Sunday newspaper round-up: ITV, GSK, HSBC

31st Jan 2010 11:40

In the coming months, chairman Archie Norman, who was joined by former Royal Mail head Adam Crozier as chief executive, are expected to consider the possibility of a pay-per-view package for ITV 2, 3 and 4 among a range of options as ITV benefits from a slowly improving economic climate, says the Sunday Telegraph.The Sunday Times adds that Crozier is heading for a £15m payday if he can turn round the fortunes of ITV. That was the sum used to lure the Royal Mail chief executive last week to take the toughest job in television.Britain's biggest drugs company, Glaxo Smith Kline, is to axe up to 4,000 more jobs as part of its plans to restructure its workforce and focus increasingly on emerging markets, according to the Sunday Times.HSBC's global head of strategy, Antonio Simoes, has moved from London to Hong Kong to help chief executive Mike Geoghegan prepare a bid for a large Chinese bank later this year. Simoes is one of several key directors spearheading the bank's plans to build a commanding presence in China, a move heralded by Mr Geoghegan's decision last September to transfer to Hong Kong, says the Sunday Telegraph.Some of the world's most prominent bankers have come out in favour of a global bank wind-down fund, a concession from the industry after weeks of fighting proposals for new taxes in the US and Europe, writes the FT.George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, has warned banks not to announce mega-bonuses in their annual reporting round later this month if they want to avoid a political and public backlash similar to America, reports the Sunday Telegraph.The chairman of Premier Foods is preparing to quit after six years at the helm of Britain's biggest food producer. David Kappler, the former HMV chairman, who has run the Premier board since the Hovis owner floated on the stock market in 2004, is expected to stand down at the group's annual meeting this year, according to the Sunday Times.Vedanta Resources is plotting one of the biggest money-spinning corporate break-ups of a Ftse 100 company in years. The Agarwal family, which has a majority stake in the India-based miner, is considering a spin-off of several of its interests, resulting in five or six companies plus a parent. Vedanta would retain controlling interests in them all, but each would be separately listed, says the Independent on Sunday.A Viennese count who owns a Scottish castle was last night facing the first corruption prosecution in the long-running probe into suspected bribery by BAE Systems, the arms-maker. The Serious Fraud Office charged Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly with making illegal payments to central and eastern European government officials to win fighter jet deals for the company, writes the FT.PepsiCo is to launch a $30bn (£19bn) push into nutritional and healthy foods after its global chief executive said she wanted to fundamentally change the mix of products the global food conglomerate produces, reports the Sunday Telegraph.A Canadian pension fund is preparing a £1.7 billion takeover bid for Northumbrian Water, the FTSE 250 group. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan already owns 27% of the company and has long harboured a desire to take it private. In recent weeks the investment giant, one of the largest in Canada, controlling more than $87 billion (£54 billion) in assets, has begun sounding out banks to put together a debt package for the deal, according to the Sunday Times.Russia proposed to China that the two nations should sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds in 2008 to force the US government to bail out the giant mortgage-finance companies, former US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson has claimed, says the FT.Solarcentury, a renewable energy company founded by green campaigner Jeremy Leggett, is mulling a flotation on the London Stock Exchange. A listing could value the company at up to £100m, according to an estimate by an industry expert, reports the Independent on Sunday.