BP Share News (BP.)

Debt-laden banks are the biggest threat to global financial stability and they must refinance a $3.6 trillion "wall of maturing debt" which comes due in the next two years, the International Monetary Fund said in its Global Financial Stability Report. Many European banks need bigger capital cushions to restore market confidence and help reduce the risk of another financial crisis, according to the IMF's report, says the Telegraph.The fragile state of the British economy was underlined again on Wednesday by a sharp increase in the number of UK firms in financial difficulties and profits warnings from two more companies listed on the London stock market. Begbies Traynor, the insolvency specialist, reported that 186,554 UK businesses were now experiencing "significant" or "critical" financial problems, a 26% rise over the last three months, and 15% more than a year ago, according to the Guardian.The London AGM of the oil giant BP this morning looks unprecedented. At least half a dozen vociferous and angry groups are set to lay siege to the British Petroleum board and its American chief executive, Bob Dudley, when they go through the annual ritual of facing their shareholders at the Excel convention centre in London's Docklands, reports the Independent.BP's efforts to buy out its Russian billionaire partners in TNK-BP were foundering on Wednesday night, ahead of a deadline to complete the UK energy group's proposed $16bn share swap with Rosneft. According to people close to the discussions, BP and Rosneft, the state-controlled oil group, had decided to end talks with Alfa-Access-Renova, the Russian partners' vehicle, the Financial Times reports.Rio Tinto, the mining group, has agreed a deal with 2012 organisers to supply the metal for the Olympic medals. Tom Albanese, chief executive, said it is a "special job" for the company. The gold, silver, and copper - for the bronze medals - will come from Rio's Kennecott Utah Copper mine in Salt Lake City, and its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia, reports the Telegraph.European regulators have ordered Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide, Gain and Era washing power brands, and Unilever, whose brands include Omo and Surf, to pay fines totalling more than €300m (£267m) for their part in a cartel that fixed detergent prices across eight European countries. In a settlement, the two companies acknowledged fixing prices along with Henkel, the German consumer goods group, which escaped penalties by blowing the whistle on the arrangement in 2008, according to the Independent.Car insurance premiums are set to burst through the £1,000 barrier within a year as booming fraud and 'abhorrent ambulance chasers' drive up costs, says the AA. Association figures show that premiums have risen by a record 40 per cent over the past year - the biggest annual rise since it started the index in 1994, the Daily Mail reports.Chip designer ARM Holdings was in demand yesterday after its supporting role in Microsoft's star turn at a technology conference in Las Vegas. The software giant was showcasing a version of its web browser Internet Explorer 10 that runs on an ARM-based processor, the Daily Express reports.