Sunday newspaper round-up: Rolls-Royce, G20, Lloyds

20th Sep 2009 10:52

Rolls-Royce is fighting a last-ditch battle to stop Barack Obama axing a military-engine contract that could see it share an estimated $50bn (£30.7bn) in sales over the next two decades.The aero-engine maker was last week lobbying in Washington to prevent funding being withdrawn for its engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, expected to replace most combat aircraft in service. Failure would be a serious setback for Rolls-Royce's defence business, with job losses on both sides of the Atlantic, the Sunday Times reports.Leading figures from the world of banking last night set out how their industry should change, including reforms to pay, ahead of this week's G20 conference in Pittsburgh. Politicians including President Barack Obama and Gordon Brown will be seeking agreements on reshaping the global financial services industry Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC, said: "Overall, we have to be sensitive to the public mood if we are going to restore the public trust that the vast number of hard working and entirely ethical professionals in our sector deserve," the Sunday Telegraph reports.Senior management at Cazenove and JP Morgan are thought to be close to agreeing a price for the blue-blooded City firm, which could see the American bank buy out the joint venture before the end of the year. Cazenove, the Queen's stockbroker, which is enjoying a bumper 2009, joined forces with JP Morgan in 2005 when the pair created the joint venture, JP Morgan Cazenove. The deal ended Cazenove's 181 years of independence, the Sunday Independent reports.City fund managers fear that a bumper rights issue from Lloyds Banking Group could close the rights issue market for other companies. One leading institutional investor said: "If we are asked to back a big cash-call from Lloyds it will suck the liquidity from the market for companies seeking new funds," the Sunday Independent reports.Tony Ball is attempting to negotiate one of the biggest and most controversial pay packages awarded to a media chief executive. Ball, who began his career as a Thames Television engineer, has been offered the job of chief executive of ITV, but he will only take it if the independent broadcaster agrees to a five-year package that could be worth up to £30m. ITV, which broadcasts Coronation Street and The X Factor, has told Ball his terms are unacceptable, the Sunday Times reports.Mining giant Anglo American is poised to ask the City Takeover Panel to issue Xstrata with a "put up or shut up" order, which will force it to bid for Anglo within a set time frame or walk away for at least six months.The new chairman of Anglo, Sir John Parker, has widespread investor support for the move after concluding a series of talks with its leading shareholders in Britain, South Africa and the US, the Observer reports.Guardian Media Group is preparing to cut up to 100 more editorial staff as it looks for more ways to cut costs after deciding against the closure of The Observer. The publisher of The Guardian had already said it would trim 50 posts from its editorial staff of 850 by the year-end. Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief, told staff last week to expect more cuts, the Sunday Times reports.Tensions over how to finance the multi-billion-pound overhaul of Britain's electricity networks boiled over this weekend when the boss of Scottish Power threatened to take Ofgem, the regulator, to the Competition Commission over proposed spending cuts. The regulator has issued a draft spending and revenue programme for the electricity companies, fixing their investment in 2010-15 at £6.5 billion, 17% less than they requested. Ofgem has not, however, cut its requirement for improvements to the networks, the Sunday Times reports.Paul Reichmann has sold out of Canary Wharf Group, bringing down the curtain on a 22-year relationship with the London Docklands developer he founded. Reichmann, a Canadian property entrepreneur, has sold his stake to Songbird, the majority owner of Canary Wharf, the Sunday Times reports.The loss of thousands of City jobs has gouged a hole in London's transport budget, forcing the mayor, Boris Johnson, to consider inflation-busting fare rises as he grapples with a multibillion-pound funding gap in a tube upgrade programme. The London Underground network, which accounts for more than half (58%) of the mayor's fare income, suffered a 6.4% decline in passenger journeys in August as fewer commuters crammed into one of the world's busiest metro systems, the Observer reports.Phorm, the beleaguered advertising company which tracks individuals' web browsing habits, suffered a blow last week when its chief technology officer quit. The loss of Stratis Scelparis, who was in charge of developing Phorm's controversial software which records users' personal web habits in order to deliver relevant advertising, will come as a major blow to the company which has failed to make any money since it launched seven years ago, the Sunday Telegraph reports.Britain was last night accused of stalling on a deal to use banks' multibillion-pound profits to help the world's poorest nations as new figures show that the global recession has opened up a $70bn (£43bn) black hole in the budgets of sub-Saharan Africa. Chancellor Alistair Darling is accused of blocking plans for a tax on worldwide currency transactions that could raise up to £30bn for developing countries, the Sunday Independent reports.The insurer Aviva, formerly Norwich Union, is ready to face further court challenges after its controversial 'reattribution' deal received its ultimate go-ahead last week. Friday's ruling, which sets in train windfall payments for almost one million eligible policyholders, followed three days of evidence submitted by various parties to a High Court judge in London, the Mail on Sunday reports.Online pawnbroker Borro is believed to have raised around £20m to fund expansion. Borro's loan book is doubling in value every three months as customers flock to take advantage of loans with interest of up to 85% APR, according to sources, the Sunday Independent reports.