Sunday newspaper round-up: Royal Bank of Scotland, Serco, BHP Billiton...

Royal Bank of Scotland is poised to reignite the row over banker pay by hiring a City dealmaker who sued his last employer for refusing to pay him a bonus.A new hiring spree in the group's controversial investment bank has led to the appointment of John McIntyre, the former head of global strategic advisory at Dresdner Kleinwort, as RBS's head of corporate finance. McIntyre is a folk hero among City bankers thanks to his decision to launch a High Court action to secure his bonus ? in spite of the political furore over banker pay ? winning close to £2m, the Sunday Times reports.Serco is to be ordered to explain to the Government why it took the highly unusual step of writing to all its suppliers to demand that they pay a blanket 2.5% "cash rebate" on their work this year or risk losing future contracts. Serco, a £3bn company that runs prisons, nuclear facilities, schools and ports for the Government, said that it was making the demand so that it can meet Government requests for multi-million pound savings, the Sunday Telegraph reports.The FTSE has set tough new rules for foreign companies planning to list on its major indices, which will change the structures of a swathe of London flotations next year. The move will help ensure that overseas companies that principally trade shares in the London market "play by the rules" of the UK and so protect City investors, according to leading bankers. In order to qualify for inclusion in the prestigious FTSE 100, 250 and SmallCap indices, foreign companies will now have to sell at least 50 per cent of their shares in London. Previously, they only had to issue shares to the value of one-quarter of the firm, the Sunday Independent reports.The owner of the nationwide DIY chain Focus has called in investment bankers to look for radical ways to revive the fortunes of the heavily indebted business - a move that could lead to a sale. US private equity firm Cerberus is understood to be taking advice from Lazard on the future of Focus, which struggled through the recession. The UK's fourth largest DIY chain last changed hands, for £1, three years ago, the Observer reports.BHP Billiton is preparing to sweeten its $39bn (£24bn) hostile bid for Potash Corporation, the world's biggest fertiliser company, ahead of a key decision this week by the Canadian government. Ottawa has until Wednesday to decide whether the deal is of "net benefit" to Canada. Sources said this weekend that the government has indicated to BHP that it will approve the blockbuster deal despite opposition from provincial authorities. The green light will open the way for Marius Kloppers, BHP's chief executive, to increase the initial $130 a share offer price, the Sunday Times reports.Marks & Spencer is plotting an audacious return to retailing on mainland Europe by buying back the shops that it controversially sold almost 10 years ago. In an bold plan to kick-start its international growth, M&S has approached European retailers about re-acquiring some of the properties that it exited in 2001 when it closed its entire Continental chain. The retailer is understood to have made overtures to Spanish chain El Corte Inglés about taking back some of the nine shops that it sold to the retailer, the Sunday Telegaph reports. Almost three million homeowners would struggle to pay their mortgage if interest rates rose by just 2 percentage points, according to new industry figures seen by The Sunday Telegraph. This equates to more than one in three (37%) of all mortgage holders. Even if rates rose by less than 2 points, an estimated 1.6 million mortgages would be deemed "unaffordable", according to guidelines set out by the Financial Services Authority, the Sunday Telegraph reports.The US Federal Reserve is poised to start printing money again to kickstart America's economic recovery. Ben Bernanke, the Fed's chairman, is expected to announce a further $500bn (£310bn) of quantitative easing on Wednesday. This follows a $1.7trn scheme launched during the recession. However, the Bank of England is planning to hold fire amid signs that Britain's recovery is taking shape, the Sunday Times reports.Norway's sovereign wealth fund is poised to buy a chunk of London's Regent Street in a deal that will value the shopping district at £1.6bn. The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, run by the investment arm of Norges Bank, has been selected as the Crown Estate's preferred bidder from a shortlist of four candidates. If final talks are successful, Norges will pay about £400m for a quarter share in a new 150-year leasehold for the street, with the Crown Estate keeping control of the freehold. An announcement is expected by the end of November, the Sunday Times reports.BT is poised to reduce its huge pension deficit by up to a third thanks to government rules that change the way that future liabilities of retirement schemes are measured. Advisers believe the telecoms giant could benefit from a reduction of up to £3bn, which could cut pension payments and instead drive up shareholder dividends. BT is expected to deliver its verdict shortly on plans to begin using the consumer prices index to calculate future pension commitments instead of the retail prices index, which grows faster because it includes housing costs, the Sunday Times reports.SSL International, the manufacturer of Durex condoms, will reach the end of the road as an independent company this week, sparking anxiety among employees, who have been told to reapply for their jobs as part of a £2.5bn takeover by healthcare conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser. Reckitt, led by Britain's highest-paid corporate chief, Bart Becht, is expected to assume ownership of SSL on Monday, and intends to make cuts in sales, IT, marketing, human resources and finance, as it seeks £100m in annual savings by 2012, the Observer reports.