LONDON (ShareCast) - According to The Times, Severn Trent could be the target of a bid worth up to 5.3bn pounds. The utility company is said to be in talks with Canadian infrastructure investors Borealis and the Kuwait Investment Authoirty

The Independent says that the new Chairman to replace Sir Win BIschoff at Lloyds could be the first female at the top of a High-Street UK bank. Bischoff, who has been a strong supporter of getting more women on company boards, could be succeeded by former Northern Rock Finance Director Ann Godbehere or Lloyds non-executive Anita Frew, to name a few.

Telecoms group Vodafone is to pocket a $3.0bn from its share in the Verizon Wireless joint venture with US mobile-phone group Verizon, writes The Guardian. Verizon Wireless is paying out $7.0bn in dividends in total.

The Scotsman says that RBS is to face shareholder discontent at its annual general meeting today due to £607m of staff bonus handouts in 2012, a year when it lost £5.2bn. The paper says that the UK lender "will argue it is on a stronger footing and should be ready for a return to the private sector by next year".

The Telegraph cites Centrica as saying that rival firm EDF will take twice as long as expected to build the first of a new generation of nuclear power stations.

Indian steelmaker Tata Steel has reveale a $1.6bn write-down on its European division, the Financial Times reports. The company blamed weak macroeconomic conditions in Europe for the decision.

"Eurozone finance ministers were last night squabbling in Brussels over the timetable for a banking union, with some states pushing for faster progress and Germany stressing the need for caution," reports The Independent.

BC

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