PRESS DIGEST - British business - nov 22

The Daily Telegraph

B&B INVESTORS TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION

Former shareholders of Bradford & Bingley BB.L are set to take legal action to recover losses incurred at the time of the nationalised lender's troubled 400-million-pound rights issue earlier this year. The B&B Rights Issue Action Group has been joined by "several hundred" private investors. They are targeting UBS (UBSN.VX) and Citigroup (C.N), the rights issue's joint underwriters, to press their case for compensation in court.

HSBC HIRES TWO BIG-HITTERS

HSBC (HSBA.L) has appointed Rachel Lomax, the former Bank of England deputy governor, and Goldman Sachs' John Thornton to beef up its board. One analyst said: "Between the two, HSBC seems to be saying it wants expertise on capital, liquidity, markets and the economy -- in which case the hires will be very good." Both are due to join as non-executive directors next month, and another appointment will be made in February, taking the number of directors on the board to 21.

FIVE MILLION SHOPPERS CASH IN ONLINE

According to research conducted for the Daily Telegraph, at least five million shoppers have used online discount shopping vouchers over the past few weeks. Once a niche phenomenon, the increase is thought to be caused by consumers trying to cut down their Christmas spending. Alexander Burmaster, of Nielsen Online, said: "The growth has been explosive. Over the last year, coupon or reward websites have seen growth of 122 per cent."