April 24 (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

- Carpetright faces a fresh squeeze to its finances after a

cyberattack left it unable to trade across its 400 British

stores for almost a week.

- JD Sports is racing ahead with plans to crack the

American market through the $1 billion acquisition of US sports

fashion retailer Hibbett ( HIBB ).

The Guardian

- The prospects of a summer cut in British interest rates

have receded after the Bank of England's chief economist said

inflation must be squeezed out of the economy and cautioned

against cutting too soon.

- Britain's biggest bread maker Associated British Foods ( ASBFF )

has warned of potentially higher prices as it expects

"very small" grain harvests in the UK, making the company more

reliant on imports.

The Telegraph

- Thames Water is planning to pay out 2 billion pounds

($2.49 billion) in dividends over the next decade despite

growing fears over the company's collapse.

Sky News

- Getir shareholders have drawn up provisional plans to

commit tens of millions of pounds more into the company in the

coming weeks, to fund its exit from the UK and Europe.

The Independent

- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to boost

Britain's defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030

($1 = 0.8025 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)