Wednesday newspaper round-up: BG, Apple, Opec, Microsoft

The Guardian reports that The Institute of Directors has attacked the £25m pay deal promised to the new boss of oil and gas group BG, claiming it damaged the reputation of corporate Britain, and asked the company’s shareholders to block the proposed package.

On Tuesday, Apple set a record by becoming the first business in the world to be valued at $700bn (£446bn), reports the Telegraph.

The technology giant, already the world’s most valuable business, saw its shares rise nearly 1% in early trading on Tuesday, giving it a market capitalisation of $701.7bn.

Oil prices continued to slump after negotiations between some members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) were fruitless, reports the Times.

Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting in Vienna, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico held talks with Russia, but no progress was made. On Tuesday, Brent crude fell to $78.41 a barrel, close to a four-year low.

Microsoft has been fined $140m in back taxes and interest by the Chinese government, the Financial Times reports.

Chinese news agency Xinhua said that while the firm’s China-based business were officially in the red, the profits were being booked in offshore tax havens and Microsoft has since admitted to tax evasion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the US Department of Justice is investigating allegations that an employee of HSBC leaked confidential client information to a so-called 'hedge-fund'.

The event may have taken place in March 2010, when the London-based bank was advising Prudential on an acquisition involving a multi-billion dollar transaction.