Newsround: what Wednesday's papers say
Taoiseach expected to signal departure and Trump moves to tighten rules on illegal immigration
The top stories in Wednesday's newspapers:
THE IRISH TIMES
- Fine Gael TDs have said they will not table a motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach if he gives a firm indication he will step down soon after his return from the US. Enda Kenny will this evening address his parliamentary party where he is expected to give enough of a hint that he will stand down soon after next month's meeting with US president Donald Trump.
- The Trump administration has issued new immigration guidelines which could affect up to 11 million illegal immigrants including an estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish. The measures are in addition to Trump's controversial travel ban which has been stalled by the courts.
- Revenue is sending out letters to almost 500,000 taxpayers ahead of a deadline for disclosing assets held offshore. Under recently-enhanced co-operation designed to clamp down on international tax evasion, the Revenue is getting access to records held on Irish-based taxpayers by tax authorities in other countries.
- An all-out indefinite strike in Bus Éireann, which could spread to other parts of the public transport sector, now seems likely after the collapse of talks aimed at resolving the company's financial crisis, the paper says.
FINANCIAL TIMES
- Investors wiped almost £10 billion off the value of HSBC yesterday after the bank reported an 82 per cent drop in annual net profits, blaming one-off items including multi-billion-dollar write-downs in Switzerland and Brazil, the paper says.
- Labour strategists are increasingly fearing that they will lose a historic by-election in Copeland tomorrow, blaming everything from media attacks on leader Jeremy Corbyn to the approach of storm Doris.
- In his attempt to win this year's German election, centre-left leader Martin Schulz has taken aim at one the country's sacred cows, the decade-old reforms that helped to make its economy the strongest in the euro zone.
- The FT Big Read focuses on the collapse of Kraft Heinz's audacious $143 billion offer for Unilever which it says marks an unusual setback for Warren Buffett and 3G, who backed the proposal, but it adds that it would be foolish to rule them out of another bid.
