PRESS DIGEST - British Business - Jan 28

LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) -

The Telegraph

ACCOUNTANT JOINS BACKLASH AGAINST TAX DODGE ATTACKS - Ernst & Young's managing partner for Europe, Mark Otty, said a moral tax code would not work as companies have a duty to pay the lowest rate permitted. Politicians should change the law if unhappy with corporate ethics.

OVERSEAS CITY INVESTORS SHOW UK IS 'OPEN FOR BUSINESS' - 46 percent of Britain's biggest City firms are owned by foreign investors, according to a report by IMAS, an independent M&A adviser, showing that the UK is "open for business."

EXECUTIVE PAY TO BE FROZEN AT A THIRD OF LARGEST FIRMS - 38 percent of Britain's largest companies are planning to freeze the executive pay, the highest level since 2009, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Independent

FINAL SALARY PENSIONS CLOSING AT RECORD RATE - Only 13 percent of Britain's 6,000 final salary schemes remained open to new workers, a drop of one third from 19 percent in 2011 with quantitative easing blamed for undermining the retirement plans.

STELIOS READY TO BACK GURASSA AS CHAIRMAN OF EASYJET - EasyJet Deputy Chairman, Charles Gurassa, has emerged as the leading contender to replace Chairman Mike Rake after a source close to EasyJet founder and top shareholder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, said relations between the two had always been civil and cordial. Haji-ioannou voted against Rake's re-election in 2012 but supported Gurassa's re-appointment.

The Times

MORTGAGE 'CRUNCH TIME' RAISES FEAR OF SURGE IN REPOSSESSIONS - The increase in interest-only mortgages before the financial crisis could see more people lose their homes with 2017 as a 'crunch year', the Financial Services Authority will say this week.

DE LA RUE IS LEFT HOPING FOR CHANGE AS CHINESE DEAL SLIPS OUT OF ITS GRASP - De la Rue, the printer of bank notes, has suffered a further blow, missing out a large contract from the Chinese Government. According to insiders, the company was shortlisted but is struggling to win tenders.