Friday newspaper round-up: RBS, Tesco, BP

11th Apr 2014 07:18

The Government could start selling down its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland this year, according to City analysts, after the taxpayer-backed lender agreed a deal with the Treasury that could lead to the return of dividend payments. The deal to scrap the Dividend Access Share (DAS), which barred shareholder pay-outs, may accelerate the Government's exit, analysts at Jefferies said. Many investors do not expect the state to begin offloading shares in RBS until after next year's general election. "The path to full privatisation could be set in motion earlier-than-expected," the analysts argued. - The Daily Telegraph Former Tesco directors are "dismayed and angry" at the cull of senior talent at the retailer and fear that Philip Clarke, the Chief Executive, is driving the business "in the wrong direction". A "whispering campaign" against senior staff including Laurie McIlwee, the outgoing Finance Director, and Matt Atkinson, the Chief Marketing Officer, has generated particular anger. "[Clarke] is just not good enough. He is doing serious harm to the business," said one former director who worked at the supermarket group for two decades. - The Times Almost a third of BP's shareholders refused to back "complacent" management at a stormy annual meeting during which the leadership was accused of turning the oil giant into a "laughing stock" because of spiralling payouts over the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Investors refused to support a plan to more than treble the pay package for Bob Dudley, the Chief Executive, to $8.7m (£5.2m). Thirteen per cent voted against the remuneration report and 19 per cent abstained. - The TimesThe credit industry is facing its third crackdown in a fortnight after regulators announced that bank customers were paying too much for their overdrafts and, in some cases, were left stranded in perpetual debt by their easy availability. The Financial Conduct Authority, which unveiled research showing that customers were not getting good value or clear information, is to investigate the £8bn market further over the summer and could impose new rules to prevent abuses. - The TimesThe squeeze on renters could begin to ease later this year with property specialists predicting that wage rises will begin to outstrip rent rises by July. LSL Property Services predicted today that annual rent rises will dip to 1.7% in July, just as wage rises hit 2.2% - the first time earnings have beaten rents since April 2010. It's good news for tenants, who will enjoy the most monthly disposable income after tax and rent since 2009. - The Daily MailGeorge Osborne is to tell an audience of free-market campaigners in Washington that the UK's economic turnaround will defy those who say austerity and low wage growth will lead to long-term stagnation. In his first major speech in the US, the Chancellor will attempt to demolish claims that a further five years of austerity will restrict growth and hurt workers' living standards. - The GuardianAB