Tuesday newspaper round-up: TSB, Ukraine, Mario Draghi

27th May 2014 07:27

TSB will today attempt to sweeten the pill of a three-year dividend blackout by offering free loyalty shares to retail investors. Lloyds Banking Group will promise one free TSB share for every 20 bought and held for a year by retail investors as it formally sets out the intention to float announcement. TSB, a 631-branch bank carved out from Lloyds last year, is planning to conserve cash to finance an aggressive campaign to grab market share from its rivals on the high street. - The Times Ukraine, its Western allies and Russia signalled that they were taking a step back from the worst East-West stand-off since the end of the Cold War, even as fighting flared Monday between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists. The change came after a pro-Europe chocolate baron was declared the victor of Ukraine's fraught presidential election, and Russia continued increasingly conciliatory overtures toward its neighbour, which has accused it of inciting insurrection and grabbing its territory. - The Wall Street Journal Europe Mario Draghi has reinforced expectations that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates or launch a bond-buying programme next month after admitting that "pre-emptive action" may be needed to head off deflation. The ECB is on guard against deflation and ready to act with conventional and targeted measures, while a broad asset-buying plan remains an option, the bank's governor said in a speech on Sunday. To guard against a drop in price expectations, "more pre-emptive action may be warranted", he said.- The GuardianConfidence about the prospects for service sector businesses is rising at the fastest rate for 26 years, according to the CBI. Optimism among service based companies - from hotels and bars, to travel agents, accountants and the legal profession - showed a marked rise in the three months to May, and encouraged firms to increase recruitment and increase spending on staff training. - The Daily TelegraphThe outskirts of Donetsk were wreathed in thick smoke and resounded to loud explosions and machine gun fire yesterday as the government sent in warplanes and paratroopers to dislodge heavily armed Russian separatists from the biggest airport in east Ukraine. At least one civilian died in the fighting, which began shortly after Petro Poroshenko, who won a landslide victory in Ukraine's presidential elections, said that the insurgency could be crushed in a "matter of hours". - The Times Nigel Farage has piled more pressure on Ed Miliband to change tack on Europe and immigration by promising to step up his assault on Labour's heartlands. A triumphant Mr Farage celebrated his victory in the European elections by announcing that he would launch his party's manifesto in Doncaster, Mr Miliband's constituency, where Ukip topped the poll. - The Times