Thursday newspaper round-up: Ukraine, Co-op, Rolls Royce

Attempts to broker direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine´s foreign ministers made little headway in Paris on Wednesday, although the US Secretary of State and Russia´s Minister of Foreign Affairs are due to meet again on Thursday, in Rome. In parallel, the European Union announced that it would provide a 15bn dollar aid package for Kiev, while NATO stepped up air patrols over the Baltic region and decided on an increase in joint training exorcises between its 28 members, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe. The Co-Operative Group´s latest strategy update revealed it has decided that the best way to compete with Tesco and Sainsbury´s wider range is in the convenience store space. The country´s fifth largest grocer will now aim to double the number of its convenience stores from the current 2,000. That segment is currently worth £36bn a year and is forecast to grow by £10bn a year by 2019, The Daily Express reports. Rolls Royce´s power turbines unit has come under increased scrutiny after reports that its commercial ally in India, Hindustan Aeronautics, has 'blown the whistle' on correspondence allegedly showing that the firm made unauthorised payments to the Gas Authority of India between 2007 and 2011. In parallel, the company´s annual report revealed that its Chief received £1.2m in bonuses and perks last year while over 100 people in the senior leadership team will not get a rise in basic pay this year, The Times says. Royal Dutch Shell, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays all warned on Wednesday on how the heightened uncertainty would negatively affect their businesses through different channels should Scotland opt to break away. A spokesman for the Scottish government agreed with some of the arguments put forward by the companies, indicating how what really mattered was indeed economic competitiveness. Hence, the real risk for the oil and gas sector would come should the UK leave the European Union. On top of that, he pointed out how a recent Oil and Gas UK poll had shown that 70% of oil workers planned to vote for independence, The Daily Telegraph reports. Output of oil and gas from the North Sea has fallen by 38% over the last three years, just as 3.7 gigawatts of UK coal-fired generating capacity are set to shut down by 2015 due to new regulations on emissions. Hence, by 2020 Britain will rely on imports for 70% of its gas needs. "That is why it is vitally important we continue with an approach of developing a balanced energy mix including new nuclear, renewables and carbon capture and storage," the boss of Centrica, Sam Laidlaw, told the CERAweek energy conference yesterday, The Scotsman says. The Treasury Committee will question the Governor of the Bank of England and other senior officials regarding the recent suspension of an employee. Some observers have apparently insinuated that the central bank turned a blind eye to the fact that some traders were rigging the multi-trillion-dollar foreign exchange markets. While that individual´s name has not been revealed and Bank has said no evidence has been found that its staff were involved although a law firm will be brought in to investigate the matter further, according to The Times. AB