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Thursday newspaper round-up: British Energy, BP , Bradford & Bingley

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Date: Thursday 24 Jul 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - EDF is edging closer to clinching an £11 billion takeover of British Energy as it emerged last night that Centrica had resumed talks with the French company to buy a stake of up to 25% if the deal proceeds.

Advisers said that the discussions between EDF and British Energy were much more positive and expressed growing optimism that the deal would be done, despite continued wrangling over price, writes the Times.

The Russian billionaires fighting BP for control of their joint venture, TNK-BP, have turned up the heat on its chief executive, Robert Dudley, accusing him of breaching his duties and warning they may seek damages running into hundreds of millions of pounds. In a letter to Mr Dudley, seen by The Daily Telegraph, the Russians claim Mr Dudley approved investments despite their opposition, and so they "reserve the right to seek all available remedies against you personally...because you have failed to act in the best interests of all shareholders".

Bradford & Bingley has raised £2.5bn of much-needed funding by successfully completing its first securitisation of the year. The struggling lender packaged up £2.5bn of buy-to-let and self-certification mortgages qualified AAA by the credit rating agencies Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch. A further £400m of mortgages, rated BB and BBB, have been securitised but will remain with the bank, reports the Telegraph.

Top accountancy firm Ernst & Young has told some university leavers who were promised jobs in September that they may have to wait until next spring to join.Ernst & Young blamed "current market conditions" and said other groups are likely to be considering similar measures in an attempt to cut costs, reports the Telegraph.

UK financial investigators will on Thursday launch an insider dealing prosecution against a veteran former Cazenove partner in a riposte to critics who say they lack the will to threaten traders with jail sentences.The latest case is against Malcolm Calvert, a 63-year-old former trader at Cazenove. The alleged dealings at the heart of the FSA’s prosecution are relatively small-scale and do not relate to activity at Cazenove, one person with knowledge of the case said, reports the FT

Parents whose children download music and films illegally will be blacklisted and have their internet access curbed under government reforms to fight online piracy.Households that ignore warnings will be subjected to online surveillance and their internet speeds will be reduced, making it very difficult for them to download large files. The measures, the first of their kind in the world, will be announced today by Baroness Vadera, who brokered the deal between internet service providers and Ofcom, the telecoms body, reports the Times.

Northern Rock will pay Gary Hoffman, its new chief executive, £1.1m a year plus a bonus for his first three years in the job, after luring him from Barclays. The nationalised bank said Mr Hoffman would receive a salary of £700,000 a year plus three yearly payments of £400,000 to compensate him for leaving Barclays' long-term incentive plans. The deal will make him the country's best-paid public servant, reports the Independent.



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