Friday newspaper round-up: China, Brexit, Unilever, Glencore, Facebook
China has retaliated against Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium by signalling that it will hit US goods such as pork, apples and steel pipe with higher duties. As Asian stock markets plunged at the prospect of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, China’s commerce ministry urged Washington to negotiate a settlement as soon as possible but set no deadline. - Guardian
A further escalation in protectionism by President Trump’s White House could dent global growth, drive up inflation and blow the Bank of England’s economic forecasts for the UK off course, its rate setters warned yesterday. The Bank’s monetary policy committee, the nine experts who set interest rates, used the minutes to its latest meeting to respond to punitive tariffs imposed by the US on steel and aluminium from the UK and the European Union this month. - The Times
Thousands of jobs in the City of London will begin migrating to continental Europe from next month despite Theresa May’s success in negotiating a standstill transition deal, senior business figures have told The Times. EU leaders are expected to sign off today on the legal wording of a Brexit implementation period that will effectively keep the UK aligned with Brussels until the end of 2020.
One of Unilever’s biggest shareholders has hit out at the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant’s decision to abandon its double-headed structure in favour of a single corporate entity in the Netherlands. Iain Richards of Columbia Threadneedle, a top 10 investor, said his company was “disappointed” by its “lack of engagement with shareholders” ahead of the decision, which could lead to its expulsion from the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. - Telegraph
A former colleague of Archie Norman, chairman of Marks & Spencer, has been appointed as the head of the struggling retailer’s food business. The appointment of Stuart Machin, a 30-year retail veteran and boss of Steinhoff UK, the company behind Poundland, Harveys and Bensons for Beds, will renew speculation about the growing influence of Mr Norman at M&S. - The Times
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is set to recover £4.4 million lost in a bribery scandal at an African oil company subsequently bought by Glencore. The High Court in London yesterday granted the SFO the right to recover the proceeds from the sale of shares in Chad Oil, a company used by Griffiths Energy International to bribe diplomats in order to win contracts in Chad. - The Times
Heathrow risks losing a legal challenge against its third runway unless it meets a raft of tough conditions on landing charges, pollution and public transport, an influential committee of MPs has warned. The transport select committee believes Heathrow and the Government must put more stringent stipulations on the north west runway expansion project to ensure an expected legal challenge by opponents is unsuccessful and to prevent passengers being hit in the pocket. - Telegraph
Facebook should be regulated, Mark Zuckerberg has said after apologising for the leak of 50 million users’ data to a British company accused of interfering in elections. Asked if he was worried by pressure from governments, he said: “I actually am not sure we shouldn’t be regulated... in general, technology is an increasingly important trend in the world." - The Times
Dropbox has priced its initial public offering at $21 per share, setting the stage for the file-sharing company to debut with a $9.2bn (£6.5bn) valuation tomorrow. The price is above the already-increased range Dropbox had laid out earlier this week, of between $18 and $20 per share. It had initially planned to list its shares at between $16 and $18. - Telegraph