What The Sunday Papers Said

Independent on Sunday: Engineers form a queue for Thames flood defence work

A beauty parade of some of Britain's biggest engineering companies is forming to bid for Thames Estuary 2100, a new system of flood defences for the capital. The bidding process will start in the autumn with Atkins, Arup, Halcrow and Hyder Consulting all said to be preparing their documents for the Environment Agency. The defences will aim to protect 1.25m Londoners and £200bn of property.

Sunday Times: Card Factory sends out £700m float message

Card Factory, the greeting cards chain that was started from the back of a van but now has 650 stores, is preparing for a flotation worth an estimated £700m. Charterhouse, the private-equity firm that owns Card Factory, has reportedly instructed Goldman Sachs to oversee the float. It bought the company from its original founders Dean and Janet Hoyle in 2010, netting the couple £350m.

Mail on Sunday: Tesco to reveal the toll from bad weather and horsemeat

Tesco's hopes of a profits recovery could be dented this week when the company reveals the costs of poor spring weather and the horsemeat scandal. Like-for-like sales at the supermarket chain are forecast to be down 0.5 per cent. This is against a backdrop of the Office for National Statistics saying food trading is 3.8 per cent lower than a year ago as consumers tighten their belts.

Sunday Telegraph: France worse than Seventies Britain, Axa chief claims

Henri de Castries, chairman and chief executive of Axa, has said the French economy and state are in a worse condition than Britain was during the strike-rife 1970s. Mr Castries said it was no surprise to see France languishing because the government of President Hollande had been busy raising taxes and making labour laws even more rigid.