PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 12
Feb 12 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Telegraph
BARCLAYS CULL TO CLEAR OUT SENIOR BANKERS Hundreds of senior Barclays investment bankers and managers face being made redundant this year, along with thousands of ordinary staff, as the lender looks to cut as many as 12,000 jobs. ()
VODAFONE'S 5.8 BLN STG ONO BID EXPECTED TO BE REJECTED
Vodafone's 5.8 billion pound ($9.56 billion)bid for Ono will be rejected, it was expected this evening, following a meeting of the Spanish cable operator's board. ()
HIKMA COMBINES CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE ROLE
Hikma Pharmaceuticals' chief executive is to take on the additional role of chairman later this year. The FTSE-250 company said its chief executive Said Darwazah will assume the dual role in May, when his 83-year-old father, Samih Darwazah, steps down as chairman of the board. ()
The Guardian
BANK OF ENGLAND LAUNCHES INQUIRY INTO FOREX MANIPULATION CLAIMS
The Bank of England has launched an internal inquiry into allegations that its officials endorsed sharing of information between traders in the foreign exchange market, the central bank's deputy governor told Members of Parliament. ()
WAITROSE, ALDI AND LIDL EAT FURTHER INTO MAJOR SUPERMARKETS' MARKET SHARE
The UK's grocery market saw growth slide to its slowest pace since 2005 as Morrisons, Asda and Tesco continue to take a battering from discounters and the upmarket grocer Waitrose. ()
NEW LOOK IPO PLANS ON ICE
Privately-owned retailer New Look is standing back from the rush to the stock market with no plans to seek a public listing until next autumn at the earliest. ()
THOMAS COOK SAYS COST-CUTTING PLAN AHEAD OF TARGET AFTER LATEST DISPOSAL
Holiday operator Thomas Cook said a 45 million pound asset sale on Tuesday helped it reach a target for disposals ahead of schedule as it reported a narrowing seasonal loss, giving it further confidence in its turnaround plan. ()
The Times
GOVERNMENT PLANNED FOR CO-OP TO BUY LLOYDS BRANCHES
The Government made it clear that it wanted Lloyds to sell hundreds of branches to the Co-operative Bank for political reasons in a deal that helped to push the mutual into ruin, a senior Bank of England official said today. ()
'WALKIE SCORCHIE' DEVELOPER LAND SECURITIES TO TURN DOWN THE HEAT
Months after the 37-storey tower, officially known as 20 Fenchurch Street, fried an egg and melted a Jaguar car and City workers' shoes with the intensity of the glare from its south-facing glass façade, its developers, Land Securities , believe they have devised a solution. ()
The Independent
ANDREW BAILEY DENIES BANK OF ENGLAND KNEW OF FOREX MARKET MANIPULATION
The deputy governor of the Bank of England has been forced to deny that it condones market manipulation after it was dragged into an investigation over foreign exchange rate-fixing claims which he agreed could be "enormously damaging" to it. ()
