Wednesday newspaper round-up: Tesco, energy, RBS, Monarch
The sheer scale of supermarket firm Tesco meant the financial picture could change “overnight”, a court has heard. Nicholas Purnell QC, for the defence, gave the example of March 2014 when the finance team forecast a monthly sales shortfall of £108m versus internal targets for the UK food business – only for that figure to be reduced by £32m some 24 hours later. – Guardian
Free housing, food, transport and access to the internet should be given to British citizens in a massive expansion of the welfare state, according to a report warning the rapid advance of technology will lead to job losses. Former senior government official Jonathan Portes and academics from University College London make the call for a raft of new “universal basic services” using the same principles as the NHS. They estimate it would cost about £42bn, which could be funded by changes to the tax system. – Guardian
Government’s plan to cap household energy prices is set to steamroll ahead even as fresh data shows wholesale prices are on the rise and bills remain well below their 2014 peak. The political pressure furore around energy bills will reach fever pitch this week as ministers press ahead with controversial legislation to cap tariffs despite data which shows that energy bills are lower than they were when the threat of a market intervention first emerged. – Telegraph
The UK insurance giant created by the merger of Towergate and four companies this year is to snap up motorcycle insurance broker Carole Nash this week in a deal worth up to £65m. The Ardonagh Group, created in July after insurers Towergate, Autonet, Chase Templeton, Ryan Direct and Price Forbes were pulled into one holding company, is expected to announce the deal as soon as Wednesday, those close to the talks said. - Telegraph
Royal Bank of Scotland’s £425 million “challenger” fund’s grant policy has come under attack from new lenders and politicians because one of its chief beneficiaries could be Santander. There is widespread anger among new lenders that the fund will allow Santander, of Spain, to apply for a grant to support business lending, even though it is one of Europe’s biggest banks. – The Times
Lord Myners has called into question the conduct of Greybull Capital, the owner of Monarch Airlines, and demanded that MPs launch an inquiry in to the carrier’s collapse. The former City minister said yesterday that there was “clearly a case for parliamentary interest in Monarch. I have approached the chairman of the business select committee because there are broader issues to be looked at, like that of company capitalisation and the use of offshore tax havens.” – The Times