Johnston Press PLC Share News (JPR)

LONDON, Mar 2 (Reuters) - British newspapers reported thefollowing business stories on Sunday. Reuters has notindependently verified these media reports and does not vouchfor their accuracy. The Sunday Times RBS DRAWS UP RESCUE PLAN FOR AILING IRISH ARMRoyal Bank of Scotland is working on a radical plan tosalvage its troubled Irish business by merging it with a numberof rivals. A team inside RBS is looking at tie-ups betweenUlster Bank and other lenders, such as Permanent TSB orthe Irish subsidiaries of Danske Bank or KBC Group.STANDARD CHARTERED JOINS RUSH TO DODGE BONUS CAPStandard Chartered will this week become the latestbank to reveal plans to dodge a European cap on bonuses by usinga loophole. Standard Chartered is expected to reveal that itplans to use a new system of "allowances" to get round the bonuscap.CHINESE CAR GIANT GOBBLES UP MIDLANDS ELECTRIC VAN MAKERChina has grabbed another slice of the West's automotiveindustry with the acquisition of a promising British electricvehicle company. China's Geely has bought Emerald Automotive, adeveloper of lightweight hybrid electric vans, as part of a 120million pounds ($201 million) expansion into green vehicles.CAMELOT TOOK 75 MLN STG FROM GOOD CAUSES TO FUND PRIZESCamelot took 75 million pounds from the National Lottery's fundfor good causes to help pay for the re-launch of the game lastyear, when ticket prices were doubled.AIRBUS WEIGHS NEW ROLLS-ROYCE ENGINES FOR SUPERJUMBOAirbus is exploring the possibility of fitting newengines to its A330 airliners and A380 superjumbos as demandgrows for planes that are cheaper to run.NPOWER'S OWNER SET FOR 4 BLN STG HITThe German owner of Npower is set to write off hundreds ofmillions of pounds on the value of its British power plants inthe latest sign of a deepening crisis among the big six energysuppliers. RWE will reveal the British loss as part ofan expected 4 billion pounds writedown of the value of its fleetof power stations.LAND ROVER ROARS INTO SAUDI ARABIAJaguar Land Rover is to pump 100 million pounds into anew factory in Saudi Arabia that will make 100,000 cars a yearto meet booming demand in the Middle East.GOLDMAN EYES SUB-PRIME LENDERGoldman Sachs is leading a pack of bidders forKensington, the sub-prime mortgage lender put up for sale byInvestec. Challenger banks including Virgin Money and Metro Bankare also believed to be looking at a takeover, along with thebuy-to-let mortgage specialist Paragon.CHANGE OF HELM AT SAIL MAKEROne of the world's top sail makers has been sold in a dealvaluing it at $130 million including debt. Oakley Capital has brought a majority stake in North Technology Group,the owner of U.S.-based North Sails.The Sunday TelegraphRBS: FREE BANKING COULD ENDThe end of free banking for customers is probably only a matterof time, with direct charges for current accounts almostinevitable, the chief executive of RBS tells the SundayTelegraph in an interview. McEwan warned that the end offree-if-in-credit banking was coming as it would lead to greatertransparency about how banks funded themselves. He made clear,though, he had no plans to begin phasing out free accounts atthe moment.ELECTRONICS RETAILER MAPLIN UP FOR SALEMaplin, the UK's largest specialist electronics retailer, is upfor sale following a series of approaches to the business'sowner, Montagu Private Equity.DUBAI'S HEAD OF FINANCE REVEALS EMIRATES LISTING PLANDubai is considering listing some of its largest and mostvaluable state-controlled companies such as airline Emirates ina move that could raise billions of pounds in revenue.STANDARD CHARTERED PUSHED ON GROWTH FEARSInvestors in Standard Chartered want the emergingmarkets-focused bank to "put their capital position beyonddoubt". Major shareholders have told the Telegraph that the bankshould use this week's results to explain its capital positionin detail.JOHNSTON TO LAUNCH RIGHTS ISSUEJohnston Press, the newspaper group behind The Scotsmanand The Yorkshire Post, is to go to shareholders for funds as itattempts to cut its massive debt pile. Johnston Press is lookingto raise at least 75 million pounds in a rights issue to belaunched in the coming weeks.CHRISTMAS SUCCESS PUTS JOHN LEWIS IN LINE FOR 370 MLN POUNDPROFITThe John Lewis Partnership is set to reveal profitsof 370 million pounds this week after the business enjoyed oneof the most successful Christmas trading periods in its history.WIND FARM EARNINGS HIT BY PLANS TO FREEZE CARBON TAXWind farm owners across Britain will earn tens of millions ofpounds less than expected because of plans by the government tofreeze the carbon tax.ALLIANCE TRUST TO WARN OF INDEPENDENCE RISKAlliance Trust, the Dundee-based investment andsavings business, is poised to become the next public company towarn that Scottish independence poses a risk to its business.The Mail on SundayRBS SHATTERS HOPES OF WINDFALL FOR OSBORNEHopes that RBS would buy back a 'dividend access share' held bythe government this year have been dashed.