What the other papers say this morning – 21 August 2013
FINANCIAL TIMES
Investment bank hiring uptick
Investment banks including Nomura, Citigroup and Bank of America have started hiring dealmakers and traders in Europe in a sign that recruitment is picking up following a two-year cull that saw thousands of bankers lose their jobs. Recruiters say they are at their busiest since 2010 as banks add new staff in revenue-generating positions including M&A advice to equities trading.
Internal Treasury concerns over HS2
Treasury officials are privately warning that the cash cost of the controversial High Speed 2 rail line will hit £73bn, in a sign of the entrenched and escalating concern within the department over the project. The official projected cost of the flagship scheme is £42.6bn, but senior Treasury officials are using a much bigger figure to add bite to their criticism of the scheme. Officials include the effects of inflation and VAT over the project’s 20-year lifespan to arrive at a £73bn cash figure.
Soca failed to act on hacking
The Serious Organised Crime Agency has neglected to take action against the companies accused of paying for fraudulent information on more than 50 members of the public, despite having been aware of the businesses’ identities for the past four years, according to the Home Affairs Select Committee.
THE TIMES
Nissan Sunderland plant expansion
Nissan is planning to expand its factory in Sunderland, which is Britain’s largest car-making plant, in a boost for the country’s automotive sector. The Japanese manufacturer has asked Sunderland City Council for permission to extend the factory by a further 25,000 sq ft so that it can enlarge its body and paint shops and its trim, chassis and press facilities.
Fracking will cut energy bills
Protesters against fracking risk worsening the plight of the 5m households struggling to pay their energy bills, Britain’s Fuel Poverty Advisory Group said, adding ministers have a “duty” to promote the extraction of shale gas.
The Daily Telegraph
HMV pension fund among creditors
The HMV pension fund is among a collection of creditors set to loser more than £250m after the collapse of the entertainment retailer into administration earlier this year. An update on the administration progress from Deloitte shows that bank lenders have recovered £38.6m from HMV and that advisers are in line to collect up to £15m.
German brewers in price fix scandal
Major German brewers have allegedly been fixing beer prices for 20 years, documents from a government investigation have revealed, according to reports in German magazine Focus.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EU puts sanctions on Faroes
A dispute over fish stocks in the North Atlantic escalated yesterday, as the EU imposed sanctions on the Faroe Islands for refusing to cut its herring catch and moved to do the same against Iceland over mackerel fishing.
Spanish judge broadens crash inquiry
An investigative judge widened his inquiry into Spain’s worst train tragedy in decades to include individuals within the state railway infrastructure company who he said had neglected “basic precautions” on the curve where the train derailed last month, killing 79 people.