Britain's housebuilders face a dose of harsh economic reality next year as government steps to kickstart sales falter and strategies to bolster their balance sheets run out of steam, Reuters reported. Housebuilders have enjoyed stable sales for 18 months as the government put housing centre-stage in its battle to spark economic growth, with plans like NewBuy and Funding for Lending, and any slump would hit these wider ambitions.

Struggling paper, packaging and signage merchant PaperlinX has announced more restructuring and cost cuts in its business in the United Kingdom in response to depressed trading conditions in Europe, The Australian reported. The company said on Thursday that the UK restructuring would cost $3 million, but combined with cost cuts, would deliver $13 million in annual benefits.

Years of poor governance and mismanagement have turned London's local government pension schemes into a "ticking time-bomb" that could mean a massive bill for taxpayers, a new report has found. The report by think-tank Pensions Institute published on Monday said that by "shopping around" for the most favourable actuarial assumptions, local government pension schemes were understating the real value of their pension liabilities and repeatedly deferring funding recovery plans.

Britain is warning other EU countries that it will block a single eurozone banking supervisor unless those outside the system win more safeguards, as London expresses growing frustration that its demands are being left to last, the Financial Times reported. While David Cameron, the UK prime minister, has said he “does not want to stand in the way” of a eurozone banking union, behind the scenes British diplomats are stepping up calls for urgent progress to be made to resolve their concerns.

Environmental consultancy AEA Technology Group said it plans to appoint administrators for its companies in England and Wales, after failing to resolve debt issues, Reuters reported. AEA - which advises the U.S. Department of Energy, the British government and several companies on climate change and energy issues - said it was unable to assess its financial position and asked for its shares to be suspended from trading.

U.K. bank executives want investors to buy into their vision of the future. But the past keeps catching up with them, The Wall Street Journal reported. During recent results presentations, CEOs of British banks boasted how they had cleaned up their balance sheets, refocused their franchises and cut underperforming business lines. However, most of the headlines were buried in the back of their regulatory filings.

The Bank of England is likely on Thursday to opt for a pause in bond purchases aimed at boosting the economy after Britain exited recession and some rate-setters voiced doubts about the policy's bite. The central bank has bought a total of 375 billion pounds- worth of British government bonds since the 2007-08 financial crisis, completing the latest round of purchases last week. Economists have been paring back expectations of more buying, or quantitative easing, in November since data showed late last month surprisingly strong GDP growth between July and September.

British retail sales slowed sharply in October as Britons limited to spending to essentials such as food and drink, the British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday, dampening hopes that consumers will drive the economic recovery, Reuters reported. Like-for-like retail sales - a measure that strips out changes in floor space and is favoured by equity analysts - fell by 0.1 percent in value terms on the year, the BRC said, making October one of the worst months for the sector this year.

UK personal insolvency figures are predicted to fall further tomorrow, but experts warned the recent improving trend is likely to hit a turning point soon, with large numbers of people still living on the brink, The Telegraph reported. Charles Turner, vice-president of the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA), expects personal insolvencies to fall further from the four-year low set in the second quarter of this year to around 26,600 in official figures for the third quarter published tomorrow.

British electricals retailer Comet is set to enter into administration next week, the latest household name to fall by the wayside in the consumer downturn. Directors of the struggling company, which employs 6,500 staff in 240 stores, filed a notice on Thursday to a British court, a spokesman confirmed on Thursday. "Comet Group Limited can confirm that it has taken steps to seek the protection of the court with a view to the company entering into administration during week commencing Nov 5," the spokesman said.