Wires

PRESS DIGEST - Sunday British business - Oct 7

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - British newspapers reported thefollowing business stories on Sunday.

Sunday TimesGERMAN THREAT TO BLOCK BAE DEALGermany has threatened to scupper the 28 billion pound ($45billion) merger of BAE Systems and EADS unlessthe headquarters of the combined company is located in Munich.SHOWDOWN LOOMS AT ROTHSCHILD COAL GIANTDirectors of Bumi , the London-listed coal minercreated by Nat Rothschild, plan to strip its Indonesian backersof their powers or force them to sell out of the beleagueredgroup.

AUSSIE ENTERS RACE TO TAKE OVER AS BANK OF ENGLAND GOVERNORGlenn Stevens, 54, the head of Australia's central bank, hasemerged as a dark horse contender in the race to become the newgovernor of the Bank of England.

FIRST GROUP 'IN DARK' OVER RAILWAY U-TURNTransport officials have yet to tell First Group why thelucrative west coast rail contract was snatched from it,according to the company's chief executive. Tim O'Toole said hewas considering legal action against the government and did notrule out raising cash with a rights issue to shore up thecompany's finances.

BG SETS SIGHTS ON CENTRICA'S TOP MANThe chairman of BG Group has made an audacious attempt topoach Sam Laidlaw, the boss of British Gas owner Centrica, to run the FTSE 100 energy giant.

FACEBOOK BONUSES TO DENT SHARE PRICEFacebook staff are poised to pocket share windfallstotalling $5 billion, putting more pressure on the internetgiant's stock price.

LOANS BATTLE AT WEMBLEYThe owner of Wembley Stadium has warned that a significant fallin income or delay in large payments could force the company tobreak the terms of its bank loans. The company, Wembley NationalStadium, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the FootballAssociation, the newspaper said.

HEDGE FUNDS BOOST SPAINSpain has been handed a temporary reprieve from the threat of aEuropean bailout after American hedge funds started buying thecompany's bonds.

WONGA BOSSES LAND 18 MILLION POUNDS AS PAYDAY LENDING BOOMSWonga, the online lender, has handed its staff a windfall ofnearly 18 million pounds in a move that is likely to stokecontroversy over the payday loans industry.

SURREY WATER BIDSSutton and East Surrey Water has been put up for sale with aprice tag of 250 to 300 million pounds by its owner IconInfrastructure.

Sunday TelegraphINVESTORS REBEL OVER BAE DEALBAE Systems is facing a growing investor revolt over its plansto merge with European rival EADS, just days before it has toagree the deal, abandon it or apply for more time from theTakeover Panel.

PM DRAWN INTO WEST COAST ROWPrime Minister David Cameron personally intervened in thebidding process for the west coast mainline rail service andasked Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood to investigate thematter after a private appeal from Sir Richard Branson.

ENRC SHAKES UP TOP TEAMThe chairman of troubled ENRC is to bolster the mininggiant's senior management with a raft of new appointments aimedat appeasing investors and bringing a halt to the company'sshare price slide.

TESCO SIGNALS COOLING ON USPhilip Clarke has told Tesco investors that thesupermarket group's beleaguered U.S. division, Fresh & Easy,will not make a profit in its current form after dramaticallyhalting investment in new shops.

NEW BIDDER FOR KP NUTS BUSINESSA Russian-British private equity firm backed by businessmanMikhail Fridman has become one of the favourites to win the 450million pound auction for KP Snacks.

Mail on SundayCHINA IN SECRET TALKS ON UK NUCLEAR PLANT STAKEChina is poised to take a multi-billion pound stake in thebuilding of a nuclear power plant in Somerset with French energygiant EDF .

RECORD PROFIT AT WHSMITHBritain's biggest newsagent WHSmith will this weeksmash through the 100 million pounds profit mark for the firsttime since chief executive Kate Swann arrived to restructure thebusiness nine years ago.

L'OREAL 'IS READY TO SELL' THE BODY SHOPA former suitor for The Body Shop health and beauty chain saysit is being groomed for sale by French owner L'Oreal .

Independent on SundayEADS WILL DITCH BAE DEAL OVER GOVERNMENT DEMANDSAerospace giant EADS is preparing to dump its audacious 30billion pound merger with British defence group BAE Systems ifEuropean governments fail to lower their demands over the nextthree days.

SCARDINO PREPARES TO QUIT NOKIA AFTER LEAVING PEARSONDays after announcing her departure from the helm of FinancialTimes owner Pearson , Dame Marjorie Scardino ispreparing to give up her role as vice-chairman of troubledphone-maker Nokia .

SCEPTICAL TRADERS SET TO UNDERMINE DIRECT LINECity brokers are warning the flotation of insurer Direct Linecould be undermined by an army of sceptics poised to bet againstthe shares when they start trading next week following a recentpoor track record of other high-profile listings.

($1 = 0.6176 British pounds) ($1 = 1.0000 US dollars)

(Reporting by Tom Bill; Editing by Mark Potter)

((tom.bill@thomsonreuters.com)(+44 20 7542 2040)(ReutersMessaging: tom.bill.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: PRESS DIGEST/BRITISH SUNDAY