Sunday Papers: Osborne to raise £20bn with fresh privatisation drive - other news

The Sunday Times

* George Osborne is planning a sweeping round of privatisations and property sales that could raise more than £20 billion; Sale of up to 30 state bodies, including Royal Mint and Dartford crossing, is on agenda.

* Britain's economy slowed sharply over the summer, official figures will show this week; economists expect that the third-quarter figures, out on Tuesday, will show growth as low as 0.4% down on the second quarter’s 1.2%.

* Turnover at the Gowan Group — which sells electrical appliances, cars, windows and kitchens — dropped 42% last year; the group shaved losses from €50 million to €21 million.

* Chinese firms are climbing up the value chain at dizzying speed, the country’s biggest export fair shows; bad news for American factories.

* Tom Moran, the hotelier whose group includes the Red Cow Moran and the Bewleys hotels in Ireland and the UK, suffered a €62 million loss last year accounts yet to be filed will show, but expects to break even this year after renegotiating loan terms.

* Jaeger, the British fashion brand, is opening three stores in London next month; the first will be in Covent Garden, followed by shops in Canary Wharf and Leadenhall market in the City.

* The company behind Suits You, the struggling menswear chain, is on the brink of administration, putting 300 jobs at risk.

* The European Investment Bank has given conditional backing to Eurostar’s controversial decision to buy German over French trains.

* Five exploration firms believe that huge reserves of oil lie off the Falklands, but the odds are against investors getting their money out.

The Sunday Telegraph

* The Government is to launch a major inquiry into "short-termism" and shareholder behaviour in the City after Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said that the Takeover Panel findings on how investors influence takeover battles had been "modest" and a "small move".