HSBC has sounded out investors about a flotation of its UK arm, in a move that would realise value from its high street banking business and address regulatory pressures. The bank has in recent weeks asked investors whether they would support the sale of a sizeable stake in the UK business. It has also discussed the issue informally at board level, according to three people familiar with the project. If Stuart Gulliver, HSBC’s chief executive, presses ahead with the plan, it will partially reverse the group’s landmark acquisition of the UK’s Midland Bank more than 20 years ago. – Financial Times

Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to kick-start the sell-off of De Vere Group in a move that could push total write-offs on the taxpayer-supported bank’s backing of the hotel and leisure operator to almost £900 million. De Vere, which is close to agreeing a £230 million sale of its conference venues, is understood to be preparing to hire JP Morgan to advise it on options for selling off its hotels, which are worth an estimated £600 million. – The Times

Royal Mail is on course to join London’s benchmark share index at this week’s FTSE reshuffle after a controversial privatisation that has seen its shares soar by about 80 per cent. The group is favourite to enter the premier share league after Wednesday’s review by the FTSE Group, which will mean its chief executive Moya Greene ­becomes part of a shrinking elite of women heading blue-chip companies. – The Scotsman

Formula E, the world’s first electric single-seater motor racing series, is in talks with BT Sport and BSkyB about a UK television rights deal. Formula E is due to launch in September next year and its cars have a top speed of 150mph which is nearly as fast as those in Formula One. It has attracted ten teams including outfits run by Audi, former F1 champion Alain Prost and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group which announced its entry on Thursday. – The Telegraph

Japan’s economy slowed more sharply in the third quarter than official estimates had previously suggested, revised government data showed on Monday. The updated calculation of gross domestic product in the three months to September showed that economic output increased at an annualised rate of 1.1 per cent, compared with an initial estimate of 1.9 per cent announced in November. – Financial Times

Britain’s unilateral carbon tax should be scrapped before it causes blackouts, pushes up household bills and makes the UK uncompetitive, ScottishPower argues. Keith Anderson, chief corporate officer, warns that the “carbon price floor” (CPF), which taxes companies for burning fossil fuels, will make Britain’s remaining coal plants “largely uneconomic by around the middle of the decade”. – The Telegraph

Bob Diamond, one of the most controversial bankers to emerge from the financial crisis and the man ousted as boss of Barclays after a direct intervention by the Bank of England, is making a dramatic return to the City with the launch of a new Africa banking business. The financier once dubbed the “unacceptable face of banking”, is attempting to raise $250m (£153m) by floating a fund on the London Stock Exchange within the next two weeks – he plans to use the proceeds to buy a stake in an African bank with a presence in several countries across the continent. – The Guardian