Wednesday newspaper round-up: Sanctions, Centrica, Microsoft...

EU governments have agreed to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia, targeting state-owned banks, imposing an arms embargo and restricting sales of sensitive technology and the export of equipment for the country's oil industry, in response to Moscow's continued backing for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The punitive measures, the most extensive EU sanctions imposed on Russia since the cold war, were agreed by ambassadors from the 28 member states after a seven-hour debate.. - The GuardianAttempts to defuse public anger over energy bosses' pay by appointing a new, cheaper, chief executive at British Gas were widely criticised yesterday. Sam Laidlaw, who was entitled to up to £6.9 million if he hit all performance targets, is quitting sooner than expected after eight years at the top of Centrica, which owns Britain's biggest household energy supplier. Last year he forfeited his bonus and earned less than £2 million. - The TimesChina confirmed that it had launched an anti-monopoly investigation into Microsoft, plunging the business environment for western companies into a new realm of uncertainty. The investigation into the American software giant, which involved a series of raids on its largest offices in China on Monday, is thought to be part of a Beijing-led drive to reduce the swagger of foreign companies and to improve the competitiveness of their Chinese rivals as broader economic growth fades. - The TimesLabour has resurrected plans for a 15 per cent "death tax" to pay for people's care in old age. Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said he wants Labour to "embrace" a system where social care is funded by imposing a tax on estates when people die. Labour abandoned plans for a 10 per cent levy on estates to pay for social care before the 2010 general election following a wave of criticism. - The TelegraphThe Serious Fraud Office is assessing whether there is sufficient evidence to mount a criminal investigation against staff at Lloyds for defrauding taxpayers. The state-backed lender was fined £218million on Monday for manipulating Libor and for a scam which enabled it to gain access to a Government lifeline scheme more cheaply during the financial crisis. - The Daily MailBond yields have fallen to the lowest level in modern history in Germany, France and the eurozone's core states, signalling a high risk of deflation and mounting concerns about sanctions against Russia. The yield on German 10-year bonds fell to a record low of 1.11pc in intra-day trading, partly on safe-haven flows. French yields dropped in tandem to 1.5pc. These levels are far below rates hit during the 1930s or even during the deflationary episodes of the 19th Century. - The TelegraphArgentina is on the brink of its second debt default since the turn of the century, as hopes fade that last-minute talks will hammer out a deal with "vulture fund" bondholders. Argentinian officials met a US mediator in New York in the latest chapter of a decade-long debt battle with hedge funds that bought up the country's bonds at rock-bottom prices in the wake of its financial crisis in 2001 and 2002. - The GuardianBC