Sunday newspaper round-up: IMF, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Barclays

The International Monetary Fund concluded its annual meeting in Lima with a warning to central bankers that the world economy risks another crash unless they continue to support growth with low interest rates. The Washington-based lender of last resort said in its final communiqué that uncertainty and financial market volatility have increased, and medium-term growth prospects have weakened. - Guardian

The world’s No 1 brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev is expected to increase its offer for SAB Miller early this week in a desperate attempt to land its London-listed rival. Sources close to AB InBev, maker of Budweiser, said it was likely to table an improved offer of £43-£44 a share before the 5pm bid deadline on Wednesday. Its current offer of £42.15, made public last week, values the British beer giant at about £65bn. - The Times

Barclays has been threatened with a £1bn legal claim by Amanda Staveley, the City dealmaker who helped to stage the bank’s controversial Gulf bailout at the peak of the financial crisis. A row over £322m in fees paid by Barclays to the state of Qatar lies at the centre of the case. A number of secret court hearings have been held in relation to a separate investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into the bank’s 2008 rescue fundraising. - The Times

The euro will be consigned to a permanent state of malaise as deeper integration will bring no prosperity to the crisis-hit bloc, according to the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. In a stark warning, Olivier Blanchard - who spent eight years firefighting the worst global financial crisis in history - said transferring sovereignty from member states to Brussels would be no “panacea” for the ills of the euro. - The Sunday Telegraph

The UK’s economic hot streak is in danger of fizzling out as the era of cheap energy and falling commodity prices comes to an end, according to economists at the EY ITEM Club. Policymakers will no longer be able to rely on the “sugar rush” of low inflation to boost the economy, as higher inflation looks set to return, EY will say in its closely watched quarterly assessment of the economy, to be released tomorrow. - The Sunday Telegraph

The former boss and the ex-operations chief of Afren have refused to honour a $20m (£13m) agreement they struck last year to avoid legal action over a pay scandal that led to the collapse of the FTSE 250 oil explorer. Osman Shahenshah and Shahid Ullah were fired a year ago after investigators discovered the pair had set up an offshore vehicle to funnel more than $100m in secret payments to themselves and a group of top executives known internally as “the A team”. - The Times

Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland is vying to buy more than £13bn worth of mortgages being sold by the government. RBS, bailed out by the taxpayer at the height of the credit crisis, is battling with American hedge fund Cerberus and Spanish lender Sabadell, which owns TSB. The prize is 131,000 home loans that have been in state hands since the nationalisation of Northern Rock seven years ago. There are also some Bradford & Bingley loans on the table. - The Times