Friday Papers: RBS to unveil £2bn deal over card processing arm - bid news and gossip

Financial Times

* RBS is today expected to announce the sale of the UK’s leading credit card payment processing business, Global Merchant Services arm, to private equity in a £2bn deal expected to generate an £800m to £900m book gain.

* 3i moves to cut debt with plans for €1bn sale of German groups.

* Kraft reported a 13% rise in second quarter earnings as contributions from its recently acquired Cadbury unit helped it overcome weak North American results.

* Fund manager Schroders attracts record amount of new client money.

* Transocean, the owner of drilling rig in BP Gulf of Mexico spill, posts drop in profits.

* Russian ban on grain exports recalls 2008 food crisis as wheat prices soar.

* GM in drive to woo European buyers with a ‘lifetime warranty’; the US carmaker seeks to reverse fall in sales.

* William Godley, the businessman who admitted running a £178m Ponzi scheme, has been jailed.

The Daily Telegraph

* North Sea oil companies, including BP, are considering whether to build a giant cap to contain future oil spills like the Gulf of Mexico disaster in a move that could raise the cost of drilling.

* The US government is providing Ford with a $250m loan guarantee as part of its plan to double export over the next five years.