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The London Stock Exchange is considering buying a stake in Istanbul's fast-growing stock market as part of a deal that could see Turkish trades settled in the City. Borsa Istanbul has been seeking an international partner to overhaul its technology and improve the market's access to foreign investors for several months. The LSE's proposal would see Borsa Istanbul start to clear its trades through LCH Clearnet, the financial plumbing system now majority-controlled by the LSE. The Turkish exchange would also use the LSE's Millennium Exchange software, The Sunday Times reports.A Canadian-led consortium targeting Severn Trent is set to raise its £5bn offer for the water company after an initial approach was rebuffed last week. It has until June 11th to submit a fresh bid under UK takeover rules, giving it time to see full-year results from Severn and the rest of the industry before deciding on a new figure. The consortium, led by Canada's Borealis Infrastructure pension fund, includes Kuwait's Investment Office and Britain's Universities Superannuation Scheme, says The Financial Mail on Sunday.David Cameron, UK prime minister, has been accused of "losing control" of his Conservative party, amid growing acrimony over his policy on Europe, gay marriage and his general leadership style. With two years remaining until the next British election, Mr Cameron's party has reopened its old divisions over Europe which have helped to destroy previous prime ministers including Margaret Thatcher and John Major, The Financial Times writes. Energy bills are rising so steeply that they could overtake mortgage repayments in parts of Britain in just five years' time, the Chief Executive of supplier, First Utility, has claimed. Ian McCaig issued the stark warning as he said energy policies must be reviewed to minimise the impact on bills and said consumers should think about turning down their heating to reduce costs. Critics have said that the Government's environmental policies on wind farms and energy efficiency schemes, for example, are adding unnecessarily to the cost of bills, according to The Sunday Telegraph.Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has defended his company's financial affairs after a Commons committee branded the internet giant devious and unethical for sheltering its multi billion-pound profits from UK taxes. Writing in the Observer, Schmidt said his company's accounts were complicated but complied with international taxation treaties that allowed it to pay most of its tax in the United States.The Sunday Telegraph understands that the leading City figure and Chairman of Centrica is favoured by BAE Systems board's nominations committee and Nick Rose, the senior independent director leading the search for a replacement for the present Chairman, Dick Olver. Although a final decision has not been made, it is believed that Sir Roger, one of the City's best-known figures and the outgoing president of the CBI, will be formally appointed within weeks.Royal Mail is set to unveil bumper annual profits this week paving the way for a blockbuster £3bn privatisation. The state-owned delivery service will post full-year earnings of between £300m to £400m, driven by the boom in online shopping. The strong performance could see it almost double the £211m it made in operating profits last year. The government will now seek to cash in on the turnaround by pressing ahead with a privatisation this year. Ministers are also plotting a sale of the state's one-third stake in Urenco, the world's second-biggest provider of nuclear fuel. A sale could value the company at £10bn-£12bn, says The Sunday Times.A team from the world's economic watchdog arrived in London earlier this month for an annual health check of the nation's finances. The visit is seen as the most politically significant from the IMF since 1976 when a Labour government presented itself "cap-in-hand" and sought a bailout. As it forms its view, the delegation has been meeting officials from the Treasury, the Bank of England, the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Chancellor. It could report its initial findings as early as the middle of this week, The Sunday Express reports.Monetarists across the world have warned that the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements are making an historic error by calling for a withdrawal of emergency stimulus before the global economy has fully recovered. The two watchdogs launched broadsides against central bank largess last week. The BIS - the forum of central banks - was particularly blunt, seeming to imply that quantitative easing "does not work", The Sunday Telegraph says. Top 15 Vodafone shareholders contacted by The Sunday Telegraph urged Mr Colao to end the uncertainty over Verizon's bid, which has been in the works since at least January, the newspaper claims. Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless is valued at almost £90bn. "If there is a deal to be done, which it seems increasingly likely that there is, why not just get on with it and focus on the business in hand, rather than this constant distraction," said one, who asked not to be identified.Marks & Spencer is set to report its biggest drop in full-year profits for five years this week as poor clothing sales hit the balance sheet.The forecast of a £48m fall in underlying pre-tax profits to £658m caps seven consecutive quarters of negative UK like-for-like general merchandise sales, which include clothing, according to City analysts. Last week underfire Chief Executive Marc Bolland unveiled a new Autumn/Winter 2013 clothing collection aimed at reinvigorating the high street favourite's fashion fortunes, with a focus on flagging ladies wear sales, The Sunday Express reports.AB