PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Oct 27

Oct 27 (Reuters) - 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

ONE IN FIVE EUROPEAN BANKS FAILS ECB STRESS TESTS Fourteen of Europe's largest banks have failed "stress tests" designed to assess the ability of big lenders to withstand a financial crisis and have been ordered to raise nearly 10 billion euros ($12.68 billion) to plug a shortfall in their balance sheets. (http://thetim.es/1t6T7Lu) UPSTART TSB PINCHES ITS PARENT'S CUSTOMERS

TSB Banking Group Plc has grabbed customers from its larger rivals, including its own parent Lloyds Banking Group Plc , attracting one out of every ten savers who switched accounts in the past three months. (http://thetim.es/1pOttYr)

The Guardian

ENERGY SECRETARY REASSURES HOUSEHOLDS AFTER POWER STATION FIRES The energy secretary, Ed Davey, has sought to reassure households that there will be no energy shortage this winter, after a series of fires at power stations raised fears about Britain's lights going out. (http://bit.ly/1tXcUAH)

The Telegraph RECKITT BENCKISER TO DETAIL SPIN-OFF PLAN NEXT MONTH Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, the maker of Cillit Bang, Vanish and Nurofen, is to reveal to shareholders details of its plans to spin off its pharmaceutical division into a separate stock listing. (http://bit.ly/1v16sTI) OFFICE TO EXPAND AS OWNERS EXAMINE SALE Silverfleet, the private equity firm which owns Office, is understood to be considering selling the business four years after taking control, and has hired bankers at JPMorgan Chase & Co to provide advice on which route to take. (http://bit.ly/1xtjjAC) GULF KEYSTONE PETROLEUM WINS COSTS RULING

A Greek shipping tycoon and two New York hedge funds have been found liable to pay the final costs in Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd's billion-dollar dispute over its oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan. Gulf Keystone has already recovered 17.5 million pounds ($28.15 million) in legal costs, after Rex and Eric Wempen's Excalibur Ventures lost its "opportunistic" attempt to claim a $1.65bn share of oilfields owned by Gulf Keystone and its sister company, Texas Keystone. Now Lord Justice Christopher Clarke has ordered the nine parties who funded Excalibur's lawsuit to pay Gulf Keystone's outstanding legal costs, estimated at between 4 million pounds and 5 million pounds. (http://bit.ly/1wytPtx)

Sky News

LLOYDS BANK: MORE THAN 200 BRANCHES TO CLOSE

Lloyds Banking Group will set out plans next week to close more than 200 branches under a blueprint that will also see 9,000 jobs disappear. (http://bit.ly/1w7CFNB) (1 US dollar = 0.7890 euro) (1 US dollar = 0.6217 British pound) (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bangalore)

Advertisement