Friday newspaper round-up: Cameron, Lloyds, LSE

Natural gas will eclipse coal as the world's second-biggest source of energy in just over ten years, according to ExxonMobil's latest annual survey. Global demand for natural gas will soar by 60% between now and 2040, a rate of growth that will see it steal the number two spot from coal in 2025, the US energy company said. Oil will remain the biggest source of energy by 2040. The wide-ranging survey of the market expects global consumption to climb 32% by 2040 as the world's population heads from 7bn to 9bn. However, the role China has had in driving demand will ease by about 2030 as its population growth slows and the infrastructure within the country requires less investment, The Telegraph reports. The European Union fractured today at a rancorous summit when 23 countries signed up to a new euro-plus group with Britain on the outside after David Cameron wielded his veto. Britain was left in a rump group including Hungary, Sweden and the Czech Republic as France and Germany led the rest into a more powerful inner core heralding the most far-reaching shake-up of the EU for decades. The split was sparked when EU leaders, let by President Sarkozy of France, called Mr Cameron's bluff over his demands for special safeguards for the City of London as the leaders tried to restore the credibility of the euro, The Times says. António Horta-Osório is effectively being forced to reapply for his job as chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group after being signed off with stress just months into his role at the taxpayer-backed bank. The Portuguese banker, who has been diagnosed with exhaustion brought on by overwork, is understood to be determined to go back to the bank as soon as possible. However, as part of a process being co-ordinated by Sir Win Bischoff, the Lloyds chairman, the bank has hired an independent medical expert to assess Mr Horta-Osório's fitness. The unnamed medical expert, understood to be a leading practitioner, has had access to his medical advisers and to patient records covering the past 15 years, according to The Times. The high street has suffered another blow after shoe shop chain Barratts Priceless Group collapsed for the second time in less than three years, putting close to 4,000 jobs at risk. Deloitte was on Thursday appointed as administrator to the company following a period of poor trading. Barratts' directors are understood to have taken the final decision to put the company into administration as it became apparent they would have trouble paying December's quarterly rent bill. The retailer operates from 191 stores - via the Barratts and Priceless Shoes brands - and 371 concessions. Deloitte said it would continue to trade the shops while it sought a buyer for all or part of the business, according to The Telegraph.The London Stock Exchange said wider engagement between companies and investors would help improve trust within the market. It added that companies looking to list their shares in London should also aim to appoint the smallest number of banks as advisors as possible, unless there is a specific practical reason to appoint more. (...) In a research paper, the LSE stopped short of recommending that the Government acts to withhold a portion of banks' fees until months or even years after a flotation is completed. Some argue this would allow stockholders to measure how successful an initial public offering (IPO) has been. However, the LSE said it would have damaging implications for the health of London's market, The Telegraph reports. AB