Friday newspaper round-up: SFO, Portugal, Jaguar

6th May 2011 06:06

Ministers' plans to break up the Serious Fraud Office have been attacked by a top prosecutor as a "dangerous" move that will undermine Britain's ability to fight fraud. Vivian Robinson, QC, the SFO's general counsel who resigned last week, warns today that the "disastrous" plans would disrupt more than 100 fraud cases currently on the agency's books, reports the Times.The €78bn (£69bn) bail-out package will push Portugal into recession for at least two years and cause substantial economic and social upheaval, the beleaguered country's finance minister has warned. Teixeira dos Santos said that the financial conditions and budget constraints imposed by the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for the rescue package are likely to cause Portugal's economy to contract by 2% this year and a further 2% in 2012, according to the Daily Telegraph.Jaguar Land Rover is investing £5bn ($8.2bn) over the next five years to catch up on quality with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi - the three German companies that dominate the luxury end of the automotive business globally. The money will be spent mainly on product development and new equipment at JLR's three UK plants, which together employ just over 17,000 people, with some of it likely to cover new investments at a planned factory in China, reports the Financial Times.The potentially explosive report into the near-collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland will be delayed by many months after MPs yesterday appointed independent experts to review the Financial Services Authority's findings. Bill Knight, the former head of law firm Simmons & Simmons, will join Sir David Walker, the City grandee, in reviewing thousands of pages of evidence to check that the FSA's report presents the full story of RBS's fall - including the regulator's role, the Independent reports.The internet giants Google and Facebook have held talks about possible tie-ups with Skype, it emerged yesterday, and analysts believe either move would make sense. Insiders claim that Facebook is considering an outright takeover of the online video chat site, while Google was running the slide rule over a joint venture, according to reports, the Independent says.A new battle between environmentalists and Big Oil over drilling in the Arctic was triggered today when Shell unveiled "risky" plans for the Beaufort Sea while a Cairn Energy rig set sail for Greenland. Shell, Europe's largest oil group, has submitted plans to the US government for permission to drill 10 exploration wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off the north coast of Alaska in 2012 and 2013, the Guardian reports. Struggling fashion chain All Saints has been bought by private equity firms Lion Capital and Goode Partners in a deal set to secure hundreds of jobs and save the company from possible administration. Lion, which owns clothing retailers La Senza and American Apparel, has joined Goode to buy the stakes in All Saints held by Icelandic banks Kaupthing and Glitnir for an undisclosed sum, reports the Daily Express.