PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 17

Feb 17 (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

The volume of French bonds being traded has doubled this month to levels not seen since the eurozone crisis because of uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election in late April. http://bit.ly/2lpyRJk

Britain has taken a step closer to relying on imported gas after Centrica Plc said that the country's only sizeable storage facility may be out of action next year. http://bit.ly/2lpf8JD

The Guardian

The Competition and Markets Authority is to scrutinise Heineken NV's planned 305 million pounds acquisition of 1,900 pubs from Punch Taverns Plc, a deal that will make the Dutch brewer the UK's third-largest pub group. http://bit.ly/2lphKHi

The UK business secretary, Greg Clark, has said he has been reassured about the future of General Motor Co's Vauxhall production operations in Britain, following a meeting with the U.S. carmaker's chairman. http://bit.ly/2lpsJRg

The Telegraph

Bruce Carnegie-Brown will be announced as the new chairman of Lloyd's of London next week as the former JP Morgan veteran secures one of the most prestigious posts in the City. http://bit.ly/2lpfUX3

The UK's biggest banks have warned the government against launching a "significant" overhaul of the rules governing executive pay, the Daily Telegraph has learned. http://bit.ly/2lpqnBX

Sky News

Train drivers have voted to reject a deal that their union, ASLEF, had agreed with Southern Rail to end a long-running dispute. http://bit.ly/2lpCpuT

Thousands of Argos workers will share a 2.4 million pounds payout after it emerged they had been paid less than the national living wage. http://bit.ly/2lph9Wk

The Independent

Deutsche Bank AG, the troubled German lender that loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump, has performed a detailed investigation into the U.S. president's personal accounts in a bid to determine whether he had any connections with Russia. http://ind.pn/2lpqs8q (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)