Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

ITN will reveal its first-ever loss on Thursday as the new chief executive outlines austerity measures aimed at putting the organisation back into the black. John Hardie, who came into the job in June, will tell his 800 journalists and commercial staff that the organisation lost "a significant amount" in the first half of the year. People who have seen the accounts said the figure ran into low single-digit millions of pounds, says the FT.Legislation outlined by the Queen was slammed as "mad" and "spurious" by one boss and greeted with dismay in the City where company executives, traders and lawyers said the proposals would be hard to implement. Tim Linacre, chief executive of Panmure Gordon, told the Reuters Global Finance Summit yesterday: "The fiscal regime for wealth creators in the UK is looking particularly shoddy - that does worry people and will be damaging," reports the Telegraph.Legal & General, the life and pensions group, has identified its preferred candidate to become chairman and hopes to make an appointment within days. It is about a year since Sir Rob Margetts said he wanted to retire after almost 10 years in the job. The hunt for a replacement has not been quick or easy, writes the FT.Archie Norman, the former chief executive of Asda who on Wednesday emerged as ITV's new chairman, considered making a bid for the commercial broadcaster about 18 months ago. Norman looked at ITV as a potential investment through Aurigo Management Partners, his investment vehicle. "Way back there was a fleeting moment of interest but it never progressed," he told the Telegraph.Société Générale has advised clients to be ready for a possible "global economic collapse" over the next two years, mapping a strategy of defensive investments to avoid wealth destruction, according to the Telegraph.Lloyds Banking Group will put 600 branches and its Cheltenham & Gloucester and TSB brands up for sale after the European Commission gave its approval to its state-aid settlement, says the Times.JPMorgan will on Thursday unveil a £1bn deal to buy Cazenove, the UK broker with which it has had a joint venture for the past five years. The bank is to pay about 535p a share in a deal in which David Mayhew, widely recognised as one of the City's best-connected corporate advisers, will retain the title of chairman of the Cazenove brand, reports the FT.Barack Obama has warned that the US economy could head into a "double-dip recession" unless urgent steps were taken to rein back America's mounting levels of public debt, writes the Times.Marks & Spencer cheered investors by hiring Marc Bolland, the chief executive of Morrisons, to take over from Sir Stuart Rose, delivering the type of heavyweight appointment that the City had been clamouring for, according to the Independent.The billionaire Tchenguiz brothers have been ordered to pay their brother-in-law an additional £100,000 towards his legal costs after failing to meet a previous court order, says the Times.