Sunday newspaper round-up: Pound, GSK, Sainsbury's, HSBC

Mervyn King, the previous governor of the Bank of England, has warned that the global economy stands on the brink of another crash due to insufficient reform of the financial system. “Another crisis is certain, and the failure…to tackle the disequilibrium in the world economy makes it likely that it will come sooner rather than later,” said King in his new book, published in the Sunday Telegraph.

A break up of GlaxoSmithKline looks more likely as chairman Sir Philip Hampton has bowed to pressure from shareholders and hired head hunters to find a replacement for chief executive Andrew Witty, the Sunday Times reported. Some of the pharmaceutical behemoth's major investors have variously called for new leadership, more clarity on GSK's future and a splitting up of the company into separate divisions for the HIV, consumer healthcare and core medicines divisions.

AstraZeneca's shareholders are set to block a rumoured proposal to lower the threshold for directors to earn their bonuses. With the FTSE 100 drug maker guiding towards a “low to mid single-digit” fall in earnings, a major institutional shareholder told the Sunday Telegraph that investors would revolt if a proposal to set incentives to anything less than the current $4.20 per share.

Deutsche Boerse chief executive Carsten Kengeter should quickly mount a charm offensive in the City if the merger with London Stock Exchange is to succeed, a major shareholder in the LSE has said. The Sunday Telegraph said both British and German governments were understood to have already given the nod to the deal and, while the two sides have held discussions with regulators in France and Italy and major Qatari backers, the deal will not be announced this week as some had hoped.

The LSE's nil-premium merger is far from a done deal, the Sunday Times agreed, with not only the Brexit vote hurting discussions but history too, with several close-but-no-cigar discussions in years gone by. Some major shareholders are concerned about the lack of premium, while 10% shareholder Qatar Investment Authority has still not voiced an opinion, while regulators could yet throw some spanners into the works.

Barclays will this week confirm its exit from Africa, where it is one of the continent's largest lenders, though new chief executive Jes Staley could face months or even years to raise the potential £3.5bn cash the business is valued at. Barclays' rumoured retreat from the continent were reported by the Sunday Times, following reports in the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times in recent months.

HSBC could face an extension to its five-year money-laundering deadline under the US Department of Justice's 2012 deferred prosecution agreement. With the DoJ's monitor expressing significant concerns about the pace of progress, the Sunday Times said the deadline could be extended to 2018, which the bank has admitted could have an effect on its profits.

Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut another 200 staffing its commercial loans unit as part of management's cost-cutting drive. The division handles the state-owned bank's larger business customers, many of whom will now be served by the SME-focused business banking arm, the Mail on Sunday said.

But RBS's boss of business banking, Marcelino Castrillo, is confident the Financial Conduct Authority's investigation into the lender’s controversial Global Restructuring Group (GRG), the unit accused of mistreating small businesses, will exonerate the company. The GRG was accused of forcing unstable firms into distress so as to strip their assets rather than help them recover as intended, the Sunday Telegraph said.

Anglo American has hired investment banks to help sell off its $1bn nickel division. The Sunday Times said the company may have to accept a smaller up front price due to the 60% decline in the metal's price in the last two years.

Premier Oil shareholders could face a rescue rights issue later this year as a result of discussions between the company and its lenders, as the company warned it could breach debt covenants. Once shareholders vote to approve the recently agreed $120m purchase of oil assets from Eon, the restructuring talks could begin in earnest, the Sunday Times said.

Many US shale companies are likely to collapse over the coming months of low oil prices see creditors pull the plug, but veterans in the US fracking industry are confident it will ride out the storm. Mark Papa, a legendary figure in the shale fraternity and now at Riverstone Holdings, said OPEC's price war against shale will see deep-pocketed oil majors gobble up distressed assets, while America's mid-cost frackers will have an edge when the cycle turns, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Sainsbury's is working out whether and by how much it could increase its bid for Argos owner Home Retail, after its takeover approach was hijacked by South Africa's Steinhof International. The grocer's management are reviewing the £120m annual cost savings a potential merger could produce but are, City sources told the Mail on Sunday, unlikely to get shareholder approval for a bid over 185p a share.

Henderson Group has been sued by former fund manager Richard Pease, who has alleged the FTSE 250 group "failed and refused” to pay him £2.7m earned between 2012 and 2014 for running three portfolios, including the European Special Situations fund. The Sunday Times noted that with Pease entitled to half the management fees paid by investors, court papers showed his share amounted to almost £14m between 2009 and 2015.

Talks between the private equity owners of waste disposal business Biffa and two potential buyers are at a late stage, with a London flotation a back-up option. The Sunday Times reported that a Chinese state waste company is battling US private equity group Apollo for the corny that was sun out of Severn Trent in 2006.

Chancellor George Osborne’s “steady drip” of new taxes on business will harm investment and damage Britain’s competitiveness, according to the head of the British Chambers of Commerce. John Longworth said policymakers should focus on policies that lift productivity and improve Britain’s trade potential instead of increasing the burden on businesses and stifling their growth ambitions, the Sunday Telegraph reported.