Thursday newspaper round-up: BP, Mitchells & Butlers, Eurozone

15th Sep 2011 06:26

The long-awaited federal government report into the Deepwater Horizon disaster has blamed cost-cutting by BP for the explosion that sank the rig, killed 11 workers and left oil billowing into the Gulf of Mexico for almost three months. The 16-month investigation pinned blame, too, on BP's partners and contractors on the rig, but said that BP, as designated operator, bore ultimate responsibility and had repeatedly let cost considerations creep into its decisions about how to operate the well, the Independent reports. The billionare stalking Mitchells & Butlers will launch a formal 230p-a-share offer for the pub and restaurant company in days, The Times has learnt. Joe Lewis's bid, valuing the Harvester and All Bar One operator at £942 million, or £2.85 billion including debt, will offer investors the option of receiving shares in an unlisted M&B controlled by his Piedmont vehicle, the paper says.European leaders have assured Greece its future remains within the eurozone but warned it must implement the tough austerity measures set out as part of its rescue plan. Speaking after a conference call with Greek leader George Papandreou, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy moved on Wednesday night to calm fears Greece could be forced out of the eurozone, the Telegraph writes. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government edged closer to disintegration yesterday as rebellious MPs flatly ignored her warnings about making rash statements and speculated openly about Greece leaving the eurozone. The latest snub to Ms Merkel's softly-softly approach to Athens' spiralling debt came from a senior conservative cabinet minister who joined the growing revolt against her stance on the euro already voiced by her liberal Free Democrat coalition partners, according to the Independent. Ryanair is to force customers take out the airline's own pre-paid payment card if they want to avoid card charges that add as much as £48 to the cost of return flight for a family of four.The low-cost airline yesterday launched the Ryanair Cash Passport and confirmed that it will soon become the only payment method by which passengers can avoid the card charges, the Daily Mail reports.Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is said to have delayed plans for a multi-billion flotation until late next year to keep staff focused on improving the world's biggest social networking site. A flotation has been anticipated since Goldman Sachs found new investors for Facebook in January in a move widely seen as a prelude to a listing in New York, according to the Telegraph.An influential member of the Vickers commission on banking reform has urged the government to offset the potential £7bn-a-year hit to the industry from implementing the report's recommendations, by axing the annual £2.5bn balance sheet levy. Bill Winters, part of the five-member commission and former co-head of investment banking at JPMorgan, said any concerns that the Vickers recommendations would make British banks uncompetitive against foreign-owned rivals could be softened by tax cuts, the Financial Times reports.