Dec 7 (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
- Cancer patients and people with severe mental illness are going without essential medicines because of shortages that have cost the National Health Service 180 million pounds in six months, the Times has learnt. http://bit.ly/2AfJ7MX
- Britain must pay an exit bill of about 40 billion pounds even if it does not get a trade deal with the European Union, Philip Hammond said on Wednesday. http://bit.ly/2AxrJCa
The Guardian
- Michel Barnier, the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, has told member states that the British government has just 48 hours to agree a text on a potential deal or it will be told that negotiations will not move on to the next stage. http://bit.ly/2ACG8e6
- More than 2 million people in the United Kingdom are stuck with permanent overdrafts, with many trapped in a "vicious cycle" of borrowing, according to a debt charity. http://bit.ly/2Ae3iuI
The Telegraph
- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker fears Theresa May's government could collapse next week if Brexit talks remain deadlocked, the Telegraph has learnt. http://bit.ly/2Aguklb
- Hedge fund billionaire Christopher Hohn's bid to oust the London Stock Exchange's chairman has received a major setback after an influential investor advisory firm urged shareholders not to support him. http://bit.ly/2BOcR0d
Sky News
- Prudential Plc is courting buyers for a bigger than expected portion of its UK annuities business worth up to 13 billion pounds ($17.40 billion). http://bit.ly/2zXD63b
- A group of Conservative members of parliament has written to Prime Minister Theresa May expressing outrage at colleagues "imposing their own conditions" on the Brexit negotiations. http://bit.ly/2AdCdaN
($1 = 0.7472 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)