PRESS DIGEST - British business - Nov 25

The Guardian

KING REVEALS SECRET HBOS AND RBS BAILOUT

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has revealed that the Bank secretly made emergency loans totalling 62 billion pounds last October in order to ensure the survival of HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland(RBS.L). The figure was only known to a handful of people prior to King's revelations on Tuesday and the news has been greeted with shock by MPs. The City has expressed confusion that the banks were not forced to disclose their reliance on Bank of England funds when they launched emergency rights issues.

NOMURA FINED FOR FAILING TO MONITOR EQUITIES ARM

The FSA has fined Nomura 1.75 million pounds for failing to properly monitor its international equities division. The problems were discovered in 2008 when a trader in London noticed discrepancies in the way he was pricing the volatility of a financial instrument compared with the way it was being priced in Hong Kong. The discrepancies resulted in the position needing an adjustment of 10.8 million pounds and when other positions were revalued they were found to require a lower value of 5.5 million pounds.

FEARS FOR BORDERS AFTER IT STOPS TAKING ORDERS ONLINE

Book and music retailer Borders has closed its website to new orders, adding to fears about the struggling chain's future. The retailer lost 13.6 million pounds last year and three book distributors have already stopped supplying it amid concerns that it is close to entering administration. Borders is currently looking for a white knight buyer and has held talks with WH Smith(SMWH.L) and HMV(HMV.L).

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants ($1=.6045 Pound)