Sunday Papers: Nearly 3% inflation to squeeze household incomes further

Top stories

• The Sunday Telegraph: The squeeze on household incomes will tighten once again this week when inflation edges up towards 3% - twice the level of pay rises.
• The Independent on Sunday: AXA seeks to refinance $2.8 billion in loans, while travel group paves the way for flotation.
• The Independent on Sunday: Hewlett Packard boss Meg Whitman has been awarded shares, bonuses and stock options worth more than $15 million in 2012, despite writing off $8.8 billion against the acquisition of Cambridge-based software company Autonomy.
• The Observer: Virgin Galactic has threatened to pull its support from the publicly financed $209 million "spaceport" in southern New Mexico, in the US, unless lawmakers extend the company's waiver of liability to manufacturers and parts suppliers in the event of an accident.
• Mail on Sunday: Public fury over pay for bankers will be reignited this week when Goldman Sachs kicks off the results season by announcing a fresh multi-billion pound payout to staff.

Business and economics

• The Sunday Telegraph: Lloyds Banking Group has fired a "rogue trader" after the state-backed lender uncovered a scheme designed to inflate the bonus of the executive working in its investment banking arm.
• Mail on Sunday: Telecoms giant Vodafone could escape paying at least part – or even all – of a £1.6 billion tax bill in India after it emerged that New Delhi is planning to amend the legislation that led to the demand.
• The Independent on Sunday: The Bank of England's new Governor, Mark Carney, may be forced to explain high inflation to the Chancellor just days after starting his new job, experts have warned.
• The Sunday Telegraph: The chief executive of Next, Lord Wolfson, has backed the Prime Minister and said that business should have nothing to fear from a renegotiation of the UK's relationship with the European Union.
• Mail on Sunday: The ever-expanding online fashion retailer Net-A-Porter increased sales by 55% last year, but made a £27 million loss after investing heavily in the business.
• Mail on Sunday: The ‘family springboard’ loan from Barclays enables parents to provide financial security for a home purchase made by a son or daughter without physically handing over any money to their offspring.
• The Independent on Sunday: The chief executive of Dixons Retail will make good on a promise that the owner of PC World and Currys would capitalise on the demise of Comet with strong trading figures this week.
• Mail on Sunday: Andrew Meeson, president of the Association of Taxation Technicians until a week before he was charged, is on trial at Birmingham Crown Court for an alleged £5 million pension scam, the trade magazine Professional Pensions reported.
• The Sunday Telegraph: The Office of Fair Trading is studying allegations by independent petrol station owners that oil giants Shell and Esso have engaged in "predatory pricing".
• The Sunday Telegraph: Greek politicians passed a new tax bill that will enable the troubled nation to continue securing aid from its international lenders.
• Mail on Sunday: Subway's fight over VAT on toasted sandwiches may put £1 billion at stake.

Share tips, comment and bids

• The Independent on Sunday: 3i has written down its investment in Shearings, the Wigan-based tour operator it bought for £100 million in 2005, near the height of the market.
• The Sunday Telegraph: Centrica is understood to be involved in talks to buy a major stake in Cuadrilla Resources, the company fracking for shale gas in the UK.
• The Sunday Telegraph: US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman has joined the £1.8 billion bidding battle for Trader Media Group despite a stalemate between the company's two shareholders.
• Mail on Sunday: Dreams, the bed retailer, will formally go up for grabs this week as advisers send a sale document to interested parties.
• Mail on Sunday: Marks & Spencer is losing market share at its clothing division after a disastrous Christmas when fashion sales nosedived.
• The Independent on Sunday: The prospect of a huge corporate bond issue and a $500 million loan renegotiation, involving the private equity giant Blackstone, shows that the debt market may finally be exiting the doldrums.
• The Observer (Editorial): The big food companies should be taxed for the damage they cause to our bodies and the planet.
• Mail on Sunday (Midas share tip): Buy Travis Perkins
• Mail on Sunday (Comment): Britain is by far the most advanced online shopping nation in the world. But many retailers are still struggling to graft internet businesses on to their traditional operations.
• The Sunday Telegraph (Comment): Marc Bolland has six months to turn around M&S.