What the weekend papers said
The Independent on Sunday: Glencore could pay £300m if merger fails
The commodities giant Glencore will be forced to hand over nearly £300m to the FTSE 100 miner Xstrata, should it walk away from the £50bn merger as a result of shareholder pressure. Advisers on both sides of the deal are also expected to lose well over £100m in fees, if Glencore's boss, Ivan Glasenberg, decides to abandon the merger rather than sweeten its terms.
The Sunday Times: Astra Zeneca in £2bn diabetes gamble
The pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca has splashed out more than £2bn on a portfolio of pioneering diabetes drugs. Simon Lowth, interim chief executive, struck the deal with rival Bristol-Myers Squibb. The swoop comes months after David Brennan, chief executive, quit amid investor discontent. Astra has been looking at acquisitions after many drugs under development in its own labs failed.
FT Weekend: Pressure to stiffen Vickers reforms
Lord Lamont, a past Tory Chancellor, and Lord Myners, ex-City minister, said the scandal over Barclays' fixing of the Libor rate showed a need for tougher legislation. The Chancellor, George Osborne, will have difficulty convincing some that Sir John Vickers' plans to ringfence retail banking from "casino" operations in investment banking go far enough. Lord Lamont said the Vickers plans should be revisited.
The Sunday Telegraph: Investors turn on Diamond
Two of Barclays' leading shareholders have demanded the removal of Bob Diamond, the chief executive, and Marcus Agius, its chairman, as the firestorm surrounding the bank intensifies. One investor dismissed suggestions that Mr Diamond is required to lead the bank out of its current problems: "No one is irreplaceable. It's necessary to take a very hard line. I would have thought the chairman should go immediately."
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