Monday newspaper round-up: British Airways, Cadbury, National Express

Willie Walsh has warned British Airways' cabin crew that he will not compromise over cost-cutting measures as the Unite union prepares for possible strike action next month.

The BA chief executive said in an interview with the Financial Times that the latest dispute?was "very, very different" from one in January 2007, when an 11th hour settlement with flight attendants averted a walkout. British Airways' planned merger with Spain's Iberia also opens the way for BA to reconsider a tie-up with Qantas, according to Walsh.

Thames Water, Britain's largest water company, is set to square up to Ofwat as the industry regulator unveils price controls that could cost the industry up to £1bn in fines. The private company, which supplies water and sewerage services to 8.5m customers, is threatening to appeal to the Competition Commission if it considers Ofwat's demands are unfair, the Times reports.

Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI, has called for the creation of a new breed of institution to finance smaller businesses after a survey by the lobby group found that credit is still hard to secure. Lambert said fresh providers of equity and debt capital to small and medium-sized businesses are needed. He said he is "especially concerned about the availability of finance for small companies" in Britain that "can't issue equity, bonds or commercial paper at a sensible price" and for whom "there is no ready substitute for the small handful of very large bank lenders," The Telegraph reports.

Britain's biggest banks would have to raise tens of billions more pounds to achieve complete independence from state support, new research has shown. Calculations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) have uncovered the full scale of the reliance of too-big-to-fail banks on taxpayers. To become true stand-alone institutions, they would have to raise their core capital ratios above 20%. Britain's banks are currently operating with ratios of 8%-10%, a level considered by regulators to be conservative, the Telegraph reports.

Microsoft has had discussions with News Corp over a plan that would involve the media company's being paid to "de-index" its news websites from Google, setting the scene for a search engine battle that could offer a ray of light to the newspaper industry. The impetus for the discussions came from News Corp said a person familiar with the situation, who warned that talks were at an early stage, reports the FT.

The future of National Express could be decided this week by short-selling hedge funds and the banks that have lent them 18 % of its stock, in what will be seen as a key test for shareholder democracy. Banks led by UBS, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank control the bulk of the voting rights attached to the 18 per cent stake, although the shares have been lent to hedge funds, the Times reports.

Kraft Foods, the US food giant at the centre of a £9.8bn takeover struggle for Cadbury, was last night considering raising its offer for the chocolate maker if a rival offer emerges. The producer of Cheez Whiz is understood to be willing to raise its bid or sweeten it with more cash to secure control of the British company, which makes Dairy Milk, Creme Egg and Trident chewing gum. Yesterday, Nestlé, the Swiss food group, surfaced as the latest contender in the battle for control of Cadbury, which has also attracted America's Hershey and Ferrero of Italy, the Times reports.

Cadbury is expecting a friendly bid from Hershey if the US confectioner can arrange the financing for a takeover offer. The British chocolate maker is more amenable to being owned by Hershey than Kraft, the US food conglomerate, if a bid comes at the right price, the FT reports.

Critics have accused Sir David Walker of avoiding the issue of bankers' pay by sticking to his earlier proposals and rejecting calls for the names of top earners to be published. The City grandee will this week unveil his final recommendations on corporate governance at the banks, when he is expected to urge shareholders to take a more active role in all ownership issues - including remuneration, the Telegraph reports.

Confidence among British businesses has risen to a six-year high, a new survey suggests today, boosting hopes that the recession is over. The Business Confidence Monitor, compiled by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW), climbed to 24.6 for the fourth quarter, up from 4.8 in the third quarter. This is the highest reading since the series began in 2003 and will fuel expectations that the economy grew between October and December after the longest recession on record, the Times reports.

Landlords of Blacks Leisure, the outdoor clothing retailer that owns Millets, are expected to vote today in favour of a deal that would save 5,000 jobs. The 101 landlords of 89 stores that have closed or are due to close will have to agree to give up their leases in return for only six months' rent. The deal should safeguard the remaining 291 stores, the Times reports.

Junior oil and gas stocks are recouping last year's losses and new entrants are eyeing the market as investor confidence starts to recover. Consultancy Ernst & Young's index of 109 small-cap companies in the sector posted a 35% year-on-year rise in the third quarter of the year, taking it to 114% growth over the year as a whole, the Independent reports.