Friday newspaper round-up: Goldman Sachs bonuses, TalkTalk, credit card defaults

(Sharecast News) - Top bosses at Goldman Sachs are in line to share a bonus pot worth up to $500m (£378m) this year, marking one of the biggest payouts in the Wall Street bank's history. The eye-watering sum will be shared between 20 bankers, with its chief executive, David Solomon, due to take about $100m (£75.6m) of the reward, which is made up of Goldman Sachs stock. That is more than double the value of the record $47m (£35.5m) annual pay packet he was granted last year. - Guardian

Flash interiors, fancy food and maybe even a bar: Virgin has unveiled a mock-up of its future cross-Channel train, with a pledge to create "something genuinely new". The group is planning to launch rail services from London to the continent in 2030, with Eurostar facing competition for the first time since the opening of the Channel tunnel. Virgin has ordered 12 trains from the manufacturer Alstom, and will hope to outshine Eurostar on design and customer experience as it fits them out. - Guardian

A rival bidder for TalkTalk has accused BT executives of profiting from a rescue deal for the ailing broadband provider. Opus Broadband, which had been bidding for TalkTalk's 1.5 million retail customers, suggested BT bosses could benefit from higher bonuses after securing a dramatic last-ditch deal to buy the company out of administration. This year, BT introduced a new incentive linking directors' bonuses to the telecoms giant's share of the UK retail market for both mobile and broadband. - Telegraph

A former Barclays trader plans to sue the bank after his conviction for Libor rigging was quashed. Jay Merchant, 55, was jailed in 2016 for conspiracy to defraud in connection with the alleged manipulation of the now-defunct interest-rate benchmark. He served more than two years of an initial six-and-a-half-year sentence, but on Wednesday his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal along with five other former Barclays employees. - Telegraph

The number of Britons defaulting on credit card debt has increased in six consecutive quarters for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, amid mounting pressure on household budgets. More lenders saw credit card defaults rise in the third quarter than fall, by a net balance of 26 percentage points, according to Bank of England survey data. Default rates have now been increasing for 18 months and banks anticipate another increase in the final three months of this year. - The Times

More than 300 jobs are at risk after the owner of Marston's Brewery in Burton upon Trent proposed closing the historic site, which has been operating for almost 200 years. Carlsberg Britvic said plans to shut the brewery and logistics operation at the site next summer were in response to the "stark reality" facing the cask ale trade. The closure will put some 310 jobs on the line. - The Times