Thursday newspaper round-up: UBS, British Airways, ITV

18th Mar 2010 06:15

Four banks were charged with fraud on Wednesday for their roles in a €1.7bn ($2.3bn) financing package for the Italian city of Milan in a case that will fuel the global debate about the use of complex derivatives. UBS, JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and Germany's Depfa will face trial in Milan after a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence for them to face criminal charges of aggravated fraud for their role in devising a swaps package for the city's 2005 bond issue, says the FT.Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson will plead with British Airways and the Unite union over the next 24 hours to return to the negotiating table so the cabin crew strike due to start on Saturday can be called off, writes the Independent.ITV may be close to losing one of its most burdensome regulations, it emerged on Wednesday, after the government said that it had powers to intervene in a long-running competition saga under a loophole in the law. City analysts believed the contract rights renewal (CRR) rules were certain to be a drag on the company's earnings for at least another three or four years after the Competition Commission said recently it was likely to amend them slightly, but not scrap them as ITV wished, reports the FT.Greece has upped the ante in an escalating game of brinkmanship, threatening to turn to the International Monetary Fund for support unless EU leaders come up with an acceptable rescue package at their next summit on March 25, according to the Telegraph.The Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam was under fire from shareholders last night after taking on a second high-profile job while trying to steer the insurer through a record takeover deal. Mr Thiam's decision to become a non-executive director at Société Générale, the French banking giant, sparked surprise and anger among leading Pru shareholders, says the Times.Arrow Energy said it was in "active discussions" with Royal Dutch Shell and its partner PetroChina, raising hopes that the two sides are closer to agreeing terms on a joint bid for the Australian coal-seam gas producer, writes the Telegraph. Alexander Lebedev moved a step closer towards buying the Independent newspapers today after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) ruled that the deal would raise no competition issues, reports the Times.Four Rio Tinto executives facing spying and bribery charges in China will go on trial in Shanghai on Monday with part of their hearing held in secret, the Australian government confirmed yesterday. The Anglo-Australian mining giant refused to comment yesterday beyond saying that it hoped "for a transparent and expeditious process for its employees", according to the Independent.BP has persuaded a Texas judge to overrule a $100m (£65m) award against the oil giant over a chemical release that workers claimed made them ill, says the Telegraph.They may be one of Britain's best-known icons, but much of the manufacturing of London's black cabs will henceforth take place in China. Manganese Bronze, the company that makes the taxis, yesterday said it was shedding 60 jobs at its Coventry plant as it announced plans to sell control of the company to Chinese car maker Geely, writes the Independent.The taxman is targeting holiday-home owners and buy-to-let landlords to boost Treasury coffers as receipts fall with the rise in unemployment, accountants say, according to the Times.