Goldman Sachs would “drastically reduce” its activities in London and move large numbers of jobs to Frankfurt and Paris if Britain left the European Union, the bank’s co-chief executive in Europe has said. Michael Sherwood, who has warned in the past that London’s role as a leading financial centre would be damaged if Britain quit the EU, went much further than before in revealing how his bank would probably downgrade its British presence. – The Times

George Osborne will proclaim on Thursday that a budget surplus is in sight for the first time since the millennium, raising Tory hopes of significant tax cuts in the next parliament after nearly a decade of austerity. The chancellor will deliver his Autumn Statement against a backdrop of sharply rising growth forecasts, which could pave the way for Britain to be back in the black by 2018-19 – almost two years earlier than seemed likely in March. – Financial Times

Two of the world’s highest-profile container shipping lines, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and Chile’s CSAV, are in talks about a potential merger that would create the world’s fourth-largest container ship fleet. CSAV announced the discussions to the Santiago stock exchange after its shares rose nearly 15% on reports in Germany’s Die Welt about the talks. – Financial Times

Energy giant E.ON will reignite the fierce political row over gas and electricity bills by unveiling a £50 increase for more than 4m households on Friday. Sources claimed the German-owned company will become the last of the “Big Six” suppliers to push through a winter rise, with a jump of nearly 4% taking effect in mid-January. The Telegraph revealed last month that E.ON was preparing a 6.6% rise. But the size of the increase has been revised following the Government’s restructuring of green levies earlier this week. – The Daily Telegraph

The successful launch of BMW’s first electric car, the i3, will see the German motor giant commit itself to cleaner, greener and smaller vehicles. A new generation of smaller BMWs are now being planned, powered by more efficient three cylinder petrol engines made at the group’s factory at Hams Hall in the West Midlands. – The Times

Computer maker Hewlett-Packard (HP) is poised to axe more than 1,100 jobs in the UK as part of plans to lay off 27,000 employees around the world. The US group, which last week reported better-than-expected revenues for the fourth quarter, said the impact would be felt around the country and it could not rule out job losses in Erskine, where it is in the process of filling 700-plus posts. – The Scotsman