LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) – The following business stories
were reported in British newspapers on Sunday:
The Sunday Telegraph
LLOYD’S IS READY FOR GREEK EXIT
Insurance market Lloyd’s of London is prepared for a
collapse of the euro zone’s single currency and has reduced its
exposure to the continent, its chief executive said.
DP WORLD LINES UP UNISERVE FOR LONDON GATEWAY PORT
Dubai-based DP World, which is building the 1.5
billion pound ($2.4 billion) London Gateway port on the Thames
Estuary, is in talks with the UK’s biggest freight company,
Uniserve, to operate at the new container port.
HMRC DEAL LEADS TO F1 TAX REDUCTION
Formula One has cut its effective tax rate down to
below 5 percent on annual profits of nearly $500 million after
the UK’s tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs, allowed interest
on a series of loans made between group companies to be tax
deductible.
TERRA FIRMA PLANS 1 BILLION POUND FLOAT OF INFINIS
Guy Hands’s private equity business Terra Firma
has met with banks to discuss a potential 1 billion pound float
of its energy company Infinis.
The Sunday Times
EUROPE FUND TO RESCUE BUST BANKS
Plans are being drawn up in Brussels for a European rescue
fund that could seize control of struggling banks across the
continent.
The scheme would be funded by a levy on banks and is being
worked on in tandem with a proposal from Italian prime minister
Mario Monti, for a Europe-wide guarantee on bank deposits.
COWDERY IN 1.5 BILLION EURO BID FOR DUTCH FUND
Insurance tycoon Clive Cowdery is eyeing a 1.5 billion euro
($1.9 billion) takeover of Dutch fund management firm Robeco,
which was put up for sale by its parent company Rabobank.
Cowdery’s Resolution Group is believed to be in the early stages
of considering a bid.
AUTONOMY FOUNDER SAYS TURMOIL AT TOP OF HP DROVE HIM OUT
A U-turn on strategy by Hewlett Packard Co caused
the relationship between the company and Autonomy to sour, the
founder of the Cambridge software firm said.
Mike Lynch, who left HP on Wednesday, said HP’s decision to
continue focusing on making computers was behind the breakdown
in relations.
BSKYB MULLS MOBILES MOVE
Satellite broadcaster BSKYB has held talks with the
owner of Orange and T-Mobile, Everything Everywhere
, to buy a valuable portion of Britain’s airwaves in a
move which could see it add a mobile phone offering to its
packages.
Sources said Sky’s interest had cooled since meeting Morgan
Stanley, which is running the spectrum auction.
Independent on Sunday
RBS CUTS TIES WITH FORMER BROKING ARM
The Royal Bank of Scotland is set to axe Hoare
Govett as its broker, months after it sold the British
stockbroker as part of a scale-back in investment banking.
GOLDMAN SACHS LOOKS AT BREAKING UP SWEDISH OIL EXPLORER SALE
Goldman Sachs may break up the $2 billion sale of
Swedish oil group Svenska Petroleum owned by Saudi billionaire
Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi, as most potential bidders were not
interested in the whole group due to its broad geographical
spread.
APPLE TO PAY EX-DIXONS BOSS 36 MILLION POUND BONUS
The former boss of Dixons Retail, John Browett,
will receive a $56 million pay package for taking charge of
Apple’s retail arm. The payment will be made in Apple
shares and will be staggered over five years.
Sunday Express
PRUDENTIAL’S NEW CHAIRMAN TO BRING IN NEW BLOOD
Incoming Prudential chairman Paul Manduca is looking
at bringing in new non-executive directors in a bid to appease
irate investors, sources said.
