PRESS DIGEST-Financial Times - November 18

Nov 18 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

- HSBC board at odds over candidates to succeed Mark Tucker as chair

- Wood Group investors back cut-price takeover by UAE's Sidara

- Reform UK targets EU citizens and overseas aid as it seeks to save 25 billion pounds

- Trafigura claims it was victim of 'systematic fraud' by tycoon Prateek Gupta

- UK raises bank deposit guarantee to 120,000 pounds to keep pace with inflation

Overview

- HSBC HSBA.L board is struggling to agree on a successor to outgoing chair Mark Tucker, revisiting previously rejected candidates such as George Osborne, Kevin Sneader and Stuart Gulliver, amid rising pressure from regulators over delayed succession planning.

- Wood Group WG.L shareholders have approved a 207 million-pound ($272.23 million) takeover by Dubai-based Sidara at 30p per share—about 95% below the company's 2018 peak, though the deal still requires regulatory clearance.

- Reform UK will propose an alternative budget aiming to save 25 billion pounds annually by scrapping welfare benefits for EU citizens, doubling the immigration health surcharge, and slashing overseas aid by 90%.

- Trafigura has accused Indian tycoon Prateek Gupta of orchestrating a $500 million nickel fraud, claiming shipments contained low-value materials instead of nickel, while Gupta's lawyers allege the trader was complicit in a financing scheme - a dispute now at the centre of a five-week London High Court trial.

- The Bank of England will raise the UK's deposit guarantee limit from 85,000 pounds to 120,000 pounds starting in December, citing persistent inflation and aiming to bolster consumer confidence, while temporary protection for large deposits will increase to 1.4 million pounds.

($1 = 0.7604 pounds)