Proposals for sweeping reforms to Britain's banks have reignited speculation that some big lenders may move their operations abroad. HSBC and Barclays have been given an incentive to shift all or part of their businesses overseas after the recommendations in Sir John Vickers' report on banking, analysts said yesterday, the Times reports.News Corporation's succession plan could be ruined after a group of shareholders launched legal action against the media giant's directors for alleged wrongdoing at two US subsidiaries while James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer, and Chase Carey, chief operating officer, sat on the offshoots' boards. The shareholders - Amalgamated Bank, New Orleans Employees' Retirement System and the Central Laborers Pension Fund - had already filed a claim in Delaware Chancery Court against News Corp's board for allowing "rampant nepotism" at the company, the Telegraph writes.Intel has announced an alliance with Google for Android-based smartphones and tablets to be optimised for Intel's chips, highlighting the fracturing of the US chipmaker's decades-long relationship with Microsoft that spurred the adoption of the personal computer. The announcement came at the same time as Microsoft unveiled its Windows 8 operating system, stressing it would work with processors based on designs of the UK's Arm for the first time, as well as those of Intel, the Financial Times writes.Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is in "very intensive discussions" with a leading Chinese car maker and government officials about forming a joint venture to produce its luxury cars in China. A deal with a Chinese company would mark a historic moment for the British car maker, with Jaguars and Land Rovers being produced outside its traditional Midlands base, according to the Telegraph.The Chancellor has been accused of undermining public trust in government statistics by refusing to change rules that allow ministers and their advisers to see key economic data a day before its general release. In a strongly worded letter to George Osborne, Sir Michael Scholar, the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, said the practice was out of step with other countries, increased voters' fears that official figures were subject to spin and opened the door to leaks - accidental and intentional, the Independent reports. The private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group is edging closer to a sale of American Golf, the UK's biggest golf specialist, for up to £80m. Lloyds Development Capital (LDC) hired Rothschild to run a sale process and it remains in talks with up to four bidders, despite the corporate finance advisers setting a deadline of 30 August for final bids, says the Independent.Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy will hold crisis talks with the Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, on Wednesday in an attempt to defuse the eurozone's escalating debt crisis. With President Barack Obama putting pressure on Europe's politicians to show the necessary leadership to prevent a Greek debt default triggering a market meltdown, the German chancellor and the French president will on Wednesday insist that Athens stick to its tough deficit-reduction programme, the Guardian says.Greedy insurance companies are being probed over accusations they betray their customers by illegally selling on their personal information, Daily Mail can reveal. The data protection watchdog is investigating allegations that insurance call-centre staff are pocketing extra cash by selling on customer details to personal injury lawyers, the paper says.
Last checked at 
