A-Z of the Sunday newspapers

12 April 2012

THIS Is Money reads the Sunday papers so you don't have to. Here is this weekend's round-up of the top City stories:

Abbey National
The Business: National Australia Bank, owner of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, is thought to be mulling a merger with the mortgage bank.

Sunday Times: The mortgage bank has appointed two sets of consultants to search for problems at Abbey National Treasury Services.

Capita
Sunday Telegraph: The outsourcing company that manages the TV licence has been forced to defend itself against criticism of its 'aggressive accounting' which a firm of analysts claims 'provided the opportunity to boost profits'.

Currencies
The Business: The dollar could face fresh pressure amid data showing America's leading money managers and institutional investors are slashing their exposure to domestic shares and bonds.

Digital TV
The Observer: The BBC's consortium with BSkyB is poised to win the digital television licences formerly owned by collapsed ITV Digital.

Economy
The Business: Taxes will have to rise by £12.5bn a year as disappointing growth holes public finances, the Centre for Economics and Business Research will predict this week.

Floats
The Business: Casino and bingo hall operator Gala Group has kickstarted plans for a float that could value it up to £1.3bn. The company said on Monday that it had made no decision. Click here for the Financial Mail's interview with chief executive John Kelly.

The £1bn float of Focus Wickes is in the balance because of volatile markets and subdued demand from institutional investors. The company pulled the float late on Sunday.

Sunday Telegraph: The Bank of China is pressing ahead with its $2.2bn (£1.5bn) initial public offering in Hong Kong, despite turmoil on world stock markets.

Halfords
Sunday Telegraph: Boots has entered exclusive talks with CVC Capital, the venture capitalist that has tabled a £450m bid for Halfords, the bicycle and car accessory chain.

Interest rates
The Business: Rates are set to remain on hold at 4% when the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, economists have told Reuters.

Jobs
Sunday Times: Job prospects in London are the worst in the country and are at their weakest since 1993.

Jupiter
The Business: Several potential buyers have walked away from the fund manager. Owner Commerzbank may now have to accept less than £450m for it.

Kingston Communications
Sunday Telegraph: The telco's chief executive, Steve Maine, enjoyed a 40% hike in his total pay package in the year ended March 2002, despite the stock slipping 28%.

Kwik-Fit
Sunday Times: Ford may raise just £150m from the sale of Kwik-Fit, which it bought for £1bn three years ago, because banks are worried about its finances.

Land Securities
The Business: The country's largest property group is finalising a bid worth up to £775m for Green Property, the Dublin-listed Anglo-Irish developer.

Lattice
Independent on Sunday: The gas pipeline operator has warned Britain could face a gas shortage in three years, thanks to dwindling supplies from offshore fields.

Pay
The Observer: Banks have been warned by groups representing women in the City to expect a deluge of sex discrimination claims of the kind brought recently by Louise Barton, former analyst at Investec Henderson Crosthwaite.

PNC
The Observer: The mobile phone distributor has issued a writ against its former chief executive Darren Ridge, alleging 'he may have committed acts of misconduct' that could blow open a multi-million pound fraud investigation.

Potters Bar
The Business: The fatal train crash was caused by poor maintenance procedures, not sabotage, the Health & Safety Executive is set to rule this week. Maintenance contractor Jarvis may lose its contract for the East Coast Mainline as a result.

Santander Central Hispano
Sunday Telegraph: The Spanish bank's chairman, Emilio Botin, and four former executives could face prosecution over allegations that they helped customers commit a tax fraud in the 1980s worth almost e1bn (£680m).

Scottish & Newcastle
Sunday Times: The brewer's chairman Brian Stewart is expected to say this week that the company will raise up to £1.5bn by selling more than 1,000 pubs.

Smiths Group
Sunday Telegraph: The aerospace and engineering company is planning to make disposals worth around £1bn over the next 12 to 18 months as it focus on its core divisions.

Sports and Leisure Group
The Observer: Former Channel 5 chief David Elstein is to become a director of the AIM-listed sports promotion business.

Thus
Sunday Times: The telco is facing a shareholder revolt over executive pay at its annual general meeting on Wednesday, led by Legal & General.

UK scandals
Independent on Sunday: The Financial Services Authority was warned about split capital investment trusts long before the £12bn scandal broke last year, according to Peter Moffat, director of investment business at the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt will this week signal a massive revamp of company law likely to be placed before Parliament before the end of this year.

US scandals
The Observer: Disgraced teleco WorldCom may have to hand over large parts of its empire to a consortium of banks - the price for keeping it alive while it attempts a restructuring.

Sunday Telegraph: George Bush has warned that cheating executives would face jail, and that those who get rich through bad accounting practices will be forced to repay their 'phony profits'.

Vivendi
The Observer: The troubled French media group is considering scrapping its dividend, a move likely to fuel calls for the head of chief Jean Marie Messier.

Sunday Telegraph: Senior directors plan to demote Messier to non-executive chairman in an attempt to curtail his powers and restore investor confidence.

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