BP faces paying the maximum possible fine of $17.6bn over its Gulf of Mexico disaster after a judge in New Orleans ruled that the oil company was “grossly negligent”. The verdict, which BP has bitterly contested, sent shares in the company diving by nearly 6%, the worst one-day slide in more than four years. – The TimesTesco’s new chief executive has said he wants to take the troubled retailer back to its core values, and warned that would involve changes among management. In a video posted by Tesco on YouTube, Dave Lewis said his first week in charge had been “quite a rollercoaster” but would not shy away from the “difficult calls” that need to be made. – The DailyTelegraphArgentina has voted to swap defaulted bonds for new locally issued debt, despite the move being dismissed as "illegal" by the US judge overseeing the country's $1.5bn default. The measure was passed in the Argentine Senate by a vote of 39 to 27 with two abstentions, and now goes to the House of Representatives. The House, like the Senate, is controlled by allies to President Cristina Fernandez's government, who are expected to vote the bill into law. – The Daily TelegraphNearly a third of shareholders in online betting exchange Betfair on Thursday voted against pay and bonus deals for chief executive Breon Corcoran. Corporate governance group Pirc had been critical of pay arrangements at Betfair ahead of the group's annual meeting, noting that Corcoran could be entitled to a bonus of up to 380% of his salary. It described performance benchmarks as "not adequate" and suggested share rewards were released too quickly. – The GuardianA surge in enthusiasm for Scotland splitting from the U.K. has focused interest on how financial firms based north of the border might weather the shift. According to the head of the trade body representing the Scottish financial sector, though, the impact has been limited so far. The polls have "only narrowed slightly so I don't think there's increased concern," said Owen Kelly, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise. – The Wall Street Journal EuropeConvicted rogue trader Jerome Kerviel has been told he can walk free from prison just 110 days into a three-year sentence. The former Societe Generale banker, who took the French lender to the brink of collapse with a series of risky bets, will be released from Fleury Merogis prison, just south of Paris, next week, an appeals court said yesterday. – The Daily Telegraph