PRESS DIGEST-British Business - Feb 19

Feb 19 (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

- Investment management firm Elliott Advisors is considering making a new cash bid for British electricals retailer Currys after the activist investor's initial offer of 700 million pounds ($882 million) was rebuffed.

- Mobile phones will be banned in schools in England under guidance issued to head teachers today in an ­attempt to minimise disruption and ­improve behaviour in classrooms.

The Guardian

- UK ministers have denied claims by the former Post Office chair that the government wanted to stall compensation payouts to victims of the Horizon scandal so the Conservatives could "limp into" the general election.

The Telegraph

- Chinese online shopping empire JD.com has been exploring a takeover of Currys, raising the prospect of a bidding war after the electricals retailer on Saturday rejected a private equity approach.

- Apple is facing a 500 million euros ($539.00 million) fine from the EU as part of a long-running competition row with Spotify.

Sky News

- UK's culture secretary Lucy Frazer has urged English football's 92 professional clubs to resolve their differences over financial settlement of more than 800 million pounds as the government prepares to launch plans to establish the sport's first independent regulator.

The Independent

- The UK's Maritime Trade Operations, which helps combat piracy, said it had received a report of an incident 35 nautical miles south of Al Mukha in Yemen, at the southern end of the Red Sea.

($1 = 0.9276 euros)

($1 = 0.7933 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)