Tuesday newspaper round-up: Barclays, Oracle, Henderson...

Barclays risks a confrontation with the Government today when it confirms that Bob Diamond, Britain's best-paid banker, is to become its chief executive.

The Times has learnt that the bank will announce Mr Diamond, an American who has amassed an estimated fortune of £100m, as successor to John Varley next March. Mr Diamond currently heads the group's investment banking arm, Barclays Capital, and his new appointment is likely to prove explosive.

Mark Hurd, ousted as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard last month, has made a dramatic return to corporate America at rival Oracle. Mr Hurd will become a president of the company and a member of the board, reporting into Oracle's chief executive, Larry Ellison. Charles Phillips resigned as a president of Oracle and as a member of the board. "Mark did a brilliant job at HP and I expect he'll do an even better job at Oracle," said Mr Ellison, the Telegraph reports.

National Health Service employment increased in every part of the UK in the first three months of the year, according to figures released yesterday. The largest gains were in the East Midlands and the East of England, where headcounts rose about 7% year-on-year, the Office for National Statistics said. That contrasts with other public sector areas, which suffered reductions over the period, the Times reports.

Henderson, one of the City's top investment houses, has been given a two-week ultimatum to pay compensation to pension funds responsible for the retirement incomes of hundreds of thousands of people after a seemingly low-risk investment vehicle went badly wrong. A group of 30 pension funds has written to Henderson Group demanding compensation after they lost about £350m in the ill-fated infrastructure fund, the Times reports.

The resignation of a star trader from Gartmore has put its role as a fund manager of a coveted investment trust in jeopardy. Gartmore Growth Opportunities was one of three investment trusts managed by Gervais Williams, the veteran trader who unveiled plans last week to quit Gartmore after 17 years, the Times reports.

The Treasury has angrily dismissed calls from the European Union for Britain's EU Budget rebate to be abolished. A spokesman for the Chancellor said: "The UK abatement remains fully justified. It's a matter of fairness." "Without the rebate, the UK's net contribution as a percentage of national income would be twice as big as France's, and one-and-a-half times bigger than Germany's."This is because of expenditure distortions from policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which still accounts for more than 40% of the EU budget," the Independent reports.

Employers expect a "static" rate of recruitment for the remainder of this year, according to new research, underlining concerns about the momentum of economic recovery. The survey of 2,100 employers by Manpower, the recruitment company, is likely to intensify debate on whether the private sector can create enough jobs to offset those that will be lost in the public sector over the coming years, the FT reports.