THE DAILY BRIEFING

BANKERS JAILED

Three former senior bankers have been jailed, for two years or more each, for concealing the loss of billions in deposits at the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank, the biggest accounting fraud in Irish corporate history.

Willie McAteer, John Bowe and Denis Casey committed ‘sham transactions’ to inflate deposit levels in 2008.

LSE DEAL

The Deutsche Boerse plan to take over the London Stock Exchange only just scraped over the threshold of investor support.

The deal was supported by 63.65pc of investors – barely above the 60pc needed. There are concerns that watchdogs might still block the takeover.

KOREAN WOES

Nurofen and Durex owner Reckitt Benckiser has toned down its full-year sales outlook after it was hit by a scandal in South Korea, after humidifier sterilisers it sold were linked to deadly lung infections. Shares were down 1.6pc, or 116p, at 7322p.

ENERGY PROBE

SSE is under investigation by energy regulator Ofgem over the way it switched customers to prepayment meters.

The investigation will focus on whether SSE breached Ofgem’s standards of conduct, aimed at ensuring suppliers treat customers fairly. Shares were down 1.6pc, or 25p, at 1516p.

PHARMACIES SELL-OFF

The owner of LloydsPharmacy will have to sell 12 outlets so it can buy Sainsbury’s £125m pharmacies business.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it found 12 areas where German healthcare firm Celesio, which owns LloydsPharmacy, and Sainsbury’s operate sites so close to one another the takeover would damage competition.

PRICE CUT

The owner of credit card business MBNA has cut its price tag to secure a quick sale.

Bank of America is seeking to sell the £7bn business, with possible bidders thought to include Lloyds, Virgin Money and several US private equity houses.

PUB FIGHT

The Government is being urged to replace its new pubs code adjudicator because of his ‘inability’ to command the trust of pub tenants.

MPs on the Business Committee said Paul Newby had a ‘perceived conflict of interest’ because of his career as a surveyor with Fleurets, which receives income from large pub companies.