Sunday newspaper round-up: One metre plus, Aviva, Huawei
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Sunday 21 Jun 2020
(Sharecast News) - Boris Johnson is poised to announce a new "one metre plus" rule for all venues, including shops, restaurants, schools, offices, and parks, in an overhaul designed to unlock swathes of the economy. The move, which would take effect from July 4, is understood to entail allowing people to remain a metre away from others if they take additional measures to protect themselves, such as wearing a mask or meeting outdoors. In restaurants, pubs and bars, firms will be expected to introduce measures such as partitions between tables that are less than two metres apart. - Sunday Telegraph
One of Britain's most powerful investors has told bosses to take the axe to their bloated pay packets first if they intend to cut costs by slashing jobs. Aviva Investors, which manages £346 billion of investments, has revealed it is urging boards to cut executive pay before making large scale redundancies. It comes as a survey of asset managers accounting for £6 trillion of investments showed an overwhelming two-thirds backed pay cuts for top brass. - Mail on Sunday
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei faces a fresh row over plans to build a £400m R&D centre near Cambridge, in the heart of "Silicon Fen". Huawei, which is at the centre of a global battle over its role in Britain's 5G mobile network, is expected to receive planning permission this week to construct a facility for researching and developing chips for use in broadband. The site is in the village of Sawston, seven miles from Cambridge and a 15-minute drive from the Japanese-owned semiconductor giant ARM Holdings. - Sunday Times
Saudi Arabia is believed to be building a stake in BT as part of a global shopping spree for blue-chip bargains during the pandemic. Three sources close to BT said the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the $325bn (£263bn) Public Investment Fund (PIF), has been buying up shares on the open market in recent weeks. - Sunday Telegraph
National Grid is gearing up for a battle with President Trump's administration over vehicle emissions rules that give a boost to petrol cars over electric ones. The FTSE 100 company is among several large utilities challenging new rules that weaken emissions standards set by the Obama administration and remove the ability of California and other states to set their own emissions rules. National Grid runs Britain's main gas and power grids but about half of its business is in the US, where it runs networks stretching across New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. - Sunday Telegraph
The Treasury is standing in the way of a plan to bring forward military spending to help aerospace and defence manufacturers through the coronavirus pandemic, the industry lobby group has claimed. Aerospace bosses are calling for the government to accelerate their defence procurement programmes to aid companies whose civil aviation businesses have been badly hit, as airlines have cut back orders. - Guardian
Who does Britain recognise as president of Venezuela: disputed incumbent Nicolás Maduro or his western-backed rival, Juan Guaidó? And why is this question so important to the Bank of England? Over the course of the next four days, the high court in London will have to decide. In an extraordinary case that will have profound economic, political and social consequences for the impoverished South American country, the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) is seeking an order that would force the BoE to release $1bn of its gold. - Guardian
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