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 of Britain's biggest drug companies, Shire SHP.L , has
initiated a $30 billion hostile takeover of Baxalta Inc
BXLT.N , an American rival, as it seeks to become the world's
leading supplier of medicines for rare diseases. (http://thetim.es/1KPcj96)
The British housing market may have had a brief summer lull,
but prices are on the rise again. The latest figures from
mortgage lender Nationwide indicate that house prices increased
by 0.4 percent last month, pushing the annual rate of house
price growth up to 3.5 percent. (http://thetim.es/1KPctNF)
The Guardian
ValueAct, a U.S. hedge fund that agitates for change at
companies, has emerged as a shareholder in British engineer
Smiths Group Plc SMIN.L , days after revealing it was the
biggest investor in Rolls-Royce RR.L . The San Francisco-based
activist investor is believed to own between 3 percent and 5
percent of Smiths. (http://bit.ly/1KPcyRx)
George Osborne has tried to justify a 1 billion-pound ($1.56
billion) loss on the first sale of shares in Royal Bank of
Scotland RBS.L in the face of criticism from politicians and
City analysts by saying it was the right thing to do for
British taxpayers. (http://bit.ly/1KPcD7I)
The Telegraph
The Financial Conduct Authority has dropped an investigation
into a former senior UBS Group AG UBSG.VX banker caught up in
the Libor scandal, after its own review panel found there was
not a strong enough case to pursue him. The financial regulator
will not take enforcement action against Panagiotis
Koutsogiannis after its regulatory decision committee found that
dishonest conduct was not proven. (http://bit.ly/1KPcIsi)
Just Eat JE.L has brushed off concern it faces mounting
competition from rivals muscling into the online food delivery
industry after reporting that first-half orders, revenues and
profits all surged by more than 50 percent. Revenues for the six
months to the end of June climbed 54 percent to 107.8 million
pounds. (http://bit.ly/1KPcKQP)
Sky News
A city trader has been sentenced to 14 years in jail for
fixing the rates of interest at which banks lend to each other -
the so-called Libor rate. Tom Hayes had been accused of eight
counts of conspiracy to defraud between 2006 and 2010 for
setting the rate on which trillions of dollars of financial
deals are based. (http://bit.ly/1KPcQb4)
Another strike will bring the London Underground network to
a halt this week after unions unanimously rejected the latest
offer from Tube bosses. The walkout by thousands of workers will
see no Tube service from 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday and none at all
on Thursday. (http://bit.ly/1KPcYr5)
The Independent
Rolls-Royce RR.L has won a leading role in a
multi-billion-dollar nuclear decommissioning contract in Canada
- prompting speculation the engineering giant will launch
another assault on the lucrative British market. (http://ind.pn/1KPd3ey)
The former leader of the Conservative Party, Lord Howard of
Lympne, is to be questioned by the Serious Fraud Office in a
criminal investigation into an oil explorer where he is
chairman. Last week the SFO searched the offices of Soma Oil &
Gas after a whistleblower made allegations about the
London-based company, believed to relate to the manner in which
it obtained exploration and drilling rights in Somalia. (http://ind.pn/1KPd4yU)
($1 = 0.6428 pounds)