July 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

- Getty Images ( GETY ) has called off its planned merger

with Shutterstock ( SSTK ) due to the UK competition regulator's

requirement to sell Shutterstock's ( SSTK ) editorial business as a

condition for approval.

- Britain's water company United Utilities faced

criticism from proxy adviser ISS over a proposal to grant CEO

Louise Beardmore a 435,000 pound ($578,028) annual share

allowance.

The Guardian

- The European Union's car industry has called for the UK to

be fully included in new "made in Europe" rules that threaten to

shut out British manufacturers from their biggest export

market.

- Lloyds Banking Group ( LYG ) has announced it is axing

the Halifax brand.

The Telegraph

- Andrew Bailey has said cutting interest rates is "off the

table at the moment", in a signal that the Bank of England will

keep borrowing costs on hold later this month.

Sky News

- London-based department store group Harvey Nichols have

asked suitors to submit indicative offers by the middle of July,

implying a rapid timetable for a sale of the business.

- BBC staff could see a real-terms pay cut in the year ahead, a

proposal shows, just weeks after the announcement that hundreds

of roles are to be axed..

The Independent

- Billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Platt said Britain

was "no longer a serious contender" for business after his

BlueCrest Capital Management lost a 200 million-pound tax battle

against HMRC in the Supreme Court.

($1 = 0.7526 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)