Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Passengers at two of Europe's largest airlines face a fresh wave of disruption lasting well into next month.Cabin crew at British Airways are ready to go on strike for four days from Saturday, having finished a three-day strike on Monday, while pilots at Lufthansa announced they would resume industrial action from April 13 in one of the most acrimonious disputes Germany has seen in recent years, the FT reports.Babcock International will unveil plans today to turn itself into a £2.5bn powerhouse in the defence services industry with VT Group set to capitulate to a £1.3 bn takeover. It is understood that VT will recommend an offer from Babcock valuing its shares at 735p. The deal follows seven weeks of attempts by Babcock to persuade VT's board to accept its bid, the Times reports.The world's oil reserves have been exaggerated by up to a third, according to Sir David King, the Government's former chief scientist, who has warned of shortages and price spikes within years. The scientist and researchers from Oxford University argue that official figures are inflated because member countries of the oil cartel, OPEC, over-reported reserves in the 1980s when competing for global market share, the Telegraph reports.Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group will agree to lend up to £100bn to customers this year in a new deal with the Government to help businesses and individuals survive the recession.The commitment, which will be unveiled with the Budget tomorrow, is an attempt by the banks and the Treasury to appease public anger that lenders bailed out by taxpayers have not helped small businesses through the economic downturn, the Times reports.The head of the Lloyds Banking Group remuneration committee is to step down after agreeing a controversial £2.3m bonus for Eric Daniels, the chief executive. Wolfgang Berndt will retire at Lloyds' annual meeting on May 6. The move was widely seen last night as an attempt by Mr Berndt to defuse a shareholder row over Mr Daniels' controversial bonus, the Times reports.Alistair Darling will on Wednesday announce punitive fines for taxpayers who hide money offshore in a Budget crackdown designed to protect at least £1bn of revenue under threat from evasion schemes, according to government officials. The chancellor is expected to unveil plans to double the maximum penalty for offshore evaders to 200% of the tax owed, under a series of measures that extends further a £5bn assault on tax evasion and avoidance announced in December's pre-Budget report, the FT reports.Time Warner will bid $1.5bn (£993m) in what is expected to be an all-cash offer for the assets of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, owner of the James Bond film franchise. The owner of CNN and Time Inc magazine group controls Hollywood's largest film library and is seen as placed to generate strong returns from MGM's assets through its distribution network and relationships with pay TV companies, the FT reports.Hopes that Britain could become the hub of a global green motoring revolution were boosted yesterday when Vauxhall indicated that its Ellesmere Port plant could become the home of the new electric Ampera. The Merseyside factory is expected to go to a third shift this year when production begins ? months earlier than expected ? of the new Vauxhall Astra estate, the Times reports.General Motors is close to reaching a joint-venture agreement that will keep its van plant at Luton open beyond 2013, the company's European boss has revealed. Luton is operated through a partnership between GM Europe and Renault until 2013, but its future beyond that has looked bleak since GM crashed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US last year and began a major restructuring of its European operations, the Telegraph reports.The "enormous" fees paid to investment banks for advising companies on deals might be skewing the outcome of takeovers, the UK's leading group of institutional shareholders has warned. The Association of British Insurers said companies and regulators needed to take a close look at the advisory arrangements. The fees were a "deadweight cost" on shareholders that could swallow a significant part of savings derived from mergers and acquisitions, the FT reports.