Taxpayer to foot bill for Pru AIA bid - papers

Prudential is expected to palm off part of the cost of its aborted £24bn bid for Asian rival AIA on to the UK taxpayer.

The embattled insurer will seek to offset a chunk of its estimated £400m costs for the failed takeover tilt against its tax liabilities, City sources say.

It means Prudential could end up paying the taxman tens of millions less than it would otherwise have done had its planned swoop on AIA not collapsed in June, the Daily Mail reports.

Boss Tidjane Thiam will outline his plans to mitigate the cost of his Asian misadventure when the British insurance giant unveils half-time results on Thursday.

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Experts warn pension changes a 'nightmare'

A group of pension industry experts have attacked plans to link private pension increases to the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation, the BBC reports.

They say many pensioners have been promised Retail Prices Index-linked annual increases and retrospective legislation could breach human rights.

Philip Read, chairman of British Coal pension trustees, says this could be a "potential nightmare".

But the Government says public and private pensions need to be consistent.

Members of an online forum for pensions experts, Mallowstreet, have written to the Government, claiming the change has been imposed on the industry and a full consultation period is required.

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Pensions swamp Footsie firms

A tenth of Britain's biggest companies are saddled with final salary pension schemes which dwarf their market value, according to a report.

Consultancy firm Pension Capital Strategies says ten members of the FTSE 100 now have retirement plans greater than the size of the firm, the Daily Mail reports.

But for British Airways, BT and engineer Invensys the situation is more unsettling still, with their pensions liabilities now more than twice the market capitalisation of the groups.

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