Tuesday newspaper round-up: No-deal Brexit, JCB, BRC retail sales
The EU is considering whether to categorise a no-deal Brexit as a major natural disaster akin to flooding, fires or earthquakes, a move that would release emergency funds to the member states most affected. The plan would allow EU officials to distribute cash from the bloc’s solidarity fund, set up in 2002 in response to that year’s severe weather. About €500m (£450m) can be accessed every year but unspent cash from the previous year is also available if required. – Guardian
The Treasury will need to find an extra £5bn from next year to fund the government’s spending promises, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which said the increase could undermine the Treasury’s commitment to reduce borrowing. Boris Johnson said on Monday that Wednesday’s Whitehall spending review, which will set out department funding for 2020/21, would be the “most ambitious spending round for more than a decade”. – Guardian
Reform of controversial investment funds like those run by Neil Woodford could even up an “unlevel playing field” sucking capital away from more productive areas of the economy, a leading Bank of England official said. Threadneedle Street has turned its focus on the open-ended funds allowing investors instant access to their cash despite holding assets that can take weeks or more to sell, in the wake of the shuttering of Woodford’s flagship Equity Income Fund in June. – Telegraph
One of Britain’s biggest manufacturers has warned of a sharp downturn in its business. With the manufacturing sector contracting at the fastest pace in seven years and Britain’s automotive industry firmly in recession, JCB admitted that business had stalled in key markets, including India. The Staffordshire-based maker of excavators, earthmovers and farming equipment is owned by the Bamfords, one of Britain’s richest families. It has more than 10,000 staff and 11 of its 22 factories are in the UK. – The Times
The British Retail Consortium has called on the government to step in and help the retail sector through an “unprecedented period” of technological transformation as like-for-like sales in August fell by 0.5 per cent compared with a year earlier. Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said that consumer demand had fallen amid uncertainty, with online shopping taking a bigger share. – The Times