Wednesday newspaper round-up: HS2, CBI, mortgages

(Sharecast News) - The cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 has raised "urgent unanswered questions" and the government does not yet understand how the £67bn high-speed railway will now function, according to a scathing report from parliament's spending watchdog. The remaining London-Birmingham line will be "very poor value for money", the public accounts committee of MPs said, with costs now forecast to significantly outweigh the benefits. - Guardian The new president of the Confederation of British Industry has admitted that the Guardian's revelations about sexual misconduct at the lobbying group were "an appalling shock" that tipped it into a "near-death experience". Rupert Soames said the scandal had triggered an existential crisis, from which he is trying to rescue the organisation. - Guardian

The Bank of England has pushed the UK into recession by refusing to clearly communicate its plans to cut interest rates, top economists have warned. Britain fell into a recession at the end of 2023, according to estimates by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), as GDP fell by 0.1pc in part because of the Bank's insistence high interest rates would not fall soon from their current 16-year high of 5.25pc. - Telegraph

A new Dutch-style mortgage lender is set to release fixed-rate mortgages where the rates will automatically reduce as borrowers repay them. April Mortgages, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in October, plans to offer loans to existing homeowners remortgaging and new buyers by the end of March. - The Times

Estimated energy output from wind farms should be subject to independent checking, according to MPs, after claims that operators overestimate ­production to reap financial benefits. Wind farm operators are often paid to switch off their turbines when generation outstrips demand to prevent the electricity grid from being overloaded. These curtailment payments are based on the amount of energy that a wind farm company says it will produce. - The Times