Tuesday Papers: Property trust merger halted by independents - bid news and gossip

Financial Times

* The merger between the UK Commercial Property Trust and F&C Commercial Property Trust to create a £1.6bn property group has been blocked by independent shareholders.

* News Corp is to sell control of its three Chinese television channels to a local state-controlled private equity fund.

* The boards of International Power and GDF-Suez gave the green light to a merger on Monday.

* The chief executives of the UK’s largest banks - led by Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC and the British Bankers’ Association - have joined forces in an attempt to increase lending to credit-starved small businesses.

* Google and Verizon on Monday formally announced a joint proposal for how traffic on the internet should be regulated.

* Skype plans to raise up to $100m in an initial public offering.

* Chrysler has reported a net second-quarter loss of $172m, down from $197m in the previous three months; operating income rose 28% from the first quarter to $183m.

* BP’s estimate of its costs for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have spiralled by more than $2bn over the past three weeks to $6.1bn, the company said on Monday.

* Saudi Arabia fails to impose BlackBerry ban.

* China plans to close outdated factories owned by more than 2,000 companies in heavy industries in energy drive.

* Sara Lee chief, Brenda Barnes, stepped down to concentrate on recovery three months after a stroke.