National Express, the coach and train operator, received a boost yesterday after three major corporate governance groups came out in support of the board in its battle with Elliott Advisors, the activist hedge fund, over motions it has tabled for next month's annual meeting. Pirc, ISS Governance Services and Glass Lewis have all urged investors to vote against the appointment of Elliott Advisors' choice of three new non-executives, as well as casting their ballot in favour of the two National Express directors seeking re-election at the AGM on 10 May, the Independent says.Barclays said it had taken steps to wind down early a controversial off balance sheet vehicle run by former employees of its investment bank as it reported a 9% fall in first-quarter profits to £1.66bn. The bank said it would be bringing £10.2bn of toxic assets back on to its books as the lender moved to accelerate the closure of Protium, reports the Daily Telegraph.BP hopes to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico later this year it emerged yesterday, as the company revealed that last year's devastating spill continues to drag on profits. The London-listed oil giant has applied for permits to return to drilling in the Gulf, its chief financial officer, Byron Grote, said, according to the Independent.The Guardian reports that the discovery of an unexploded bomb on the seabed next to Britain's most important North Sea pipeline is threatening to shut down dozens of oil fields and force up the price of crude. The German Second World War mine was found by BP during a routine inspection and its removal could involve temporarily shutting off a transportation system that carries more than half a million barrels of crude a day - or 40% of Britain's total output.Warren Buffett's former heir apparent misled the investment guru's senior management and violated company policies, according to a report from the audit committee of the board of Berkshire Hathaway. David Sokol, once seen as the executive most likely to succeed Buffett, stepped down last month after the disclosure of a controversial share deal involving chemicals firm Lubrizol, reports the Guardian.A large institutional shareholder urged NYSE Euronext's board to consider a counter-bid to its agreed deal with Deutsche Börse - a cash-and-shares bid by Nasdaq OMX and the IntercontinentalExchange. Bill Miller, portfolio manager of Legg Mason, said in an e-mail distributed to reporters on the eve of NYSE Euronext's annual meeting: "We think it is in the shareholders' interest that the board work to maximise value for owners, and we don't see how being unwilling to meet with Nasdaq furthers that goal," the Financial Times Reports.Bargain supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have both reported an acceleration in sales growth, ahead of Waitrose. The discount stores, both privately-owned German businesses, increased sales by 15% and 14.7% respectively taking their market shares to record levels of 3.3% and 2.6%, according to the Daily Mail.Kesa Electricals was on the charge yesterday as talk of a break-up did the rounds. Shares in the group, which operates Comet stores in the UK and the French Darty chain, were marked up 8p to 128p, fuelling speculation that Knight Vinke could be adding to its stake, the Daily Express says.
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