James Murdoch has finally yielded to shareholder pressure and stepped down as chairman of BSkyB, saying he feared becoming a "lightning rod" for the business. His carefully–worded letter to the board made references to the phone–hacking scandal at News Corporation which toppled him, but did not name his father Rupert Murdoch's media empire directly.
Lloyds said 2012 revenue would fall and pushed back a key financial target as the part state-owned British bank joined rival Royal Bank of Scotland in posting a hefty loss for 2011. Lloyds, 40 percent owned by the government after a state bailout during the 2008 financial crisis, reported on Friday an annual loss of 3.54 billion pounds, having made a profit of 281 million in 2010.
BBC
Royal Bank of Scotland nearly collapsed in 2008 because of poor management decisions, inadequate regulation and a flawed supervisory system, a Financial Services Authority report says. The FSA admits that its own supervision was "flawed" and "provided insufficient challenge" to RBS.
BBC
Thomas Cook has said it will close 200 UK stores over the next two years as part of its UK business turnaround plan - 125 more than previously announced. Staff at 115 of the affected stores are expected to be informed of their fate on Wednesday with the loss of 661 jobs.
BBC
Ratings agency Standard and Poor's has put almost all the eurozone including Germany and France on "credit watch" due to fears over the debt crisis. S&P's move means six countries with top AAA ratings would have a 50% chance of seeing their ratings downgraded. The news came as a surprise to investors and saw stocks fall back on early gains as the euro also fell.
