Dec 14 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
- Chris Sier, the academic appointed by UK's Financial Conduct Authority to throw light on hidden costs in fund management, was forced to apologise on Wednesday following a complaint by the industry's lobbying organisation after he accused the industry of being "arrogant and complacent". http://bit.ly/2zb8k8X
- The water regulator Ofwat claimed the regime for setting water bills from the spring of 2020 will be the hardest yet for any privatised regulated utility in UK. http://bit.ly/2z9J9DD
The Guardian
- Britain's long jobs boom appears to have come to an end after the Office for National Statistics figures showed the number of people in work fell by 56,000 in the three months ending in October. http://bit.ly/2z9RjMg
- The Feedback charity is backing the owner of a genuine farm called Woodside Farm – a name Tesco Plc has also used on its value pork range since 2016 – and is threatening legal proceedings if the retail giant does not drop the name Woodside Farms. http://bit.ly/2zaihmU
The Telegraph
- Britain has emerged as the first recipient of gas from a sanctioned Russian project after fears of a winter supply crisis drove prices close to five year highs. A deal has been struck to bring the debut cargo from Yamal to the Isle of Grain import terminal by the end of December. http://bit.ly/2zaj5rW
- Sports Direct International Plc's shareholders have voted to block an 11 million pounds ($14.75 million) payout to its founder Mike Ashley's brother John Ashley. http://bit.ly/2zaGjyg
Sky News
- The British Government has suffered its first defeat on key Brexit legislation after 11 Tory MPs staged a rebellion to demand a "meaningful" vote on any divorce deal with the EU. http://bit.ly/2zaKJ8q
- The Bank of England has set out plans to end the use of gendered language in policy documents. They include ditching "chairman" in favour of "chair" and replacing "grandfathering" - a term related to exemptions granted under new rules or contract terms - with "conversion". http://bit.ly/2z9U3JN
The Independent
- A new rule on gender stereotyping in advertising will be introduced next year to help tackle harmful and outdated practices, UK's regulator Advertising Standards Authority has said. https://ind.pn/2zaxTHb ($1 = 0.7457 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Peter Cooney)