Friday newspaper round-up: Eurozone, Scottish Power, Olympic McDonalds

22nd Jul 2011 06:03

Eurozone leaders pulled the single currency back from the brink of disaster last night as they agreed a second plan to bail out Greece and ambitious proposals to overhaul the embattled euro area. Markets rallied as the 17 leaders hammered out an agreement that economists said marked a step forward in eurozone co-ordination and gave comfort to European banks but still fell far short of full economic integration, the Times reports.The UK would still be able to ringfence its retail banks and impose extra capital requirements on them under the proposed European Union regulations that seek to harmonise capital rules across the 27-member bloc, Michel Barnier, EU's internal market commissioner, told the Financial Times.Cabinet ministers fear that the turmoil in the eurozone will weaken Britain's already fragile recovery and could push the country back into negative growth. The Treasury is drawing up contingency plans amid fears that the threat of contagion throughout the European Union could trigger a re-run of the 2008 financial crisis, with a huge impact on Britain's banks, the Independent reports.Pre-tax profits at Scottish Power fell by a fifth in the first half of the year because of lower margins in its supply business and falling demand for its electricity.The results were bolstered by an increase in profits at its regulated networks division. Pre-tax profits for the company, which is owned by the Spanish group Iberdrola, came in at €595m (£525m), compared with €757m for the same period last year, according to the Times.The busiest and biggest McDonald's in the world will be within the Olympic park in London, when it opens for business next summer, seating 1,500 customers. The fast food company is a long-standing sponsor of the Olympics, and as a result has a monopoly on all the catering outlets within the Olympic park in Stratford, east London, the Telegraph reports. John Lewis is to increase its presence by opening at least 10 smaller department stores, kicking off with a shop in Exeter next year. The retail stalwart has identified "at least" 10 locations for the new format stores, which will help John Lewis reach catchment areas that it does not access now, due to the near-freeze in large retail property developments, according to the Independent.One of Britain's leading insurance brokers has been slapped with a record £7m fine by the financial watchdog for failing to put in place robust anti-bribery systems, after an investigation unearthed suspicious payments in Russia and Egypt. Willis Limited, an arm of the Willis Group, has been carpeted by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing sufficiently to monitor £27m of payments to overseas third parties who had helped the company win new business, the Guardian reports.The Financial Services Authority is also still considering regulatory action against HBOS after admitting on Thursday that an investigation into the bank has not finished, nearly three years after the high-street lender was rescued by Lloyds. While a similar investigation into collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland did not trigger regulatory action, the City watchdog admitted for the first time that the result of its enforcement investigation in to HBOS was "not yet known" and that it would not launch a review of its own role in regulating the bank until the first probe is completed, the Guardian reports.Shareholders vented their anger over executive pay at a series of stormy annual meetings yesterday. Protests against telecoms provider Cable and Wireless Worldwide and money printers De La Rue followed disastrous years with leadership changes and controversial executive payouts. Brewer SAB Miller and power provider Scottish and Southern Energy also saw revolts at their investor gatherings, the Daily Mail reports.