Cable's business dept hit as Osborne wields £6bn axe - papers

Vince Cable's Business Department will bear the brunt of £6bn in cuts outlined today as the coalition makes its first moves on the deficit.

The Business Secretary has agreed to find £900m in savings over the next nine months. He is expected to cull regional development agencies in the South, quangos and some of the last-minute grants and loans extended by his predecessor, Lord Mandelson, writes the Times.

Dr Cable is to be allowed to recycle £200m of his savings, leaving his net loss at £700m - still the largest in Whitehall. Allies said that he was comfortable because he regarded tackling the deficit as an imperative and had questioned many of Lord Mandelson's spending decisions. FULL STORY...

Osborne's plans to sell stakes in RBS and Lloyds hit by banking review

George Osborne's hopes of a "Tell Sid" style privatisation of RBS and Lloyds Banking Group have been dashed by the government's pledge to launch a year-long investigation into splitting up the banks.

Senior RBS executives have told the City that there is little chance of a quick sale of the bank's shares because of the commission the chancellor is setting up and his promise to launch a competition review of the banking sector, according to the Guardian.

Bruce van Saun, finance director at RBS, has conceded to City analysts that a sale of any stake will be pushed back by the investigations. FULL STORY...

Nigerian billionaire enters battle for Arsenal

One of Africa's richest men is plotting to buy a stake in Arsenal in a move that could trigger a full-blown takeover battle for the Premier League football club.

Aliko Dangote, a billionaire Nigerian industrialist, is in talks to buy the 16% stake being sold by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, the club's fourth-largest shareholder.

Dangote is understood to have registered his interest in buying the holding with Blackstone, the American finance house that has been given the job of finding a buyer for the shares.

Bracewell-Smith's stake is currently worth £96m, but she is seeking up to £160m for the shares. Her holding is key to the future ownership of the north London club. FULL STORY...