Friday newspaper round-up: Vauxhall, Donald Trump, Alcohol

17th Feb 2017 06:10

(ShareCast News) - Business Secretary Greg Clark is travelling to Paris this evening for urgent talks with Peugeot executives and the French government about the future of thousands of Vauxhall employees in Britain. General Motors - the parent company of the Vauxhall and Opel - is in negotiations about a sale of the marques to PSA Groupe, the French owner of Peugeot. - The Daily TelegraphThe scandal-hit bank that loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump has conducted a close internal examination of the US president's personal account to gauge whether there are any suspicious connections to Russia, the Guardian has learned. - The GuardianSpending on alcohol and cigarettes has almost halved in 15 years as Britain becomes a more clean-living nation. The amount spent by families on alcoholic drinks, tobacco and recreational drugs fell to its lowest level since modern records began, costing the typical household £11.40 a week last year compared with nearly £20 in 2001-02, according to the Office for National Statistics. - The TimesArgos is to stump up more than £3m in back pay and fines after an investigation revealed that thousands of workers at the catalogue retailer had been paid less than the minimum wage. One day after Debenhams was "named and shamed" by the government for underpaying staff, Argos said it had discovered that 37,000 workers had been underpaid over four years. - The TimesNearly three-quarters of small companies in London say business rates are the most important issue they face, piling further pressure on the government over the controversial tax. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warned that London was in "serious danger of losing its vital support system of micro and small businesses". The average micro business, which employs fewer than 10 people, will have to pay £17,000 to cover business rates from April, it added. - The GuardianAs many as 162,000 people set to retire this year will do so weighed down by debts, worrying new research has found. Of the 650,000 workers who will stop working through 2017, one in four will be forced to use their pensions to pay off loans worth an average of £24,300 and many fear they will never clear what they owe. The numbers fearing a debt-laden retirement is a record high, according to an annual survey of 10,065 workers by pension giant Prudential. - Daily Express