Friday newspaper round-up: HSBC, BP, Lib Dems on banks

The US Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to force HSBC to reveal the names of thousands of the bank's wealthy clients who are suspected of tax evasion in the US. The request is the strongest sign yet that US authorities have broadened their scrutiny of potential tax dodgers beyond the traditional havens of Switzerland and a few small Caribbean countries, reports the Financial Times.BP and its four Russian billionaire partners will hold a board meeting of their joint venture, TNK-BP, in an attempt to break the deadlock over a bitter dispute. The two sides have been fighting over BP's attempt to swap £5bn of shares and explore the Arctic with Rosneft, the Kremlin backed oil company that is a rival of TNK-BP, according to the Daily Telegraph.Nick Clegg and Vince Cable will demand major reforms of the banks as the Liberal Democrats flex their muscles and adopt a more "arms length" policy from the Conservatives. After tensions between Liberal Democrat and Tory ministers over the proposed NHS reorganisation and next month's referendum on the voting system, the structure of the banks could be the next battleground between the Coalition Government partners, writes the Independent.Luxury and specialist brands such as Victoria's Secret enjoyed an uptick in US retail spending in March, while middle-market retailers led by Gap suffered as consumers grew in confidence but shopped selectively, the Financial Times reports. Luxury department stores also reported strong figures, with sales up 11.1% at Saks and 8.8% higher at Neiman Marcus. Sales at Nordstrom, an upmarket fashion store, rose 5.1%.Retail chain WHSmith will soon offer silks alongside Silk Cut when it launches a legal advice service in hundreds of its shops. The retailer has teamed up with a company called QualitySolicitors, which will open "legal access points" in its stores, reports the Daily Telegraph.A group of top Rothschild investment bankers are suing the Swiss banking giant UBS for losses of £1.25m they suffered from a "highly aggressive tax avoidance" plan that went wrong. UBS and the financial adviser ProAct are being sued by Rothschild's deputy chairman, Anthony Alt; the head of UK global financial advisory, Robert Leitato; and joint global investment banking head, Nigel Higgins, the Independent writes.Barclays Capital is hoping to entice potential bidders for Richard Desmond's four national newspapers with a prediction that their profits will almost double over the next two years. The bank has put together a brief, two-page presentation in an effort to test out what sort of valuation the entrepreneur's Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday titles might fetch, a copy of which has been seen by the Guardian.Nissan will halt production at its Sunderland plant for three days as the Japanese carmarker joins its compatriots Honda and Toyota in reducing its British operations in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake, reports the Guardian.The Government announced that the national minimum wage is to increase by 15p an hour to £6.08 in October, benefiting almost a million workers. Ministers said they had accepted recommendations from the Low Pay Commission, giving a new adult rate of £6.08, while the statutory wage for 18-20-year-olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour, the Daily Mail reports.THE European Central Bank yesterday hiking interest rates for the first time since 2008 is expected to pile pressure on the Bank of England, which held the UK rate at 0.5%. Cebr analysts said the move could pave the way for a 0.25 per cent hike in UK interest rates next month, although others said the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee was right to hold until it was more certain of economic recovery in the face of Government spending cuts, the Daily Express reports.