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Sunday's newspaper round-up: Banks, British Energy, Kingfisher

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Date: Sunday 23 Mar 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - The Financial Services Authority will this week start its criminal investigation to find the trader alleged to have made £100m from spreading malicious rumours that HBOS, the UK's biggest mortgage lender, was in danger of collapse, says the Independent on Sunday.

The board of HBOS, the British banking group that was last week engulfed in crisis after a run on its shares, is poised to enlist a heavyweight former City trader to lead an investigation into the stock price collapse, says the Sunday Telegraph.

The Financial Services Authority will this week pledge to recruit an extra 100 supervisory staff to monitor the country's biggest banks in an effort to avoid another Northern Rock-style banking collapse, reports the Sunday Telegraph.

Britain’s banks believe they have secured a deal under which the Bank of England will provide the kind of support America’s Federal Reserve has given to its beleaguered financial institutions in recent months, writes the Sunday Times.

The Sunday Times also says Bradford & Bingley has had a key credit-rating cut by Moody’s, amid jump in customers falling behind with repayments.

Centrica examining £10 billion for British Energy however rivals include France’s EDF, Germany’s RWE and Spain’s Iberdrola, says the Sunday Times.

New Kingfisher chief executive Ian Cheshire will this week announce a major restructuring plan that is expected to include slashing the dividend payment to investors, says the Observer.

Sir Stuart Rose, the colourful boss of Marks & Spencer, is facing calls from top institutional investors to put himself up for re-election at the retailer's next annual meeting, writes the Sunday Telegraph.

ITV is poised to scrap subscription fees on its Friends Reunited website and relaunch it with a new look to try to breathe life into the operation, says the Sunday Telegraph.

BP and the oil giant’s former chief executive Lord Browne have been named in an American lawsuit alleging bribery of government officials in Grenada, says the Sunday Times.

The beleaguered chief executive of First Calgary Petroleums, the Aim-listed gas exploration group, has refused to rule out a takeover of the company as he fights efforts by dissident shareholders to oust him, reports the Sunday Telegraph.

Mechel, the Russian metals and mining group, plans to float a $5bn (£2.5bn) ferro-alloys spin-off next year, if it is successful with its bid for Oriel Resources, a smaller, UK-based rival, says the Independent on Sunday.

The creators of video search engine Blinkx are in talks with the BBC about a deal to supply it with technology for the corporation's iPlayer, which allows viewers to download programmes over the internet, reports the Observer.

Ryanair and BMI Baby also likely to join legal challenge over the stiff price increases imposed at Heathrow and Gatwick, writes the Sunday Times.

The sale of Somerfield is going ahead, defying speculation that the auction had been abandoned. Sources said Robert Tchenguiz, part-owner of the £2bn supermarket chain, is still hopeful a sale can be agreed, according to the Independent on Sunday.