Monday newspaper round-up: Royal Dutch Shell, Tata Steel, Rolls Royce

A senior executive at one of the City’s biggest fund managers has attacked the proposed takeover of BG Group by Royal Dutch Shell, likening it to the disastrous purchase of ABN Amro by Royal Bank of Scotland in 2007, soon before the financial crisis. Ian McVeigh, head of governance at Jupiter Fund Management, said that Shell needed to create £30 billion of value from acquiring BG to make the deal work. “Hugely expensive moves whose main purpose is to rebalance portfolios have a grim history,” he said. - The Times

Tata Steel has been accused of “bully boy” tactics after demanding its suppliers slash their prices by 30% as it attempts to pass on the cost of the steel crisis. The Indian-owned company has written to businesses in its supply chain telling them it requires an immediate 10% price reduction on all purchases, and plans to increase the cuts to 30%. - The Daily Telegraph

Engineering giant Rolls-Royce has discussed the prospect of ValueAct, the US fund which is its largest shareholder, taking a seat on its board. However, management of the FTSE 100 engine maker is understood to be resisting such a move, with concerns about other investor and customer needs being pushed aside. - The Daily Telegraph

The CBI has struck an upbeat note on the economy, only days after the Bank of England warned that the outlook for global growth had “weakened”. Last week the Bank nudged down its growth forecasts by 0.1 of a percentage point for the next three years and warned that the weakness in China and other emerging markets was weighing on the recovery. A doveish Inflation Report implied that interest rates would not begin to rise until 2017, sending the pound tumbling. - The Times

Saudi Arabia is determined to stick to its policy of pumping enough oil to protect its global market share, despite the financial pain inflicted on the kingdom’s economy. Officials said that the world’s largest exporter will produce enough oil to meet customer demand, indicating that the kingdom is in no mood to change tack ahead of the 4 December meeting in Vienna of the producers’ cartel Opec. - Financial Times

The Catalan independence campaign heads for a potentially perilous new phase on Monday, as the regional parliament prepares to vote on a resolution to “disconnect” from the rest of Spain and renounce all rulings from the country’s constitutional court. The resolution commits the recently elected parliament to the “creation of the independent state of Catalonia, in the form of a republic”. It also calls for the passing of new legislation to set up an independent tax authority and social security system within 30 days. - Financial Times

Dido Harding, the beleaguered chief executive of TalkTalk, is expected to scrap the company’s dividend as the broadband provider’s finances come under intense pressure in the wake of its crippling cyber attack. TalkTalk is facing major threats to its business as it battles the fallout from the security breach, which exposed the personal details of more than 150,000 customers. - The Daily Telegraph