Thursday newspaper round-up: LSE/Deutsche Boerse, cyber fraud, BT, IMF

The European trading giant planned by Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange Group will be based in London but headed by the German group’s chief executive, according to people close to the two sides. They are set to proceed with plans to make London the domicile for the new holding company, despite the looming June 23 referendum on British membership of the EU, in a boost to the City’s role as Europe’s dominant financial centre. – Financial Times

The former chairman of Lloyds Banking Group has said its shareholders “should be grateful” that it did not abandon the takeover of rival HBOS during the financial crisis, even though the deal left them nursing big losses. Sir Victor Blank, speaking publicly for the first time since retiring in 2009, said Lloyds and the government had both ended up benefiting from the deal because the bank is now gaining from its dominant market share and the taxpayer funds used to bail it out had been recouped. – Financial Times

The spread of cyber-fraud has created a surge in economic crime against British companies, with more than half of all firms braced for an online attack, according to new research. Fifty-one percent of UK organisations have been the victim of economic crimes of any form in the past two years, up from 44pc in 2014. British firms are above the global average of 36pc of companies experiencing crime, research by PwC suggested. – Telegraph

BT’s critics were braced for disappointment on Thursday, with Ofcom expected to downgrade its threat to break up the former state telecoms monopoly. In its once-a-decade review of the telecoms industry, the regulator is expected to attempt reform of the current structure of Openreach, BT’s network division, rather than recommend a split. – Telegraph

Workers’ rights enshrined in European Union law could come under attack following a Brexit vote, the Trades Union Congress has warned, as it sought to shore up support among union members for staying inside the 28-country bloc. Many rights accumulated over decades, including paid annual leave, time off for antenatal appointments and fair treatment for part-time workers, are “used every day by millions of workers”, the TUC said. But if the UK votes to leave the EU, “no one can say what will happen to these rights”. – Guardian

The International Monetary Fund has urged the UK to ease back on austerity should the economy slow further, as it warned finance ministers at the G20 summit in Shanghai to boost public spending on infrastructure to fuel global growth. In a report on the UK’s economic outlook, the IMF said the risks of a more severe downturn were mounting as David Cameron’s government battled sluggish productivity growth, a balance of ayments deficit, high levels of household debt, and the forthcoming referendum on EU membership. - Guardian

BHP Billiton’s legal woes have worsened after it emerged that executives at its Brazilian joint venture have been accused of murder by police over the Samarco disaster that killed 19 people. The allegations, which could lead to criminal charges, came after BHP warned that it could take years to draw a line under the liabilities arising from the bursting of a huge dam holding waste materials last November. It has written off the value of the business on its balance sheet. – The Times