PRESS DIGEST - British business - Aug 30

The Guardian

HMV UNDER FIRE FROM INVESTORS OVER WATERSTONE'S PERFORMANCE

Shareholders in retailer HMV (HMV.L) have criticised the company for its management of book retailer Waterstone's. Investors have called for the book chain to be sold if the company's turnaround strategy does not increase returns by this time next year.

Waterstone's operates on thin profit margins; it generated 2.5 million pounds in profits last year from turnover of 500 million pounds.

One shareholder said that HMV is a perfectly viable business without Waterstone's. HMV will publish a trading statement next month that will be closely scrutinised for any indication that book sales are on the rise.

ZERO EMISSIONS PLAN FOR NEW HOMES TO BE WATERED DOWN

The government is to scale back a commitment to require all new houses built to be "zero carbon" by 2016 after lobbying from the housebuilding industry.

Housebuilders had previously bargained down the carbon reduction required per home from 150 percent to 70 percent with the remaining reduction coming from third-party schemes that the housebuilders will fund, but they have now said that even this is too ambitious.

Trade body the Home Builders Federation has argued that buyers will not be prepared to pay a premium of 20 percent on a home.

The Daily Telegraph

PAPA JOHN'S AFTER SLICE OF DOMINO'S PIZZA ACTION

Pizza delivery franchise Domino's (DOM.L) is facing increasing competition from US rival Papa John's (PZZA.O). Domino's has seen its share value quadruple over the past five years and has 627 stores in the UK.

A recent surge in demand for takeaway pizza has seen sales at Domino's rise by 13.7 percent in the first half of the year. Papa John's has 3,000 stores around the world, but a much smaller market capitalisation than Domino's.

It has recently boosted its UK operations by opening a dough-making factory in Milton Keynes, where Domino's is based.

RBS APPOINTS BANKERS TO SELL DIRECT LINE AS IPO HOPES FADE

Part-nationalised UK bank the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) has begun assessing potential advisers for the sale of its insurance business Direct Line.

The bank is being required to sell the division as a penalty for having received state aid during the financial crisis. RBS has previously stated that it was planning to float Direct Line in 2012, but the early appointment of investment bankers and closure of some of the insurer's sites has given further credence to speculation that a sale is likely.

CUT PAY BUT NOT JOBS, SAYS PUBLIC SECTOR

Research conducted by recruitment website Totaljobs.com has found that the majority of public sector workers would rather take a ten percent pay cut than be made redundant.

This contrasts markedly to similar research published in April this year that found that about a fifth of public sector workers said they would rather keep their job at lower pay. John Salt, director of Totaljobs.com, said: "With the threat of redundancy hanging over people's heads, morale has dropped significantly among public sector workers."

The Times

MY ADVICE ON HOW TO BUY A BANK? THAT'LL BE 10 MILLION DOLLARS

It has emerged that the president of Barclays (BARC.L) Bob Diamond paid out 10 million dollars in advisory fees to Michael Klein, formerly a star banker at Citigroup (C.N), during the British bank's purchase of Lehman Brothers US division shortly before the investment bank's collapse in September 2008.

Klein disclosed his fee for 12 days' work whilst acting as a witness for Barclays in its defence against claims that it benefited from a windfall of up to 11 billion dollars from the deal.

RETAILERS AND LANDLORDS OFFERED SOLUTION TO WORSENING SQUABBLE

PricewaterhouseCoopers have created a company voluntary arrangement that gives a property's landlord a share of the profits if the company renting the property goes into administration but comes out in an improved situation.

Many landlords have complained that CVAs are used by businesses to get rid of unprofitable properties, as the instruments permit them to renegotiate leases providing that they have the support of 75 percent of their creditors by value.

BANK OF ENGLAND BOSS TELLS OF "BRUTAL" TRUTH BEHIND RECESSION

Charles Bean, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, has acknowledged that central bankers failed to understand the risks to the global economy posed by the finance industry in the period leading up to the credit crunch.

In a speech at a meeting of central bankers at Jackson Hole in Wyoming, Bean noted that risks were more likely to occur during prosperous economic times, as investors pursued assets which give them higher yields.

The Independent

FALL IN UK HOUSE PRICES GATHERS PACE IN AUGUST

Statistics from the research firm Hometrack indicate that UK property prices fell 0.3 percent in August, on the back of a 0.1 percent decline during July. A 2.2 percent fall in the number of new buyers registering with estate agents in the last month, coupled with an increase of 2.4 percent in the supply of homes put on the market, drove prices downwards.

Hometrack warned that prices would continue to fall over the next 12 months.

BRITS FAVOUR PRODUCT ADS IF THEY GET CHEAPER TV CONTENT

A survey from YouGov and Deloitte has found that around 60 percent of UK television viewers would be willing to accept product placement in programming if it guaranteed free content or cheaper premium television.

There was a marked difference between younger and older viewers, with younger people having fewer objections to the idea.

Legalisation of product placement could boost advertising revenues for the television industry by over 100 million pounds annually.