Wednesday newspaper round-up: Pensions, UK Coal, BT Group

In remarks to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme the head of Financial Conduct Authority, Martin Wheatley, said that action on the exit penalties which reduce the value of pensions will be considered as part of the inquiry into old investments. Nevertheless, he refused to be drawn into anticipating what the exact conclusions of the review might be before it is finished, The Daily Telegraph writes. If it cannot access at least £10m in cash soon then UK Coal, the country's last big coalminer, may collapse and 2,000 people lose their jobs. That comes as falling coal prices, a strong pound and the impact of the shale gas boom in America have again pushed the company into financial straits. The firm has an annual output of approximately five million tonnes per year, equivalent to about 4% of the the country's energy requirements, The Times says. BT is preparing to roll out a new mobile operation later this year, almost two decades after it spun off its BT Cellnet business in 2001. Although the company declined to give details the service is thought likely to focus first on business customers before targeting consumers. Nonetheless, that is just the most recent step as it looks to challenge rivals by offering new services, such as BT TV and its new BT Sport channels, The Daily Express says.After beating an ignominious retreat a decade ago retailer Marks&Spencer is on the expansion trail once again, with plans to open 250 additional establishments worldwide over the next three years. As a part of that plan it is intending to open 20 new food-only stores in France, turning that country into its biggest food market outside Britain, The Times reports. Since it listed two years ago Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg has sold over half the stock she had in the company, 26m shares out of a total of 41m. That has led many to wonder whether she might be looking to bolt for the door, so to speak. She was brought in as Chief Operating Officer by founder Mark Zuckerberg to help drive up revenues, according to The Daily Mail. The UK faces more belt-tightening and "real austerity" to achieve sustainable economic growth, according to the head of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), John Longworth. For the group's director-general, Chancellor George Osborne has only "bought time" on restoring growth. However, "the next stage of debt reduction will require more belt-tightening, possibly even real austerity in some quarters," he said, The Scotsman reports. AB