Papers

The chief executive of HSBC, the world's fourth-largest bank, yesterday warned that the state-sponsored bail-outs of western banks could encourage a return of reckless behaviour in the City and other financial centres, The Guardian reports.

US President-elect Barack Obama has appointed a team of high-level advisers including billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Google chief executive Eric Schmidt to guide his thoughts on the economy ahead of taking office on January 20, The Telegraph...

Stephen Hester, the new boss parachuted into Royal Bank of Scotland, has been hired on a salary of £1.2m and been awarded shares worth more than £6m to overhaul the bank, The Guardian reports.

The man regarded as the most hawkish Bank of England policymaker acknowledged inflation no longer poses a major threat, in the latest evidence that further interest rate cuts may be imminent, according to The Daily Telegraph .

Prudential is considering handing a 20% stake to a sovereign wealth fund to bankroll a bid for part of AIG, its stricken American rival, The Times reports.

Trevor Matthews, chief executive of insurer Friends Provident, is believed to be running the rule over HBOS's 59% stake in St James's Place Capital (SJP), the wealth manager, The Independent on Sunday reports.

Stephen Green, chairman of Britain's biggest bank HSBC, has thrown his weight behind the financial regulator's proposals to rein in the City's excessive bonus culture, The Telegraph reports.

The FBI is trying to pin down whether executives at four American financial institutions, believed to have triggered the $700bn proposed bail-out of Wall Street, lied to shareholders, it emerged yesterday, The Times reports.

The Government will come under pressure today to rewrite its controversial plans for dealing with ailing British banks as some of the City's most powerful fund managers claim that the new rules would ride roughshod over their rights, The Times reports....

Lehman Brothers is actively searching for a white knight to buy the bank with the help of the US government after investors rejected chairman Dick Fuld's plan to split Lehman in two, sending its shares down as much as 42%, The Telegraph reports.