Friday newspaper round-up: HMV, pension funds, Catherine Mann

(Sharecast News) - UK ministers are preparing to take Roman Abramovich to court in a final attempt to free up more than £2bn from the sale of Chelsea FC to spend as aid in Ukraine, the Guardian has learned. Officials say ministers have become increasingly frustrated by the failure to reach an agreement with the Russian oligarch about how the money should be spent and are now ready to fight him in the courts. - Guardian HMV has put its UK expansion on hold and is to open stores in Ireland and Belgium instead, because of rising wage costs announced in last autumn's budget that begin next month. Phil Halliday, the managing director of the entertainment retailer, said it had hoped to open up to 10 more stores in the UK in the coming year but had put that plan on hold as it was "peddling pretty hard" to maintain profits despite strong sales growth. - Guardian

Some of Britain's biggest pension firms have been accused of blocking Britain's plans to boost defence in the wake of the Ukraine war. Aviva, Royal London and the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) are among a group of pension giants that restrict or block investment in the defence industry on "ethical" grounds. - Telegraph

The Bank of England must slash interest rates to shore up the struggling economy, a top policymaker has warned, rejecting Andrew Bailey's call for "gradual and careful" steps on borrowing costs. Catherine Mann, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, said the economy was already weak and set to get worse as families and businesses cut back on spending. - Telegraph

The owner of Boots has agreed to be taken over by a US private equity firm in a $10 billion deal. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the US-listed firm, will be taken private following the deal with New York-based Sycamore Partners, which is expected to complete by the end of the year. - The Times