Osborne warns of debt crisis unless cuts are backed – papers

IFAonline rounds up what the newspapers are saying…

George Osborne has warned that Britain will face a sovereign debt crisis like Portugal's unless business and unions back the Coalition's spending cuts. MORE...

Nick Clegg and Vince Cable will demand major reforms of the banks as the Liberal Democrats flex their muscles and adopt a more "arms length" policy from the Conservatives. MORE...

Oil prices have surged to a two-and-a-half-year high on concerns about a shortfall in supply. MORE...

A group of top Rothschild investment bankers are suing the Swiss banking giant UBS for losses of £1.25m they suffered from a "highly aggressive tax avoidance" plan that went wrong. MORE...

The eurozone formally committed itself to a two-speed economy on Thursday after the central bank raised interest rates on the same day Portugal joined Ireland and Greece in officially requesting a bail-out. MORE...

Britain's banks have a total exposure of €33.7bn (£29.5bn) to Portugal through their ownership of government debt and a range of other securities and loans, according to analysts at CreditSights. MORE...

BP and its four Russian billionaire partners will hold a board meeting of their joint venture, TNK-BP, in an attempt to break the deadlock over a bitter dispute. MORE...

Hays, the recruitment giant, yesterday unveiled booming job activity in all its markets around the world, except Britain and Ireland. MORE...

The US is demanding HSBC should reveal the names of potentially thousands of Americans who have opened secret accounts with the bank in India, in a widening investigation into tax evasion. MORE...

European finance ministers will today start several weeks of wrangling over Portugal's €80bn bailout with Germany demanding reforms as the price for rescuing the ailing economy. MORE...

The gloom engulfing the High Street deepened yesterday as both Halfords and Carpetright joined the growing list of retailers sounding the alert on profits. MORE...

President Barack Obama said he hopes lawmakers can reach a last-minute deal today to avert a government shutdown after a third round of talks with congressional leaders last night failed to end an impasse over the federal budget. MORE...