected 7.2m passenger journeys in Britain, the consumer group Which? said, with Virgin Trains East Coast having the highest proportion of significant delays, followed by Virgin Trains West Coast and CrossCountry. - Guardian
Small shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland have mounted a fresh bid to overhaul the state-backed bank’s governance processes to give themselves more of a say in how it is run. ShareSoc, a not-for-profit group that represents retail investors, claimed 100 RBS shareholders had backed its call for RBS to create a shareholder committee and that it would be pressing for a vote on the matter at its AGM in May. - Telegraph
A scheme to make pubs and bars pay towards policing the night-time economy raised less than £4 million in five years. Eight licensing authorities have brought in a late night levy, according to figures from the Home Office, despite its estimate that more than ten times that number would seek to impose one. - The Times
France will demand that Britain pays for new customs infrastructure at its ports after Brexit, it emerged today. President Macron is expected to demand that the government shares the cost of building new posts at Calais, Dunkirk and other ports when he meets Theresa May next month. - The Times
Thomas Cook will launch a bank in Britain next year in a partnership with one of Europe’s largest digital lenders and with the aim of slashing the cost of paying for items in foreign currencies. The travel company is joining forces with Ferratum, a Finnish lender that already has a mobile bank in five European countries. - The Times
Britain’s homes could be lit and powered by windfarms surrounding an artificial island deep out in the North Sea, under advanced plans by a Dutch energy network. The radical proposal envisages an island being built to act as a hub for vast offshore windfarms that would eclipse today’s facilities in scale. Dogger Bank, 125km (78 miles) off the East Yorkshire coast, has been identified as a potentially windy and shallow site. - Guardian
SoftBank has bought a major stake in Uber at a steep 30pc discount, after a chaotic year in which the ride-hailing firm faced a string of scandals, saw its chief executive resign and was hit with UK city bans. According to a source familiar with the deal, Uber's shareholders have agreed to sell more than a 14pc stake to an investor group led by SoftBank, crossing the threshold needed for the deal to complete. - Telegraph
Apple will cut the price of replacement iPhone batteries by two-thirds as it confronts a backlash after admitting that it slows down old handsets. Faced with legal claims of hundreds of billions of dollars, the company issued a lengthy apology yesterday. - The Times
Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded embattled South African retailer Steinhoff International over concerns about its looming debt pile and its liquidity. Moody’s has given three parts of the company a CAA1 rating, meaning it considers it a very high credit risk. The rating is the 17th of 21 possible levels. - Telegraph
India’s richest man confirmed yesterday that he was buying telecoms assets from his younger brother, adding a humiliating twist to a bitter feud between the two men who control Asia’s largest family fortune. Mukesh Ambani is buying telecoms towers, fibre-optic cables and airwaves owned by his brother Anil’s indebted Reliance Communications, 15 months after Mukesh sparked a ferocious price war in India’s telecoms market with the launch of Jio, a rival mobile operator into which Reliance Industries, his oil conglomerate, pumped about $30 billion.- The Times