Thursday newspaper round-up: Petrofac, BA, M&S...

The Petrofac oil services group is on the verge of acquiring a string of North Sea fields in a deal that would pave the way for a $1 billion spin-out of its exploration and production division.
The group is in advanced talks with Sweden's Lundin Petroleum to buy the fields in the Norwegian and British sectors of the North Sea, The Times has learnt.

British Airways has cranked up the pressure on the Unite union by telling staff it will maintain a large proportion of its flights even if the airline's 12,000 cabin crew go on strike. Chief executive Willie Walsh said BA would have 1,000 volunteer crew trained by next week, with total volunteers so far topping 6,000. BA had also lined up at least 23 charter aircraft for the short-haul network and arranged to secure seats from other carriers, reports the Telegraph.

Britain's retailers are heading for a dismal second half of the year following the "false dawn" recovery in consumer spending of recent months, the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, which owns the eponymous department store and the Waitrose supermarket chain, warned yesterday. Charlie Mayfield said that once the general election was over, consumers were facing a toxic combination of tax rises, public sector spending cuts and potentially higher interest rates, writes the Independent. He said: "The second half of the year will be the time when we start to see these things coming in and we start to see tougher trading conditions."

Toyota's bid to overcome its catastrophic vehicle recall crisis took an alarming twist today after it emerged that the "fix" offered by dealerships may not work, writes the Times. Authorities in the United States have launched a new investigation into Toyota's throttle problems after reports from drivers who experienced terrifying instances of uncontrolled acceleration even after returning their cars for the official repairs either to floormats or accelerator pedals.

Sir Stuart Rose hinted yesterday that he may step down early from the chairman's role at Marks & Spencer, as he launched a robust defence of the £15m that the incoming chief executive, Marc Bolland, could pocket in his first year. Sir Stuart said: "My drop dead date is 31 July 2011, but I will probably go a bit earlier than that." However, he stressed that the high-street giant had not begun the process to find a new chairman yet, and it is thought to be unlikely that he will leave this calendar year, reports the Independent.

Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, signalled on Thursday that ITV and other commercial TV companies should be freed of some of their most burdensome advertising restrictions, writes the FT. The suggestion from Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, came on the same day that Archie Norman, the new chairman of ITV, said that failing to relax advertising regulations risked allowing aggregators of video, such as Google, to become "the second or third major broadcaster in Britain".

The Glazer family, owners of Manchester United, are considering ending their relationship with Goldman Sachs because of the role of Jim O'Neill, the bank's chief economist, in efforts to take the club off their hands. Mr O'Neill, a lifelong United supporter and former board member, is spearheading the "Red Knights" group of financiers who met in London this week over a proposal to buy the club for a sum in excess of £1bn, the FT reports.

Britain's biggest care homes operator may be forced into a fresh battle with its lenders only three months after it emerged from a year-long financial restructuring. The Times has learnt that the cabal of investors has hired Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, an American law firm, to block attempts by Four Seasons to extend a £600 million bond that expires on September 3. Without a deal, Four Seasons will break its banking covenants and will be sold or forced back into restructuring talks.