Barclays Share News (BARC)

Barclays has warned the Treasury against breaking up banks in a thinly veiled threat that it may move its headquarters to America.John Varley, the bank's former chief executive and its lead adviser on government affairs, held a tense meeting with officials last week. It was one of a series of private meetings held in recent days with senior executives from all the big British banks to discuss the work of the Independent Commission on Banking, the Sunday Times reports.Britain's biggest pub group, Punch Taverns, could break itself in two under a shake-up being considered by Ian Dyson, the chief executive. The company is studying a plan to spin off its better-performing Spirit division, which manages pubs directly, into a separate listed company. Existing investors would be handed shares in the new group, which would probably be given £200m of Punch's cash. The rest of the business would consist of Punch's tenanted pubs, a network of 6,800 sites run by individual landlords, the Sunday Times reports.George Osborne will this week anger the City by announcing a crackdown on executive pensions as part of a budget aimed at boosting economic growth. Osborne will target the offshore trusts increasingly used to top up pension payments ? Lord Green, the trade minister and former HSBC chairman, has one ? saying they are a form of "disguised remuneration". Closing the pensions loophole will mean the trusts, called "efurbs", will become subject to income tax at up to 50%, the Sunday Times reports.George Osborne will announce a £300m package in Wednesday's budget to help fund training and work experience for some of the 974,000 young people who are unemployed. The coalition government has come under intense pressure in recent months to take action to help a "lost generation" of young people unable to find their feet in the labour market, the Observer reports.The Chancellor's "pro-growth" Budget faces a stumble at the first hurdle as the Office for Budget Responsibility is likely to downgrade its expectations for the economy, while the threat of inflation intensifies. The independent fiscal watchdog's prediction that GDP will grow 2.1% in 2011 now looks optimistic, say economists, who expect the figure to be slashed when new forecasts are released alongside the Budget on Wednesday, the Sunday Telegraph reports.Diageo is considering a $2bn (£1.2bn) bid for Jose Cuervo, the world's largest tequila brand, after it was put up for sale. The Beckmann family, descendants of the founding Cuervo dynasty, is in talks to appoint Barclays to explore a possible sale of all or part of the group. The move will trigger a battle among spirits producers for a slice of such a prized industry asset. Jose Cuervo is the eighth-largest spirits brand in the world, with 4.5m 9-litre cases sold last year, the Sunday Times reports.Forcing banks to fundamentally restructure how they operate in the UK could cost the big five banks £15bn a year. The stark analysis is contained in a confidential report to the Independent Commission on Banking by Oliver Wyman, the respected management consultants. Details of the report have been obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.Britain's biggest life insurer Prudential faces a shareholder revolt over a £1.62m bonus to be paid to chief executive Tidjane Thiam, the architect of a botched deal to buy rival AIA in 2010 for £21bn. City shareholders have been meeting the Pru's senior independent director Paul Manduca, a former Rothschild banker, to demand that the bonus is scaled down to reflect the AIA debacle, the Observer reports.Private-equity giant Blackstone is finessing the accounts for its Hilton Worldwide hotels empire in preparation for an eventual flotation in New York or London. Accountants are understood to be poring over the books to bring them up to international financial reporting standards, a prerequisite for listing on the world's major exchanges. There is not thought to be a timetable for the flotation, but Blackstone executives are keen that Hilton be fully prepared to move quickly when they decide the time and markets are right for a share sale, the Sunday Independent reports.HMV will this week outline to its banks a rescue plan that will include the possible sale of Waterstone's, its nationwide book chain. The struggling retailer's lenders have told Simon Fox, its chief executive, that the company needs to raise up to £75m in new funds in return for a relaxation of its lending covenants, which it is set to breach in the coming months. Fox's other cash-raising plans include a possible share issue and further store closures. The chain has already committed itself to closing 60 across the HMV and Waterstone's portfolio ? about 10% of its chain in the UK and Ireland. Analysts argued that this did not go far enough, the Sunday Times reports.One of JJB Sports' largest landlords has thrown its weight behind a controversial restructuring of the ailing retailer that could see its creditors lose millions. The sportswear chain faces a crucial vote on its second company voluntary arrangement (CVA) on Tuesday. Creditors would receive just 25p in the pound under the plan. The company proposes to quit up to 89 stores and halve rental payments to stave off administration. It has offered landlords a "sweetener" of up to £7.5m if its market value recovers or it is taken over, the Sunday Times reports.