Hollingsworth Daily Post

• A consortium headed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing has agreed a deal to buy the UK networks of French power group EDF for £5.8bn ($9.1bn).The group includes his holding company Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI), Hongkong Electric, which is 40%-owned by CKI, and the Li Ka-Shing Foundation.The bid has been mooted for a number of months.


• British Airways has revealed a steep loss for the April-to-June quarter after being hit by cabin crew strikes and disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.BA reported a pre-tax loss of £164m, larger than the £148m loss it made in the same period last year.BA said the impact of all the disruptions was £250m in the quarter, in line with previous estimates.


• Entertainment giant Walt Disney has announced the sale of its Miramax film division for about $660m to a group of private equity investors.The investors, Filmyard, includes construction magnate Ron Tutor and investment firm Colony Capital.Disney has been negotiating with potential buyers for months to sell the division, which has made films such as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love.


• Assets bought by the US to bail out AIG and Bear Stearns are showing a paper profit for the first time, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has said.This increases the likelihood that US taxpayers will get repaid the tens of billions of dollars used to stop the financial giants going bust.Only when the assets held by the bank are sold will any profit be realised.


• Banking giant Citigroup has agreed to pay $75m (£48m) to settle civil charges that it misled investors over potential losses from high-risk mortgages.It agreed the settlement with US financial watchdog the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).The SEC said Citigroup had repeatedly made misleading statements about the extent of its exposure to subprime loans as the housing market slumped.


• China has allowed the publication of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff report for the first time since 2006.China had previously blocked the annual report's release because it objected to the IMF's view that its currency, the yuan, needed to be a lot stronger.The report contained some criticism, saying "several directors agreed that the exchange rate is undervalued", but added that others disagreed.


• The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced plans to update its guidelines on bankers' pay, following the agreement of new European rules earlier this month.The rules include tighter restrictions on bonus payments and pension deals, and will now apply to more than 2,500 City firms.Previously, only the biggest banks were subject to FSA pay rules.The changes are due to come into force in October after consultation.

BBC Business News 30th July 2010