Sunday newspaper round-up: BP, Sainsbury, Premier Foods

BP will shed middle managers and put projects on hold as it deals with the falling price of oil, the Sunday Times reported. Finance Director Brian Gilvary told the paper headcounts were falling across all operations and that it would cut the estimated price of oil it uses for budgeting. Gilvary said the falling oil price would not affect long-term plans but that BP had room to scrap or delay some projects "whatever the number is".An activist fund is in talks with big overseas investors about a concerted buy-up of Sainsbury's shares, the Sunday Telegraph said. Crystal Amber is considering building its position in the supermarket group because it believes a group of activists could encourage a bid for Sainsbury's or prompt the company to sell a big part of its property holdings. A report by Crystal Amber calculates that cutting Sainsbury's ownership of property portfolio from 61% to 51% and increasing net debt to £2.7bn could allow up to £2.25bn to be paid out to shareholders.Premier Foods has backed down over its policy on supplier payments, according to the Sunday Times. Chief Executive Gavin Darby defended the company's "invest for growth" programme but said he was prepared to change how the food group seeks discounts from suppliers. Politicians and lobby groups have criticised Premier for asking suppliers for payments to keep their contracts. Darby said he was prepared to switch to a more traditional discount scheme if it made people more comfortable.The Qatar-led group bidding for Songbird Estates hopes to convince China's sovereign wealth fund to back its improved £2.6bn offer for the Canary Wharf owner, according to the Sunday Times. Songbird rejected the final bid, leaving the bidders needing to win over China Investment Corporation or Morgan Stanley, both of which are big shareholders in Songbird, to gain more than 50% support. Qatar owns almost 29% of Songbird.Petroceltic's biggest investor is suing the oil explorer and calling for the immediate resignation of Chief Executive Brian O'Cathain, the Sunday Times reported. Worldview Capital Management, an activist fund that owns 27% of Petroceltic, claims the company has not honoured commitments made to gain Worldview's support for a $100m rights issue. Worldview said Petroceltic failed to carry out a business review and to set out its strategy to shareholders at a capital markets day. O'Cathain said the review was complete and that a capital markets day was planned for January.The water regulator is expected to tell water companies to cut household bills because their borrowing costs have fallen faster than expected, the Mail on Sunday reported. Ofwat has already told companies to cut bills but its final decision, due on December 12th is likely to call for bigger reductions. Ofwat is expected to say it has monitored companies' borrowing costs closely and that it believes they can borrow cheaply because of continuing low interest rates.The Energy Secretary has said Shell and BP might be strong assets only over the "medium term" amid concerns about stranded fossil fuel assets. Ed Davey told the Sunday Telegraph he was concerned that coal, oil and gas companies could become the "sub-prime assets of the future". He was intervening in the debate about whether existing fossil fuel reserves are overvalued if most must be left unused to avoid the extreme effects of global warming.Big supermarkets could face years more of pain before they overcome structural problems in the sector, Sir Ian Cheshire told the Sunday Telegraph. The outgoing Chief Executive of Kingfisher said the large grocers faced a "much bigger problem coming down the track" as their big stores fall out of use. "If people's shopping patterns have fundamentally changed, then the existing model for 20% of the hypermarket game is probably gone. But it is not clear what goes into that space," Cheshire said.A group of seasoned retail executives is teaming up to launch the biggest fashion chain to hit the high street for more than a decade, the Mail on Sunday reported. Former Asda boss Andy Bond is leading the launch, codenamed Project 50. With £20m backing from South African mogul Christo Wiese, the chain will open 50 stores in two months selling affordable fashion to compete with supermarkets. The business will take advantage of low prices for retail space on secondary high streets that do not have a credible clothes shop catering for mothers and children.Rising bank overdraft charges are likely to spark concern at the competition regulator looking into the dominance of the big UK banks, the Sunday Telegraph said. Alex Chisholm, head of the Competition and Market Authority (CMA), said consumers pay £3bn a year in often baffling fees. He said there was no such thing as "free banking" and that the CMA's review was likely to look at overdraft fees.