Yahoo Finance PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Nov 30
The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
The operator of Britain's biggest power station has warned that meeting the nation's electricity needs will be a close-run thing for years as ageing coal plants are retired from service. Dorothy Thompson, the chief executive of Drax, the North Yorkshire power plant that generates 7 percent of the country's electricity from burning coal and wood, said there was "no question we are getting to a tight situation". (http://thetim.es/1Itljhz)
UK's business groups have attacked the government for "changing the goalposts" after a new rule that companies winning disputes with HM Revenue & Customs will be taxed heavily. Measures contained in the fine print of the chancellor's autumn statement will impose a "penal" 45 percent tax rate on interest payouts made to companies that win legitimate tax refunds. (http://thetim.es/1RfyJVp)
The Guardian
Britain's biggest lenders are braced for a decision by the Bank of England on whether they are strong enough to withstand turmoil in global markets, as Threadneedle Street considers restrictions on their activities to slow down the growth in consumer lending. (http://bit.ly/1XBQcao)
The beer brands Peroni and Grolsch are to be put up for sale under plans by brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev to appease regulators in its 71 billion pounds ($106.71 billion) takeover of SABMiller. Budweiser owner AB InBev is considering selling the leading SABMiller brands as a pre-emptive move to satisfy European Union competition regulators. (http://bit.ly/1loIsw5)
The Telegraph
The International Monetary Fund is to give the yuan a historic vote of confidence on Monday when it includes the Chinese currency in its elite club of major currencies. (http://bit.ly/1lovUoH)
Nissan will begin making its luxury Infiniti cars in UK's Sunderland this week as part of a 250 million pounds investment in the factory, a landmark move that heralds a massive triumph for British industry. (http://bit.ly/1Tm5ek1)
Sky News
Almost 1 billion pounds is expected to be spent online today, up from 720 million pounds last year, as retailers unleash another set of internet bargains. But shoppers seeking bargains online have been urged to be vigilant, as hackers were targeting people "all the time". (http://bit.ly/1PV9w3n)
Virgin Atlantic is finalising a landmark deal that will enable it to raise hundreds of millions of pounds from its lucrative take-off and landing rights at London's Heathrow Airport. (http://bit.ly/1LHpOVR)
The Independent
Britain's banks will tonight learn whether they have passed tough Bank of England stress tests, after the collapsed bank HBOS was told it had "less than" a 1 in 100,000 chance of failing those imposed by the then regulator just three years before its near-collapse. (http://ind.pn/1jsgYoa)
The gap between average wages and the pay Britain's top company executives receive is still widening year by year, despite David Cameron's mantra that "we're all in this together." (http://ind.pn/1NCJyl1) ($1 = 0.6654 pounds) (Compiled by Aurindom Mukherjee; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
