Friday newspaper round-up: LSE, central banks, BP

The London Stock Exchange has re-opened talks to buy the Anglo-French clearing house LCH Clearnet in an attempt to protect itself against predators. The exchange, which was forced to abandon a transatlantic takeover of Toronto's TMX in June, has made a non-binding offer to buy a majority stake in LCH that could value the clearing house at as much as €1bn, says the Times.A key warning signal of global financial stress has shot above the extreme levels seen at the height of the Lehman crisis in 2008. Central banks and official bodies have parked record sums of dollars at the US Federal Reserve for safe-keeping, indicating a clear loss of trust in commercial banks, the Telegraph reports.Raids on BP's Russian offices advanced for a second day, as bailiffs searched for papers containing references to the company's failed £10bn deal with state oil giant Rosneft. The searches were launched by about 15 black-clad bailiffs on Wednesday, after minority shareholders in TNK-BP, the UK's company joint-venture in Russia, obtained a court order in legal action against the oil major, according to the Telegraph.China is emerging as the dominant force in the manufacture of solar panels in a world desperate for renewable sources of energy, as collapsing prices and disillusion over government subsidies has hobbled US efforts to take a lead in the development of the new industry. Prices of solar panels have fallen by more than 40% in the past year, as a result of increased manufacturing capacity and disappointing demand, and the US was reeling yesterday from news that taxpayers may have lost more than half-a-billion dollars on one solar energy firm that shut its doors this week, says the Independent. All but a handful of Britain's biggest companies have missed this week's deadline to set out their plans to put more women on their boards, according to research by a leading law firm. Only eight companies in the FTSE 100 have announced how they aim to meet the target of 25% women directors set down by Lord Davies of Abersoch in February, a study by Pinsent Masons has shown, the Times says.Foster's chief executive John Pollaers has characterised SABMiller's A$9.5bn hostile bid as a "slow seduction", while putting the ball firmly back in the court of the UK-listed brewer. Mr Pollaers' comments come as SABMiller is putting the finishing touches to a formal bid, which will be put directly to the Australian brewer's 150,000 shareholders within the next fortnight, the Financial Times reports.Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays, is to hold talks with chancellor George Osborne on Friday as bankers mount a last-ditch effort to delay implementation of banking reforms. The independent banking commission led by Sir John Vickers is expected to recommend within a fortnight that banks split their retail operations from more risky investment banking activities, the Guardian reports.EDF Energy received a 19% increase in complaints in the last three months, making it the worst rated energy firm, according to an industry league table. The gas and electricity supplier was the only firm to see an increase in the number of complaints in the months from April to June 2011, compared to the previous three months, according to watchdog Consumer Focus, the Daily Mail reports.---RG