Newspaper round-up

LONDON (Reuters) - Here are the business headlines from Thursday's British business press.

Financial Times

FRESH WARNING ON BANKS' CAPITAL

Charlie Bean, deputy governor of the Bank of England, said the government may have to loan banks billions more pounds, two months after an unprecedented 37 billion pound recapitalisation package to stimulate the economy. Mr. Bean said banks are still finding it progressively harder to lend and implied interest rates may fall even lower as the economic outlook continues to deteriorate. He encouraged the Financial Services Authority to consider reducing the banks' minimum capital requirements.

C4 PITCHES 500 MILLION POUND RESCUE BID.

Negotiations are taking place between Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide over a deal that would see parts of BBC Worldwide split off and conjoined with the ailing broadcaster as a new company, with Channel 4 investing 500 million pounds of capital. Such a deal would solve the financial crisis facing Channel 4, but problems could arise over the control of the new entity. "Channel 4 has high expectations of controlling any combination with Worldwide. I think it is at least as likely to be the other way round", remarked a person familiar with the matter.

GRIM JOBS OUTLOOK AFTER DOLE CLAIMANTS TOP ONE MILLION

Office of National Statistics data indicates unemployment rose by 75,700 to 1.07 million in November, the highest figure for eight years. Joblessness is expected to rise at an even faster rate in January and February 2009, as many employers are believed to be waiting until after Christmas before announcing redundancies. The number of young people aged 18-24 out of work rose 55,000 during the three months to October to 597,000, the worst level since 1995. "We are looking at a forecast (for total unemployment) of three million in 2010, or higher", said the UBS(UBSN.VX) economist Amit Kara.

MPC MULLED AN EVEN BIGGER REDUCTION

Economists are predicting a further cut in interest rates in January after the minutes of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee's last meeting revealed an even sharper cut in interest rates was proposed than the one percent reduction which took place. A unanimous vote from the MPC cut the rate to two percent, the lowest level since 1951; a stronger cut was considered but ultimately ruled out, due to the fears of committee members that a more aggressive move would undermine the pound. "With headline inflation set to plummet, further aggressive cuts should materialise in the New Year", commented Colin Ellis, economist at Daiwa Securities.

WOOLWORTHS' STORES GIVEN FINAL DATE FOR CLOSURE

Administrator Deloitte has failed to find a buyer for Woolworths WLW.L, and all 807 of the retailer's stores will close by January 5, with the likely loss of 27,000 jobs. Though Woolworths will not be sold as a going concern, other retailers are expected to buy the leases on around 300 of the stores. Current strong trading at the stores should allow creditors to claim back most of the company's debt. Deloitte says talks with potential acquirers could yet see the Woolworths brand return to the high street.

ARSENAL'S FUTURE IN CHAOS AFTER BOARDROOM ROW

The board of Arsenal has ousted Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith following reported heated exchanges at a board meeting last Thursday. A statement released by Arsenal said Bracewell-Smith would leave the boards of the company and club with immediate effect. There had been concerns on the board the Bracewell-Smith was looking to sell her stake, and her departure effectively renders void a lockdown agreement under which directors had agreed to sell shares only to each other. Red and White Holdings, the Arsenal investment company of Russian steel magnate Alisher Usmanov and his partner Farhad Moshiri, said: "We are watching developments with interest."

MONEYSUPERMARKET FOUNDER STEPS ASIDE AS PROFIT FALL LIKELY

Simon Nixon, founder and chief executive of the Moneysupermarket(MONY.L) website, is to step down to the position of executive deputy chairman. The announcement comes as the website announces it expects earnings to fall again next year, and will see Nixon spending one day per week with the company while pursuing other start-up opportunities. Peter Plumb, who formally joined Moneysupermarket's financial services business last month, will take up the position of chief executive. Shares were up 2.75 pence at 49 pence.