Sunday papers: UK growth, Lloyds Banking, RBS, Ladbrokes

11th Aug 2013 21:08

Rising unemployment figures for the UK could support the Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates at a record low to support the recovery, the Sunday Times said. Official jobless data released on August 14th will be closely watched after BoE Governor Mark Carney linked rates to employment data. Several economists expect the jobless rate to have risen to to 7.9% or even 8% between April and June, supporting Carney's view that employment is likely to rise only gradually as the economy recovers, the paper said.Lord Sugar is the most prominent business owner to complain about mis-selling of interest rate hedging products by Britain's big banks, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Sugar has sent a letter to Lloyds Banking Group complaining about a £10m break fee charged on an interest rate hedging product. Lloyds has received a letter of complaint from Lord Sugar, who, the Telegraph said, is seeking the return of about £10m in break fees paid to Lloyds to cancel the interest rate hedging contract. The Telegraph said Sugar would consider legal action if his complaint was unsuccessful. THE boss of BSkyB has made nearly £17m over the past year by selling shares in the satellite broadcaster, the Sunday Times said. Jeremy Darroch, BSkyB chief executive, has sold all of the 2.1m shares he received from the long-term pay scheme over the past two years. After raising £12.5m from the most recent sale last month, he retains 354,575 shares worth £2.9m. Andrew Griffith, finance chief, also sold bonus stock worth £6.5m recently. The paper reported Darroch's "friends" said he normally sold bonus shares and that he was as "bullish" about the company's prospects as ever.Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has indicated Royal Bank of Scotland will be in public hands for another five years, the Sunday Telegraph said. The paper said Cable's view increased the chances RBS would be broken up before being privatised. Cable said there was little prospect of any sale taking place before the next election and that it is probable the state will retain its 81pc stake in RBS for the majority of the next Parliament as well. "It is pretty unrealistic to think of RBS going back into private ownership this Parliament or probably within five years," Cable told the paper.The UK economic recovery powered ahead last month as shoppers returned to the high streets and consumer spending rose, the Mail on Sunday said. Barclaycard figures showed consumer spending rose 4.8 per cent in July from a year ago with the big winners in clothes shops and pubs. The Mail said the buoyant figures would provide further cheer to the Chancellor and business leaders, but would add to concerns that the recovery is too dependent on consumer spending, which in turn may be fuelled by too much borrowing.A group of Britain's biggest fund managers will start a £1.5bn bid for 315 Royal Bank of Scotland branches with the float of a new company, the Sunday Times said. W&G Investments, led by ex-Tesco Finance Director Andy Higginson, will raise £15m through its listing on the Alternative Investment Market to cover the costs of making an offer. The shares will be suspended immediately but if victorious the group of more than 20 fund managers would use the listed company to plough in more than £1bn of cash to complete the offer.Ladbrokes shareholders have given Chief Executive Richard Glynn until April to show signs of revival after the bookie blamed hot weather for a slump of almost 50% in profits, the Sunday Times said. Top investors told the paper Glynn had until Ladbrokes' first-quarter results to demonstrate sings of a turnaround or face being ousted. Tension has been building since a shock profit warning earlier this year, when the company said it had been hit by poor results at the Cheltenham Festival and a high number of cancelled race meetings.Europe's banks need to slash 2.8 trillion pounds of assets from their balance sheets over the next five years to meet rules to prevent future banking collapses, the Sunday Telegraph said.Up to €2.6trn (£2.2trn )will need to be cut from the balance sheets of smaller banks in Europe, which could potentially lead to another contraction in lending to small and medium-sized businesses, Royal Bank of Scotland calculated. Europe's largest banks will have to shrink their assets by €661bn and raise a further €47bn of capital to meet the regulations with Barclays, Crédit Agricole and Deutsche BankFacing the biggest shrink capital pressure.