Jan 18 (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
Ineos has entered the bidding process to buy Manchester United confirmed Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain's richest men.
UK PM Rishi Sunak will legislate to ban conversion therapy in England and Wales, including for transgender people, the government has announced.
The Guardian
The battery startup Britishvolt has collapsed into administration with the majority of its 300 staff made immediately redundant after talks about a rescue bid from several investors failed.
Greta Thunberg was among climate activists detained during a protest against the demolition of a German village to make way for a coalmine.
The Telegraph
The equalities minister is to write to all Tory MPs to insist that a ban on trans conversion therapy must not criminalise parents, as a backlash against the plans grew.
Germany will avoid a recession this year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted, despite the energy crisis which has ravaged its economy.
Sky News
Microsoft is preparing to axe thousands of jobs in the latest move by one of the world's biggest technology companies to reduce its workforce in the face of a slowing global economy.
The Independent
MPs have launched an inquiry after electric battery maker Britishvolt – hailed as a pioneering firm by Boris Johnson – collapsed into administration on Tuesday with the loss of 300 jobs. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)