Friday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Brexit, Brexit, BoE
Political chaos has put companies off planning for a no-deal Brexit, research from a leading business group has revealed. Few companies are readying themselves for a no-deal scenario because they are “in the dark” about government plans, the Institute of Directors said. A survey of 800 business leaders carried out by the body revealed that less than a third had done any contingency planning. - Telegraph
The European Union is prepared to compromise on its post-Brexit solution for the Irish border so that agreement can be reached on the withdrawal bill before the October deadline, the EU’s chief negotiator has said. Michel Barnier’s comments have raised hopes that the EU and UK can find a breakthrough in Brexit talks that are stalled because of differences over the border. - The Times
... Barnier's appeal for hearts and minds in Europe has warned that Theresa May’s Brexit proposals, put forward in the UK government’s recent white paper, pose a threat to the future of the European single market. In an article published in 20 newspapers across Europe, the EU’s chief negotiator writes: “The UK knows well the benefits of the single market. It has contributed to shaping our rules over the last 45 years. And yet, some UK proposals would undermine our single market, which is one of the EU’s biggest achievements. - Guardian
Theresa May will try to convince Emmanuel Macron on Friday that her Chequers plan for Brexit will be “mutually beneficial” to Britain and France as she received official notice that their meeting is “not a negotiation”. The Prime Minister has cut short her Italian holiday to visit Mr Macron at his island retreat, the Fort de Brégançon, as she steps up attempts to engage directly with EU leaders, sidestepping Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier. - Telegraph
...But while senior Whitehall sources warned that the French president would be tough to win over, they suggested that his influence could prove vital in swaying the rest of the EU27 member states if May were successful. One Whitehall source claimed that France had been the most “disobliging” of the EU27 in multilateral discussions. - Guardian
Britain’s Brexit negotiators have tapped into growing concerns in Brussels over Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for the British economy, by stressing in recent talks that the Chequers plan would tie any future prime minister to the EU’s evolving rules on state aid in perpetuity, according to EU sources. The anger of Conservative party Brexiters has focused on the plan to maintain EU regulations in relation to goods, but the UK has privately emphasised its unprecedented offer to bind future British governments’ hands on state spending as part of a deal. - Guardian
The Bank of England is facing a backlash from businesses over its interest rate rise, with two of the biggest trade bodies calling it an “ill-judged” decision that threatened to undermine confidence and hurt investment. The British Chambers of Commerce and the Institute of Directors, who between them have 100,000 members and represent more than seven million employees, said that the decision to move interest rates to above 0.5 per cent for the first time since March 2009 was a mistake. They were joined by several economists who challenged the Bank’s view that inflation pressures were building. - The Times
A legal challenge by landlords against House of Fraser’s plan to close more than half its stores is set to be heard on 14 August, potentially easing the way for a cash injection to save the struggling department store business from collapse. House of Fraser is battling for survival after Wednesday’s decision by the Chinese owner of Hamleys, C.banner, to pull out of a plan to invest £70m in the ailing retailer and buy a majority stake. - Guardian
The broadband operator Hyperoptic has received £250m in new backing to challenge BT by connecting millions of homes with fibre-optic lines. The debt funding will be provided by a consortium of eight banks led by BNP Paribas and ING. It comes on top of £100m pledged by the same lenders last year. - Telegraph
Shoppers turned to online retailers in large numbers rather than hitting the high street because of the hot weather in early summer. The latest figures from IMRG Capgemini show that online sales in May jumped by 19.4 per cent year-on-year, reflecting the biggest increase for May since 2010 and the strongest month overall since November 2016. Much of the uplift was driven by strong sales of footwear and garden items, which rose 54.4 per cent and 40.2 per cent year-on-year respectively. - The Times
The former boss of Stobart expensed more than £4.5m over a three-year period, travelling on private jets and helicopters while racking up huge corporate entertainment costs which included bills referencing popstar Ronan Keating and horse racing sponsorship. According to recently-filed court documents, Andrew Tinkler spent £1.6m on premium travel between 2015 and 2018. A further £2.9m was claimed for corporate entertainment from late 2014 and to February 2018. - Telegraph
Rents have risen 60% faster than wages across England since 2011, according to analysis from housing charity Shelter, which claims the crisis is spilling out of cities into “Middle England” towns such as Tunbridge Wells. The figures show that private rents have risen by 16% since 2011, outpacing average wages which have only risen by 10% over that period. Shelter analysed official data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices. - Guardian
Plans for the UK’s first self-funded rail link in more than a century have been submitted to the Department for Transport. According to its promoters, the Windsor Link Railway is relying on a funding model last seen during the Victorian heyday of the railway industry, when private investors paid for a project and reaped the profits. - Telegraph
Google has been asked to release details of the amount spent on advertising from foreign bodies during the referendum on the Eighth Amendment. The Green Party is appealing to the internet company to release the data to academics as Facebook prepares to work with an Irish university on a similar project. It is understood that the project with University College Dublin’s Geary Institute would be the first of its kind in Europe. Facebook has already agreed to pass data on political adverts to public policy groups in the US. - The Times
The Electoral Commission will not investigate the Democratic Unionist party over claims it coordinated its Brexit referendum campaign spending with Vote Leave in order to break legal spending limits. The Northern Irish party, which props up Theresa May’s government in the Commons, had faced a series of allegations about its spending during the 2016 EU referendum, after it spent hundreds of thousands of pounds campaigning to leave the bloc. - Guardian
Ukip’s membership has soared by 15% in a month, insiders have revealed, raising the prospect of a return to the mainstream of a party still publicly associated with Brexit, but which has recently taken a more hard-right nationalist stance. The arrival of nearly 3,200 new members in July, and a boost in the pollsfrom around 2% to 5% or more, follows Theresa May’s Chequers plan. Senior Ukip members say they believe many people are returning from the Conservatives. - Guardian