Press Digest: British Business - Dec 17
17/12/2014 24:27
Dec 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the
business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified
these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
BANKS STAND UP TO STRESS TESTS BUT A FRESH CRASH WOULD WIPE OUT
PROFITS
Profits at Britain's leading banks would collapse by 91 billion
pounds in the event of a new financial crisis, forcing the
country's largest lenders to slash shareholder payouts and
implement swingeing cost cuts, according to the Bank of
England's latest industry stress tests. (http://thetim.es/1DJ8q5d)
INVESTORS CHEERED BY BT TAKEOVER
European investors have backed BT Group Plc's BT.L proposed
12.5 billion pounds takeover of the mobile operator EE, driving
the share prices of all interested parties higher 24 hours after
the deal was announced. That was despite growing speculation
that the merger is likely to be the subject of full-blown
scrutiny by regulators on the Continent and by the Competition
and Markets Authority in the UK. (http://thetim.es/1z0ROmq)
The Guardian
BANK STRESS TESTS: CO-OP FAILS AS LLOYDS AND RBS SCRAPE THROUGH
A severe economic shock would exhaust the Co-operative Bank's
COOBF.PK capital and force Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L and
Royal Bank of Scotland RBS.L to bolster their financial
strength, the Bank of England has found after exposing the
banking sector to tests designed to measure its resilience. (http://bit.ly/1vV3tw1)
LASTMINUTE.COM SOLD FOR FRACTION OF ITS 2005 PRICE
Lastminute.com, the travel site that became one of the
best-known names of the dotcom era, has been sold for a fraction
of the price it fetched almost a decade ago. Bravofly Rumbo
Group BRGF.S , a European online travel agent, will pay 76
million pounds ($119.68 million) to Sabre Corp SABR.O , the US
owner of Travelocity, which paid 577 million pounds for
Lastminute in 2005. (http://bit.ly/1ztRdYc)
The Telegraph
OIL PRICE COLLAPSE IS GOOD NEWS FOR BRITISH PEOPLE, SAYS GEORGE
OSBORNE
The collapse in world oil prices is "overall a very good thing"
for Britain, the US and Western economies, George Osborne has
said. The Chancellor called the fall in oil prices this year a
"net positive" that would also put pressure on Russian President
Vladimir Putin and his oil-dependent economy. (http://bit.ly/1ztZL16)
RBS RAISES 2 BLN STG TO PASS BANK OF ENGLAND STRESS TEST
The Royal Bank of Scotland RBS.L has been forced to go to
investors for 2 billion pounds to placate the Bank of England,
it emerged on Tuesday, as the regulator said the taxpayer-owned
bank was one of three major lenders at risk in a financial
crisis. (http://bit.ly/1zp1tCq)
Sky News
GOOGLE SHUTS DOWN SPANISH NEWS SERVICE
Google Inc GOOGL.O has gone ahead with its threat to shut down
its news service, Google News in Spain, before a Spanish
intellectual property law comes into effect in January. The
service, which provided aggregated news content, has been
replaced by a message from Google saying it is 'incredibly sad'
to announce the removal of Spanish publishers from the site, as
well as the closure of Google News in Spain. (http://bit.ly/1BVRI0y)
WPP PICKS QUARTA TO SUCCEED LADER AS CHAIRMAN
WPP Plc WPP.L , the marketing services giant, will this week
end a year-long search for a new chairman when it names Roberto
Quarta, a respected industrialist, to the role. (http://bit.ly/16pP0n3)
The Independent
BRENT OIL PRICES PLUNGE BELOW $59 A BARREL
Oil extended losses on Tuesday, falling below $59 a barrel for
the first time since July 2009 and heaping further pressure on
oil exporters. Not only have billions been wiped off the value
of London-listed companies like BP in recent weeks, analysts
fear that spending across the industry could be cut by up to $1
trillion and thousands of jobs lost in the UK. (http://ind.pn/1BVSoD5)
($1 = 0.6350 pounds)
(Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; editing by Andrew
Hay)
((ramavenkat.raman@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223
8780, outside U.S. +91 80 6749 7151; Reuters Messaging:
ramavenkat.raman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: BRITAIN PRESS/BUSINESS