Friday newspaper round-up: Bank tax, Goldman Sachs, Tesco

Some of London's best paid investment bankers may be exempt from Alistair Darling's bonus tax because the advisory businesses they work for may not count as banks. Investment banking boutiques, such as Lazard, NM Rothschild, Greenhill and Perella Weinberg, are expected to claim that they are not technically banks because they do not take deposits, lend money or trade, the Telegraph reports.Thirty of Goldman Sachs' highest-paid bankers will not receive a cash bonus this year as the embattled investment bank attempts to fall into line with public and political opinion. The bank's 30-strong management committee, led by chief executive Lloyd Blankfein who was paid $68.5m (£42m) in cash and shares in 2007, will instead receive their bonuses in shares which cannot be sold for five years. The group includes Goldman's highest paid bankers in London, including vice-chairman Michael Sherwood, the Telegraph reports.Gilt futures plunged yesterday over concern about the Chancellor's fiscal plans, as a leading think-tank warned that the UK's debt could remain high for "a generation". Treasury gilts rose on Wednesday after investors reacted favourably to a largely unchanged forecast for gilt issuance in the Pre-Budget Report. But as the small print of the report revealed little detail about how the Government intended to cut borrowing, investor sentiment turned amid mounting concern that the country's AAA credit rating could be downgraded, the Times reports. James Lawrence, who failed last year to win the chief executive's job at Unilever, yesterday resigned as chief financial officer of the Anglo-Dutch giant. The company insisted there had been no boardroom disagreement or strategic argument. Mr Lawrence, 57, an American, joined Unilever in September 2007. After losing the top job to Paul Polman, he has now decided that his future lies elsewhere, the Times reports. An American jet engine manufacturer has flown to the rescue of Clipper Wind Power in a £126 million deal that is set to secure the future of one of the UK's most promising renewable energy companies. United Technologies is to provide the cash injection in exchange for a 49.5% equity stake in Clipper, an AIM-listed wind turbine manufacturer whose sales are mostly in the US, the Times reports.Official figures have for the first time quantified the extent of the wealth gap in the country - the least well-off half of households own just 9 % of the wealth - and shown that many households were poorly placed to endure the recession. The Office for National Statistics survey, released on Thursday, shows that household wealth, estimated at £9,000bn, is dominated by pensions and property assets, each accounting for two-fifths of the total. The other components, financial wealth and physical wealth - such as cars and antiques - each accounted for one-ninth of the total, the FT reports.The Independent adds that recession-hit Britons may feel poorer after this week's pre-Budget report, but their total domestic wealth still stands at £9trn, more than enough to dwarf their £1.45trn of outstanding debts. A report produced for the first time by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has totted up the total net wealth of UK households, including money held in private pension plans but excluding both state pensions and any business assets owned by family members.The music and video games retailer HMV last night bought an 8.2% stake in Mama, the live music and management group which runs venues including London's Hammersmith Apollo, Jazz Café and Heaven. The announcement increased speculation that HMV could launch a full bid for Mama, after saying earlier in the day that it was "considering its position" in relation to the company, the Independent reports.Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket, is set to shake-up the iPhone market in the UK by offering 12-month contracts when it starts selling the popular consumer gadget next week. Deals to be offered by Tesco Mobile, the supermarket group's joint venture with O2, will include a monthly tarriff of £20, a third lower than competitors, on a 12-month basis, excluding the price of the phone, the FT reports.Lloyds Banking Group has used the 'pre-pack' administration process to restructure one of the largest private property developers in south-east England as it continues to work through the legacy of the former HBOS problem loan book.The bank will become a major shareholder through swapping its debt for equity in a new company created to cherry-pick and develop some of the best schemes owned by Ashwell Property Group, including a 1.7m sq ft development next to Cambridge train station, the FT reports.