Feb 2 (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
- Tesco could be forced to dispose of more than 600 stores unless it can convince regulators that its 3.9 billion pound ($4.94 billion) merger with Booker will not harm competition. Analysis by the data team at The Times has found there are 635 Tesco stores situated less than 500 metres from a shop in Booker's network of Premier, Londis and Budgens stores, raising fears about the impact on consumers, suppliers and rivals. http://bit.ly/2k0pmiG
- Emerald Investment Partners withdrew from the bidding for Punch Taverns, leaving the field clear for Heineken and Patron Capital Advisers to complete their recommended 1.8 billion pound deal. http://bit.ly/2k0wCLf
The Guardian
- The European commission's Brexit negotiators must strike a "workable" deal with Theresa May's government to protect the City of London or the economies of the remaining member states will be damaged, a leaked EU report warns. http://bit.ly/2k0DZ5v
- Deutsche Bank said it will stop financing coal projects as part of its commitments under the Paris agreement to tackle global warming. The lender said the decision was in line with the pledges it made at last year's Paris climate conference, along with 400 other public and private companies, to help fight global warming. http://bit.ly/2k0ybJl
The Telegraph
- Reckitt Benckiser, the consumer goods giant behind Dettol, Durex and Nurofen, has revealed $16.7 billion takeover talks with U.S. baby formula maker Mead Johnson. The FTSE 100 company announced that it was in advanced negotiations about a deal that would value the U.S. group at $90-a-share. http://bit.ly/2k0ukvK
- The Guardian has warned staff of further heavy losses, as the newspaper said it expects to burn through another 90 million pounds in cash this year. It has recorded negative cash flow of 60 million pounds so far in the current financial year and is on track for another 30 million pounds by April, executives told a meeting at its King's Cross headquarters. http://bit.ly/2k0Jf91
Sky News
- Peter Jackson, a former chief executive of Travelex, the foreign currency provider, will be named on Thursday as the new managing director of Worldpay UK. Mr Jackson, who also serves as a non-executive director of Santander UK, Britain's fifth-biggest bank, will replace Dave Hobday. http://bit.ly/2k0ybsy
- The European Union says it is on course to deliver on its promise of an end to mobile phone roaming charges from 15 June for EU residents travelling in the bloc. It announced on Wednesday that it had cleared the final hurdle by agreeing caps on wholesale charges - the amount phone operators charge each other when their customers use their phones abroad - following exhaustive negotiations. http://bit.ly/2k0z2cN