Thursday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, British Airways, Banks

7th Jan 2010 06:14

Cadbury has prompted further talks with Hershey in recent days about the possibility of a merger designed to derail Kraft's £10.4 billion hostile bid to buy the UK chocolate-maker. However, it is understood the conversations between the boards of the two companies have been limited and that Cadbury has not indicated a price at which it would be willing to sell itself, says the Times.British Airways will this week meet union chiefs for a fresh round of talks aimed at avoiding a damaging walk-out by the airline's 13,000 cabin crew. The talks will be the first high-level discussions since BA won an injunction on December 17 blocking a planned 12-day strike over Christmas that would have disrupted 1m passengers, writes the Telegraph.The Bank for International Settlements will gather top central bankers and financiers for a meeting in Basel this weekend amid rising concern about a resurgence of the "excessive risk-taking" that sparked the financial crisis, reports the FT.Demand for gas hit an all-time high yesterday during the UK's longest cold snap for more than 20 years. Demand rose to 453 million cubic metres (mcm), smashing the 449mcm record set in January 2003. And it is forecast to climb to 460mcm today, according to the Independent.China will complete its investigation into four Rio Tinto staff being held on suspicion of corporate espionage next week. According to lawyers representing the detainees, their five-month ordeal must end on January 11 under Chinese laws. The arrests have strained relations between China and its trading partner Australia because one of those being held, Stern Hu, is an Australian citizen, says the Telegraph. The Government may be forced to offer higher coupon rates on gilts, increasing still further the cost of servicing the national debt, in an attempt to attract investors as the Chancellor seeks to sell a record £225 billion tranche of debt, reports the Times.A group of influential MPs have attacked the Treasury's failure to disclose how deep Labour's planned spending cuts will be and where the axe would fall. Reporting on the Chancellor's December pre-Budget report, the Treasury Committee said the detail of the plans should be laid bare if the path for fiscal consolidation is to be credible, writes the Telegraph.Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Iceland's president, has created uproar with his decision to block legislation that would have repaid €3.9bn lost by British and Dutch savers in a failed Icelandic bank, triggering a referendum that the government is expected to lose. The initial response by credit rating agencies was to downgrade Icelandic bonds, as if Iceland were repudiating its debts, Argentina-style. But opponents of the bill have no intention of reneging on their legal obligations, according to the FT.Recent moves by Chelsea and Manchester City's owners to wipe out debt by converting loans into equity work "by moving money from their left pocket to the right", say financiers. The accounting operation, which one banker called "balance sheet window dressing," was in reaction to Uefa president Michel Platini's calls for financial fair play in football, says the Independent.