Government action to address domestic and European Union policies that cripple Britain's steel sector are still not enough to secure the industry's future, a parliamentary committee report said yesterday, Reuters reported. Nearly 4,000 jobs were lost in the British steel industry in October alone -- equivalent to about a fifth of the workforce - as Tata Steel buckled under pressure from decade-low steel prices ST-CRU-IDX, while SSI UK and Caparo Industries shut up shop.

Rolls-Royce, the British engineering group, announced a major management restructuring on Wednesday that the company said was aimed at simplifying a byzantine hierarchy and lowering operating costs after a string of profit warnings, the International New York Times reported. The group presented the changes as part of a broader plan to eliminate as much as 200 million pounds, or over $300 million, in annual operating costs.

Anglo American is preparing for a fight in South Africa over its restructuring plans as it considers whether to exit its investment in the country’s largest iron ore miner, the Financial Times reported. Kumba Iron Ore is on a long list of assets Anglo is considering putting up for sale as part of proposals outlined last week by Mark Cutifani, chief executive, to arrest the miner’s underperformance in a deepening commodities downturn. Mr Cutifani said Anglo must concentrate on its most profitable assets and could end up with a portfolio of about 20 mines from more than 50 today.

The pain among energy and mining producers is growing more acute as prices of global commodities continued their collapse on Tuesday, the International New York Times reported. The newest victim is the London-based mining firm Anglo American. On Tuesday, the company announced a drastic restructuring, which includes expanding job cuts, suspending its dividend, reducing its business unit and cutting its assets. Anglo American is far from alone, as scores of oil, natural gas, and mining companies are feeling the pain from low prices.

Lotus have won another two-week breathing space in insolvency proceedings brought against the Formula One team by the taxman, RTÉ reported. Mr Justice Birss granted the adjournment until December 21 after hearing that a share purchase agreement was due to be completed on December 16, with the £1.4million due to HM Revenue & Customs paid off shortly afterwards. Other creditors, owed in excess of £2million, would be paid by December 31, counsel Jeremy Bamford told London's High Court on Monday.

The Bank of England drew a line under the era of bank-bashing on Tuesday, saying it had no desire for new capital buffers and would seek to use its powers to strengthen lenders in good times rather than to tame the credit cycle, the Financial Times reported. The move reflected the government’s post-election shift away from the post-financial crisis emphasis on tighter regulation towards a more emollient stance on the City.

For the past month, the Bank of England has been telling us ultra-low interest rates should be combined with measures to hold back the growth of consumer credit. On Tuesday, it will reveal whether action will follow the warnings, when it publishes the results of its annual stress tests for banks and its latest financial stability report, the Financial Times reported.

Britain's financial watchdog has fined Barclays 72 million pounds ($109 million) for cutting corners in vetting wealthy customers in order to win a huge transaction described by one senior manager as potentially the "deal of the century," the International New York Times reported. Barclays arranged the 1.9 billion pound transaction in 2011 and 2012 for a number of rich clients deemed by the regulator to be politically exposed persons (PEPs), or people holding prominent positions that could be open to financial abuse.

British regulators will consider barring up to 10 executives linked to the 2008 collapse of the country's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS, some of whom still hold senior business roles, Reuters reported. The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) long-delayed report into HBOS was published on Thursday and blamed the HBOS management for its failure and criticised the previous regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The British government announced Tuesday a deal that would see London hand over an unprecedented array of powers—including around planning, transport and employment—to a local government encompassing Liverpool and five surrounding municipalities, The Wall Street Journal reported. The British government also said it would provide £900 million ($1.4 billion) for local investment over 30 years, which will be used to turn Liverpool’s recently revamped port into a hub for trade from the expansion of the Panama Canal, set to finish next year.