Tuesday newspaper round-up: Ukraine, AstraZeneca, Bank of England

Heavy fighting erupted Monday around a pro-Russian separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine, with dozens of casualties reported as the standoff between insurgents and the government entered a more dangerous phase. The fighting was the most sustained since acting President Oleksandr Turchynov first sent troops to eastern Ukraine about three weeks ago, in what he called an anti-terrorist operation. - The Wall Street Journal EuropeThe heads of the two pharmaceuticals giants at the heart of a takeover row could be summoned to give evidence before MPs. The shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, wrote yesterday to the science and technology select committee urging it to invite the chief executives of Pfizer and AstraZeneca to appear before them. - The TimesThe Bank of England looks set to leave interest rates on hold again this week, but a hike before the General Election is seen as increasingly likely. Governor Mark Carney last week said he is still 'comfortable' with rates at a record low of 0.5% - setting the scene for another 'no change' decision when the monetary policy committee votes on Thursday. But with the economy growing at its fastest pace for nearly seven years, and unemployment down from 7.9% to 6.9% in the past 12 months, pressure is mounting on the Bank to act. - The Daily MailAccording to figures from accountants BDO same-store sales on the High Street grew 2.7% in April compared with the same time last year. It said consumers, buoyed by supermarket discounts on everyday items such as milk and lower petrol prices, used the extra cash in their pockets to take a trip to the high street and splash out on "non-essentials". It said fashion sales at retailers including Next led the way, up 2.1% as warmer weather prompted shoppers to snap up summer clothes. - The Daily ExpressAccording to the latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor small and medium sized businesses in the private sector will be looking for 450,000 new employees before the middle of 2015 as confidence in their future prospects surges to record levels. The report, covering the first quarter of the year, found that firms throughout the country felt more bullish about the economy than ever before with the property and construction sector leading the way. - The Daily ExpressBritain's rapid growth rate will become "ingrained" and more balanced, the European Commission (EC) said on Monday, as two separate reports suggested the strong rate of expansion was likely to continue. The EC now expects the UK economy to grow by 2.7% in 2014, compared with a forecast of 2.5% three months ago. It also upgraded its forecast for 2015 growth to 2.5%, from a previous estimate of 2.4%. "Growth is expected to become firmly established... and its composition is expected to broaden," the EC said in its spring forecast on Monday. - The Daily TelegraphAB