BP Share News (BP.)

President Obama has increased the pressure on Israel and Hamas to agree a truce before a ground war breaks out in Gaza and pushes any prospect of peace "way off in the future". Talks brokered by Egypt were continuing through the fifth day of violence, and Palestinian sources have claimed that a deal could be reached as early as "today or tomorrow". Shimon Peres, the Israeli President, agreed that a de-escalation in violence was possible, but accused Hamas of rejecting the proposals of President Morsi of Egypt, The Sunday Times says. BP is planning to spend up to 3.7bn pounds buying its own stock in an attempt to revive its flagging share price. The huge buyback, which could come early next year, is part of a scheme to rehabilitate the oil giant in the eyes of the City after the fatal Gulf of Mexico spill two years ago and tortuous contractual wrangles in Russia. Last week BP agreed to pay 2.8bn pounds to settle American criminal charges arising from the spill. The shares refused to rally, however, closing the week at 416 ½p, a third lower than before the blowout. Directors are alert to an opportunistic bid from a cash-rich rival, and have had a defence document on standby for several weeks, The Sunday Times holds. The tie-up of FTSE 100 giants Glencore and Xstrata, the biggest-ever deal seen in mining, is expected to be waved through by investors at a series of votes on Tuesday. However, some 1,500 retail investors, representing around 1% of Xstrata's share register, are expected to have a disproportionate sway over the outcome due to the way the complex vote is structured. None the less, the deal should pass along the lines that Qatar has said it will vote, as tactical voting sees those keen for the merger to succeed follow its lead. It is understood some Xstrata investors who have already cast their votes have been tweaking them to follow the Qataris in the wake of its announcement. As a result, the plans to pay some £140m to some 70 Xstrata staff in retention payments will receive a resounding "no" from investors, despite the board's recommendation. The resolution for the merger with the pay plan should also fail, The Sunday Telegraph says. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says institutions are reluctant to invest in high street banks because of increasing risks and shrinking returns. The trade group is preparing to deliver a hard-hitting report to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards on behalf of its members who control £1.5trn assets and are among the banks' biggest investors. In preliminary evidence last week, the ABI told the Commission: "We are concerned that banking regulators are currently focused on financial stability at the expense of economic growth. This has a negative impact on banks' investability." The ABI added: "The prospects of sustainable economic recovery in the UK are to some extent dependent on banks being able to raise the funds necessary to finance the growth of small and medium-sized companies. From the perspective of institutional investors, it is essential that banks should be an investable proposition," The Sunday Telegraph writes. Ocado is racing to negotiate a new deal with its banks to avoid a damaging breach of loan agreements at the end of this month. The online grocer has hired Ondra Partners, the boutique advisory firm, to lead the talks with lenders, which include Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and HSBC. The banks are expected to agree to relax the deadline, but they may extract a high price in return. The talks come amid mounting scepticism in the City about Ocado's prospects. Wall Street hedge funds have placed big bets that the grocer's shares will fall. At the end of this month, Ocado faces a crucial quarterly test of its banking covenants. The net debt is required to be less than 3.5 times its earnings. After slashing their growth forecasts, some City experts believe debt is on course to exceed that level, The Sunday Times reports. Centrica is expected to turn its back on building new nuclear power stations in Britain and instead focus its expansion in the US. The owner of British Gas will formally take the decision by January at the latest to end its partnership with French energy giant EDF to build a new Hinkley Point power station in Somerset. According to senior company sources, only a dramatic change in Government policy on subsidising nuclear power would create a business case for investment, The Financial Mail on Sunday writes. A network of 316 branches being sold by Royal Bank of Scotland could be nationalised and turned into a new business lender under a Whitehall plan. If no buyer can be found for the business, it could be set up as a standalone bank, owned 100% by the taxpayer, and would focus on lending to small firms, say sources familiar with the plan. The business would be branded Williams & Glyn's, the name of a bank based in northwest England that was acquired by RBS 27 years ago. Santander UK pulled out of a deal last month after two years of talks, forcing RBS to launch an auction. A memorandum outlining the terms of the sale is expected to be circulated this week, The Sunday Times says. Business leaders have overwhelmingly backed a call to merge National Insurance with income tax to help reduce costs, drive up wages and create jobs. The support for a "radical" overhaul of the tax system comes as the Treasury is considering how to simplify workers' taxes ahead of the Autumn Statement, which is expected to outline plans for a consultation on simplifying the tax system by next year's Budget. A survey of 1,125 businesses by the Institute of Directors, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, shows 79% are in favour of merging pay-as-you-earn tax with National Insurance to reduce administrative burdens and eliminate the "worry" of facing penalties for getting it wrong.Luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is to start manufacturing vehicles in China for the first time after agreeing a £1bn joint venture. The firm today said it has struck a "milestone" deal with Chery Automobile Company and will now begin building a new plant at Changshu near Shanghai. Jaguars and Land Rovers will be built at the manufacturing facility as well as new joint venture branded vehicles aimed at the Chinese market. Today's deal comes after the Chinese government granted approval and a licence for the new partnership. A research and development centre and engine production facility will also built as part of the venture, with the main manufacturing plant expected to be completed during 2014, The Scotsman on Sunday reports. The life insurance arm of American financial powerhouse Guggenheim Partners, Guggenheim Life, which is working with the private equity firm Apollo on its bid, has entered a period of exclusivity over Aviva USA. It is understood that a deal, which will value the life business in the region of £800m to £850m, could be announced within the next fortnight. The pair have beaten off Harbinger Partners, Philip Falcone's hedge fund, which was also bidding for the business. At Aviva's third-quarter results a fortnight ago, new chairman John MacFarlane said he hoped the deal would come "reasonably soon". The sale will be at a discount to book value - despite a number of write-downs to the £1.8bn paid - but will release approximately £2bn of capital. However, those funds will only become available once the deal meets a series of regulatory approvals in the US, not expected before mid-2013, The Sunday Telegraph explains. Global banks have slashed almost 160,000 jobs since early last year, including more than 21,000 across taxpayer-backed lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, and more lay-offs are in the pipeline as the industry restructures. Redundancies in the banking sector have outpaced new hires by roughly two-to-one according to a study that shows job cuts have been heavier in Europe than in Asia or the US. According to analysis by Reuters, 29 major banks have unveiled plans for 157,969 job cuts since 2011, including 15,000 at Lloyds and 6,418 at RBS. The study also showed that about 83,000 roles have been created globally in the sector since the height of the financial crisis. Job losses in the banking sector hit the UK particularly hard, as the industry accounts for about 10% of the economy, The Scotsman on Sunday says. AB