Sunday newspaper round-up: ENRC, Marks&Spencer, Prudential

In a letter dated April 12th, and seen by The Sunday Times, law firm Dechert alleges that ENRC - the FTSE 100 listed copper miner - engaged in several inappropriate actions, including "payments to African presidents" and $35m of misappropriated cash. The company has denied those claims. Dechert was discharged from the internal investigation after what ENRC labelled "inappropriate communications" with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the "unprofessional" handling of the investigation, claims Dechert denies. The law firm was fired a week before it was to update the SFO on its findings regarding the acquisition of three African companies. The British company which makes software and control systems for industrial plants and home appliances, Invensys, is bracing for a possible fresh take-over bid from activist US investor Value Act Capital. The American fund´s stake in the company has shot up from below 3% just recently to over 8%. Nevertheless, it has yet to make its intentions known and it has not communicated with the company´s Board. It is thought that it may try to force through some asset disposals, according to The Sunday Times. Ernst&Young´s latest quarterly profit warnings report out today showed that UK quoted companies issued 72 profit warnings in the first quarter of this year as the slow growth and global uncertainty continued into 2013. That is one less warning than the year before. However, Keith McGregor, head of restructuring for Europe, Middle East and Africa, is cautiously optimistic on the outlook. He said: "(...) But conditions for the year ahead look set to ­improve, as seen by the rise in GDP for the first quarter of this year. Profit warnings should fall, if ­expectations remain in balance and the global economy avoids a repeat of recent setbacks," The Sunday Express explains.What some term as the "inevitable" may come one step closer to occurring this week at Vodafone. Its US joint-venture partner Verizon Communications is to hold a "crunch" meeting to consider a $100bn offer for Vodafone´s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. However, until now the Chief Executive of Verizon - Lowell McAdam - has only offered $100bn for that asset, well below the $120bn which Vodafone´s advisers at Goldman Sachs and UBS are holding out for an the $135bn Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao is reportedly asking for, The Sunday Times reports.In a strongly-worded letter, the International Banking Federation (IBF) - which counts the world´s largest banks amongst its members - has warned European finance ministers that the proposed levy on financial transactions will hit ordinary citizens and businesses of all sizes and from all sectors. Amongst its unintended effects, it may reduce tax receipts and make it harder for Europe's ailing economies to prop up their public finances with borrowing from financial markets. Thus, continues the IBF, in the end the costs of lower economic activity will outweigh any purported benefits, The Sunday Telegraph reports. Lloyd´s boss Antonio Horta-Osorio raised the prospect of a dividend ? which would be the first since its merger with HBOS at the height of the financial crisis in late 2008 ? as he set out the bank's strong position on lending. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, ahead of the bank's first-quarter results on Tuesday Mr Horta-Osorio gave the strongest suggestion to date that the bank could be about to begin to return capital to shareholders. He is also expected to reveal that the lender loans to UK businesses has increased for the first time since the global credit crisis.Marks & Spencer has considered buying fashion label Jaeger as a way to boost its fashion brands. Chief executive Marc Bolland looked at a bid last year when Jaeger ran into difficulty. It was snapped up by private equity group Better Capital for £20?m. Industry sources said they expect M&S to keep an eye on Jaeger as its new owner is likely to want to sell the chain eventually, The Financial Mail on Sunday reports.City investors are gearing up for the 2013 annual meeting season with Prudential and National Express likely to be in the line of fire over the next few weeks. Although a repeat of last year's bloody "shareholder spring" seems unlikely, experts have warned that excessive remuneration packages and "golden hellos" will still not be tolerated. Pirc, the shareholder advisory group, told The Independent on Sunday: " (...) However, shareholders need to keep up the pressure. It would be wrong for boardrooms to get the impression that everything has been fixed after one slightly tumultuous year," The Independent on Sunday writes.Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. 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