HSBC Holdings Share News (HSBA)

The whistleblower who alerted Tesco to its accounting problem tried to do so before but was ignored, the Sunday Times reported. The accountant, reporting to Tesco's UK Finance Director, Carl Rogberg, raised concerns with superiors during ex-chief executive Philip Clarke's time in charge but "failed to get traction", the paper said. Turmoil for grocers will hit Sainsbury's this week. The company is expected to say like-for-like sales fell 4% in the summer months and some analysts think the dividend could be cut and that Sainsbury's might launch a rights issue.The investigation into Tesco's £250m overstatement of expected profit is looking at the company's culture and whether managers were pressured into improper behaviour, the Sunday Telegraph reported. A source told the paper there were fears of a "corruption of virtues" that made people "go over lines that basic values suggest they shouldn't have".Fears are mounting that Tesco could be forced to restate last year's results, the Mail on Sunday reported. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Mike Dennis told the paper: "The key question they will have to answer is whether this practice goes back into last year or even before previous chief executive Phil Clarke took over." New chief executive Dave Lewis has ordered staff not to shred or delete documents as lawyers and accountants investigate its accounting practices.Dave Lewis, Tesco's chief executive, will meet big investors this week to reassure them he is doing everything possible to get the company back on track, the Sunday Express reported. The paper also said that Sports Direct would meet Tesco management soon after buying an option on Tesco shares and saying it wanted to strengthen links between the retailers.Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC are expected to pay a total of£14bn in fines to settle investigations into their actions before the financial crisis, the Sunday Times said. RBS will pay £6.3bn over the next two years, Barclays will pay £4.6bn and HSBC will be landed with £3bn, the paper said, citing Bank of America analysts. The three banks will have to pay about £1.5bn to the Financial Conduct Authority to settle allegations of foreign exchange market rigging and could be charged billions in other markets.International Airlines Group is close to paying its first dividend since it was formed in 2011 by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, the Sunday Telegraph said. The company is expected to set out a road map to the shareholder payout at an investor day on November 7th.Greene King is considering making an improved £700m offer for Spirit, the Sunday Times said. The brewer and pub operator made an all share offer for the Chef & Brewer owner last month valued at £661m but it was rejected. City sources told the paper Greene King was likely to increase its offer before the deadline of 21 October. Investors are nervous about Greene King overpaying. One told the paper 110p a share was the highest it should go, valuing Spirit at £727m.Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of Ineos, the chemicals giant, has proposed giving billions of pounds to landowners and communities affected by fracking in an attempt to bring the industry to life in the UK, the Sunday Times said. He has pledged to give away 6% of revenue from oil and gas wells - 4% to landowners and 2% to communities - and estimates the total could be £2.5bn. He told the paper "Shale gas won't be successful in the UK unless people see there is some upside or benefit. If they see that, then at least they may seek facts rather than listen to the rhetoric."Pearson and Apple have been dropped from a $1bn project for digital textbooks in the US after the companies were found to have contacted officials during the tender process, the Sunday Telegraph said. The companies won the contracts to supply textbooks on iPads to about 40,000 students in Los Angeles last summer but the Los Angeles Unified School District decided their contact with officials could create a conflict of interest though no wrongdoing is alleged. They can bid in a new tender process though there is no date for its launch.Changes to the way economic output is calculated are expected to show the UK recovery is stronger than previously thought, the Sunday Times reported. The numbers will show Britain bettered its pre-crisis economic peak last year and not in the second quarter of this year. Productivity will be shown to be slightly better than thought. Updating the figures to a European standard includes a different treatment of research and development spending, weapons and pension liabilities.The Chairman of Electra, the private equity firm, has said an activist investor's claim to be able to generate £1bn of value at the company is not credible. Roger Yates is trying to gather support to thwart Sherborne Investors' demand to install two directors on Electra's board. Yates told the Sunday Times: "To generate £1bn of value [Sherborne] would have to take out so much cost it would not be credible. It would castrate the growth prospects of the companies we invest in."Bob Mackenzie, the Executive Chairman of the AA, wants to turn the AA back into a members' club and making it easier for members to call out a breakdown patrol, he told the Sunday Times. "We want to go back to being a club for the benefit of the membership rather than flogging them breakdown products," he said. This will include offering discounts and deals at the hundreds of hotels and restaurants rated by the AA and investing in databases and computer systems.Sir Richard Branson is expected to announce the £2bn flotation of Virgin Money this week, according to the Sunday Times. Branson and Wilbur Ross, the bank's two big shareholders, hope to tap investors' growing appetite for challenger banks. Virgin Money bought the remains of Northern Rock from the UK Government in late 2011.Anglian Home Improvements has hired investment bankers to work on a £150m stock market flotation, the Sunday Times said. The banks that took control of Anglian during the financial crisis have asked Rothschild and Numis to advised on a float or sale early in 2015.Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. 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