UK Business News

M&B battle hots up as Lewis fights back

Billionaire investor threatens legal action and goes to Takeover Panel to argue that group is ignoring corporate governance

Gala odds-on to swap £540m debt for equity

The financial restructuring would reduce the highly leveraged gambling operator’s net debt burden from £2.5bn to below £2bn

• Lenders sign deal to keep Gala Coral intact

• Gala Coral near deal on £2.5bn debt

Independent to reap £17m from website sale

The ailing newspaper group is to sell its stake in a German price comparison website

Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row

Budget hotel chain fires off a series of legal warnings to Travelodge after its rival lodged a complaint with the ASA

World Business News

Lawyers head for sale windfall

Intermediate Capital Group has emerged as frontrunner to buy patent and legal services firm CPA Global in a £400m deal

Major publishers in online tie-up

Five of the world’s biggest publishers will launch a joint venture to regain control of content on online reading devices

• New push to charge for online news

• Brian Roberts' bid to be media king

Kraft chief’s lavish perks

A corporate jet is among the perks enjoyed by the chief executive of Kraft, who is in a hostile bid for Cadbury

General Motors looks for expansion in India

Acting chief executives pushes through changes and focuses restructuring plan on emerging markets

• GM chief ousted after boardroom coup

• Car sales accelerate as scrap scheme nears end

Analysis

Bosses’ bonuses next under spotlight

The focus has been on bankers, but remuneration packages enjoyed at public companies will soon come to investor attention

Darling’s balancing act: cut deficit or win votes

Will the markets be convinced by Alistair Darling's commitment to reduce Britain’s enormous budget deficit?

• Darling's pre-budget report to leave 18% CGT

• Anxiety mounts as clock ticks on Britain’s £530bn debt timebomb

Balloon hunt boffins gave the web wings

The Pentagon is floating weather balloons in secret locations to examine how social networking sites help people collaborate

• Thirtysomething women are taking over the web

Law  

Legal school 'earned £1m by exploiting bar course'

BPP is under investigation amid claims that it packed in extra students to boost its income by almost £1 million

Axe may fall on 5,000 more City lawyers

Legal firms will be forced to cut jobs to restore profitability to levels that existed before the financial crisis

• Redundancy: the Linklaters experience

• Legal redundancies: could partners be to blame?

OFT in new fight as builders challenge fines

Competition regulator faces another costly legal battle after 25 construction companies contested bid-rigging penalties

Money  

Police close down fake websites

Massive police operation closes more than 1,000 scam sites claiming to sell designer goods at bargain prices

• Copycat websites to rob shoppers of millions

• PayPal comes under unfriendly fire

Q&A: Yorkshire-Chelsea merger

We take you through the key points of the latest building society tie-up

• Yorkshire Building Society to buy Chelsea

• Yorkshire warns of job losses in Chelsea merger

Bank's Posen calls for housing bubble taxes

The MPC's Adam Posen says taxes on property should rise in line with price inflation to stop boom and bust

business travel  

Rail nightmare for Gatwick and Luton airport services

Industrial action and service restrictions from the £5.5bn Thameslink programme are causing headaches for business travellers

How to bag the best seat on the plane

A new seat-finding service gets our business travel editor thinking about other technology he would like to see

Heathrow's terminal 2 closes after 54 years

The old Europa Building will be demolished to make way for a 30 million passenger a year mega-terminal