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Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, wages, GKN, ITV, Apple
The Cabinet did not agree to Theresa May's negotiating strategy for the transition period after Brexit before it was sent to EU nations, senior ministers have told Telegraph. The official strategy document, which was published on Wednesday, prompted a furious backlash after raising the prospect of an open-ended transition period after Brexit. - Telegraph
Britain is at risk of the first sustained rise in inequality since the late 1980s as poorer families face three years of stagnating incomes, according to the Resolution Foundation. The thinktank warned that government cuts to working-age benefits were damaging prospects for 8 million low and middle-income households, as the rollout of £14bn of welfare reductions offsets the gains from policies such as the "national living wage". - Guardian
Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, has raised "serious concerns" with Greg Clark, the business secretary, over a £7.4 billion hostile takeover bid of GKN. The business, energy and industrial strategy committee will hold a session on 6 March to hear from the two companies, as well as the Unite union, which is campaigning against the takeover. Ministers are also assessing whether the bid should be blocked on national security grounds. - Times/Guardian
...Williamson also announced the launch of a combat air strategy aimed at finding the next generation of fighter jets and shoring up British aerospace jobs. The strategy involves consultation between the Ministry of Defence, industry and with the UK's international partners. It follows completion of a similar strategy for shipbuilding that was completed in September. - Guardian
Ministers are to delay Commons votes on the customs union for up to two months amid fears that they could result in defeats that jeopardise Brexit negotiations. Theresa May is facing two rebellions - one from Remainers and the other from Brexiteers, both of which would effectively tie her hands on future EU customs arrangements if they were to succeed. - The Times
The Bank of England has warned that economic uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote will knock 5% off UK wage growth by the year end. Mark Carney, the bank's governor, said British workers had already suffered a loss in earnings growth of 3.5% - compared with pre-referndum froecafter inflation is taken into account, and would see that loss swell to 5% by the end of the year as wages growth remained below inflation. - Guardian
New ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall has ditched a long-running campaign by the broadcaster to force Virgin Media to pay tens of millions of pounds per year to carry its main channel. In one of her first big decisions it is understood that Dame Carolyn has adopted a more flexible approach in negotiations with the cable operator, which is owned by ITV's own biggest shareholder Liberty Global.
Apple is seeking to buy cobalt directly from mining companies amid a looming shortage of the metal, a key ingredient for the lithium-ion batteries in its iPhones and iPads. Fearful that the boom in electric cars might put pressure on supplies, the Californian technology giant has been in discussions to secure contracts for "several thousand metric tons" of cobalt each year for at least five years. - The Times/Bloomberg
The founders of Spotify are to maintain an iron grip on their company when it goes public this year by employing a controversial share structure that is popular among Silicon Valley tycoons but scorned by many investors. Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, respectively chief executive and vice-chairman, are to hold "super-voting" shares that give them outsized power in the boardroom, Bloomberg reported. - The Times
Newsweek, once one of the most powerful publications in US media, has a scoop on its hands - one that has plunged the troubled title further into chaos. On Tuesday the magazine published an exposé of its owner's ties to a small evangelical Christian school, Olivet University, founded by the controversial Korean pastor David Jang. - Guardian
Unilever is expected to make a call on where it will base its headquarters within the next couple of weeks, with the Government bracing for the Dove maker to pick the Netherlands over the UK. Boss Paul Polman earlier this month said the group was likely to complete its review into where to house its legal base by the end of the first quarter. - Telegraph
Carillion was in serious financial difficulty by the middle of 2016 but directors were "placating the City" by failing to disclose major problems, according to a former executive at the collapsed government contractor. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an executive who spent more than 20 years with the company lifted the lid on a corporate culture in which "nobody wanted to give bad news". - Guardian
The United States supreme court dealt a blow to Wall Street whistleblowers on Wednesday when it ruled that protections for them passed by Congress after the 2008 financial crisis only apply to those who report problems to the government, not more broadly, such as to a boss. The justices decided unanimously that measures in the Dodd-Frank Act that protects whistleblowers from being fired, demoted or harassed only applies to people who report legal violations to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal government's financial watchdog. - Guardian
One of Ireland's richest men has bested Mike Ashley and struck a deal to buy Brixton's covered markets in south London. Aidan Brooks, a Limerick-born property investor, is understood to be leading the acquisition of Brixton Village and Market Row for an undisclosed sum. - The Times