Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, is paid more than twice the amount the prime minister receives, according to the FT. The Telegraph says King has refused a pay rise for the next two years as the public sector braces itself for a period of restraint.

An urgent review of impending regulation costing billions of pounds a year has been announced by Vince Cable, the business secretary, as part of a wider package designed to cut red tape, says the FT.

Coutts, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) unit best known as the Queen's banker, is to bear the brunt of a round of 500 job cuts at the state-owned bank's wealth-management operation, according to the Independent.

AIG faces the real prospect of receiving less than the $35.5bn (£24.2bn) the Prudential first offered to buy AIA should it choose to push ahead with a stock market float for it Asian-focussed life business, says the Telegraph

Star fund manager at Jupiter emerges as largest shareholder as it goes ahead with London listing worth up to £868 million, writes the Times.

Jean-Marie Messier, the tycoon who propelled Vivendi Universal to meteoric boom and bust in 2002, expressed limited remorse yesterday on the first day of his trial for embezzlement and misleading investors, says the Independent.

Cattles, the troubled doorstep lender whose shares were suspended in April last year, is considering a possible restructuring deal that is likely to see shareholders receive a cash payment of a maximum of 1p per share, writes the Independent.

Northern Rock, the nationalised bank, is offering to buy back its junk-rated debt at a fraction of the original value in a move it hopes will generate £700m in profit, says the Telegraph.

Airbus has started to sign up partners to bid for a $40 billion (£27 billion) Pentagon contract but is refusing to give their names amid fears of a backlash from American politicians, says the Times.

Staff at the credit ratings agency Moody's were bullied by Wall Street bankers, harassed by profit-hungry bosses and starved of the time and resources they could have used to check their disastrous ratings of mortgage derivatives, an inquiry into the causes of the credit crisis was told, reports the Independent.

The number of British companies bought by foreign-owned groups far surpassed the number of foreign firms bought by British groups in the first quarter of the year, according to official statistics published yesterday, writes the Independent.

The fashion chain New Look kept alive the possibility that it might float the business as it posted a 17.7 per cent uplift in annual profits yesterday, says the Independent.

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