LONDON (ShareCast) - Potential bidders for Paragon could complete their due diligence as early as next week when many of the UK buy-to-let mortgage lender’s senior managers return from holiday for further talks about a possible investment, reports the FT.

The former chief executive of the De Vere hotels group has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Sir Stuart Rose as chief executive of Marks & Spencer, says the Times.

American Airlines, British Airways and Spain’s Iberia, three carriers on the verge of unveiling a transcontinental venture, will brief US transport officials on Monday on the merits of their alliance, says the FT.

Meanwhile, the Times says the Office of Fair Trading is set to unveil plans today to charge four past and present executives of British Airways with criminal price-fixing offences.

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), the Middle East events organiser backed by the Kingdom of Dubai, has held talks with Providence and Carlyle about participating in their £3bn buyout of Informa, according to the Telegraph.

It has drawn widespread criticism, even ridicule, for broadcasting down-market fare such as The Jeremy Kyle Show, but yesterday ITV slumped even in the eyes of the financial credit raters when Standard & Poor’s down-graded the broadcaster to junk status, says the Times.

Whitbread, the leisure group, will announce plans today to invest £100 million developing nine new Premier Inns as it exploits the availability of sites previously earmarked for office and residential development, says the Times.

Energy company Alkane has thwarted a "boiler room" scam which could have cost its shareholders thousands of pounds, says the Independent.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to keep interest rates at 5pc today even as fears grow that the economy is falling into its first recession in almost 20 years, says the Telegraph.

Citigroup is in talks over a $5bn (£2.5bn) legal settlement to claims that it fraudulently foisted auction rate securities on thousands of its savers in one of the biggest mis-selling scandals of the credit crisis, reports the Independent.

American Insurance Group, the world's largest insurer, lost $5.36bn (£2.68bn) in the three months to June as it continued to suffer from its involvement in the credit default swaps (CDS) market, reports the Telegraph.

BAA has won bondholders’ backing for changes that the highly geared UK airports operator hopes will help it complete a £9bn refinancing within the next few weeks, writes the FT.

Britain’s car market fell by its steepest rate in 19 months in July – a fresh sign that flagging consumer and business confidence are hitting purchases, reports the FT.

British families could find themselves subsidising households in France after the French Government ordered a 2 per cent cap on electricity price increases yesterday, writes the Times.

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