A to Z of the Sunday newspapers

By This Is Money
Updated: 04:57 EDT, 10 August 2009

Our summary of what the business papers are reporting from the financial world this week...

FINANCIAL MAIL

SFO braced over Rover inquiry
The potentially explosive decision by the Serious Fraud Office on whether to launch an investigation into failed carmaker MG Rover will be announced within days.

Power firms must be fair over debits
Energy regulator Ofgem is to force power companies to ensure that customers' direct debit payments are accurately set and clearly explained after a Mail on Sunday campaign highlighted profiteering by the firms.

Competition Commission starts Sports Direct probe
The Competition Commission has launched an inquiry into 31 store transfers from JJB Sports to Sports Direct after an investigation by Financial Mail.

Jobcentres need work as dole queues grow
Millions of pounds could soon be spent on extending many of the 750 Jobcentre Plus buildings as unemployment continues to spiral upwards.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Sir David's secret plan to take JJB Sports private
Sir David Jones, the executive chairman of JJB Sports, was working on a secret plan to take the sportswear retailer private with Chris Ronnie, the chain's former chief executive who he sacked earlier this year.

Branson to fight BA-American Airlines tie-up plan
Sir Richard Branson is to take his fight against the proposed tie-up between British Airways and American Airlines to the US House of Representatives by appearing in front of a key sub-committee next month.

Media Square denounces its largest shareholder
Media Square, the marketing and communications group chaired by Roger Parry, has launched an extraordinary attack on its largest shareholder accusing him of being 'eccentric, hostile and aggressive'.

IMF puts total cost of crisis at £7.1trn
The cost of mopping up after the world financial crisis has come to $11.9trn (£7.12trn) − enough to finance a £1,779 handout for every man, woman and child on the planet.

SUNDAY TIMES

Lloyds plots share sale to cut state ties
Lloyds Banking Group is weighing up plans for a multi-billion pound share issue to cut its dependency on the taxpayer.

Guardian lost £24m in bungled currency trading
Guardian Media Group, the owner of the Guardian and Observer newspapers, lost £24m last year on botched currency trading as it tried to protect hedge-fund investments.

Bank warning on growth
The Bank of England will this week downgrade its growth forecast for the year, pushing it even further below chancellor Alistair Darling's prediction of a 3.5% contraction, and predict that inflation will remain low for the next two to three years.

Talks break down on secret £2bn Friends deal
Secret attempts to resurrect a £2.2bn merger between Friends Provident and Clive Cowdery's Resolution fell apart last night.

SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

Blackstone prepares for Hilton break-up
Hilton, the giant hotel group that was bought by Blackstone for $26bn (£15.5bn) at the top of the market in 2007, could be broken up under plans being devised by its owner.

100 claims management firms closed in crackdown
The Ministry of Justice has shut down 100 claims management companies as part of a crackdown on firms in the sector that mislead the public, it has emerged.

Xstrata plots $700m sale of Chile's El Morro mine
Xstrata, the Ftse-100 mining group that is locked in a merger battle with peer Anglo American, is in talks to sell a key project in South America for up to $700m (£420m).

UK Coal seeks lender to join GE and Lloyds
UK Coal, the country's biggest coal mining company, is in negotiations with its banks over a key lending facility following the nationalisation of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki.

THE OBSERVER

Taxpayer-owned banks repossess thousands of homes
More than 6,700 homes have been repossessed by banks in which the taxpayer has a major stake, as rising unemployment and pay cuts force homeowners to hand in their house keys.

Defiant William Cash leads buyout of magazine for the very rich
Spear's, the glossy lifestyle magazine for the super-rich, is attempting to defy the credit crunch by embarking on a management buyout led by founder William Cash.

Sacked JJB chief Ronnie vows to clear his name
Former JJB Sports chief executive Chris Ronnie claims to have been the victim of a 'witch-hunt' and has sought to clear his name in an interview with the Observer. But questions remain about his use of company funds.

Vulture fund swoops on Congo over $100m debt
The government of the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo is racking up fines of $20,000 a week in a case brought by a New York-based vulture fund over a debt incurred from Tito's Yugoslavia in the 1980s.