Wednesday newspaper round-up: Retailers, Tata, Reckitt, BP

Many leading UK retailers have websites that require “serious attention” to make them safe against cyber attacks, according to new research that reveals how well stores are dealing with the rising threat from hackers and online criminals. Matalan faced particular criticism over its site’s ability to counter cyber attacks, while others including Waitrose, Tesco, Debenhams and Topshop also ranked poorly compared to other British retail companies. – Financial Times

The day of reckoning for the British steel industry has been set for May 28, with Tata Steel planning to close down its UK arm if it is unable to negotiate a viable sale by that date, according to people familiar with the situation. The Indian steel group caused shockwaves at the end of March when it announced that it would sell its British division, either as a whole or in parts, after making substantial losses for several years. – Financial Times

Amazon is in talks with British broadcasters to add their channel brands and programmes to its streaming service, as it gears up to use Jeremy Clarkson as the spearhead of an attack on the pay-TV market. The giant is attempting to adapt its American Streaming Partners Programme to the UK media market and make its Prime Instant Video service and Fire TV set-top box hardware into a more credible alternative to Sky and Virgin Media, and give it an edge over Netflix. – Telegraph

Nurofen’s manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser should be fined $6m for misleading consumers over a range of “targeted” pain products that cost twice as much as its standard painkillers despite having the same active ingredient and effect, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has found. In December the federal court found the British company Reckitt Benckiser, the manufacturer of the painkiller, had engaged in “misleading conduct” by representing that its Nurofen Specific Pain products targeted a type or area of pain despite being identical, and ordered they be removed from supermarket shelves within three months. – The Guardian

One of the world’s biggest hotel chains has announced it will plant vegetable gardens at many of its hotels as part of a plan to cut food waste by a third. AccorHotels, which includes the Pullman, Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis chains, intends to “reduce food waste by 30%, in particular by sourcing food locally”, chief executive Sebastien Bazin said on Tuesday. – Telegraph

Oil prices reached a five-month high yesterday, exceeding $44 for the first time this year amid hopes that a Russian-brokered deal to freeze output by the world’s top producers could succeed. The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 71 cents to touch $44 after Russia’s Interfax news agency, quoting diplomatic sources in Doha, reported that Russia and Saudi Arabia, which together pump about a fifth of the world’s oil, had reached a tentative pact that could be finalised this weekend. – The Times

Pressure mounted on BP last night after a shareholder group urged investors to block a 20 per cent pay rise to £14 million for the chief executive. Speaking 48 hours before Bob Dudley is to address investors at the oil group’s annual meeting, Tim Bush, head of governance and financial analysis at Pirc, the shareholder advisory group, recommended that investors vote against Mr Dudley’s deal. – The Times