WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
NATIONAL EXPRESS FACES EUROSTAR BILL
National Express could be saddled with a bill of up to £32m to cover losses made by Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail service. The indebted transport group, which gives up its lossmaking East Coast rail franchise tonight, is the leading shareholder in a consortium that manages the UK end of Eurostar.
INTEREST MOUNTS IN FIRST QUENCH
A bakery chain, a private equity group, a drinks wholesaler and 700 independent businessmen have all expressed an interest in buying one or more of First Quench’s off-licence stores out of administration. First round bids will be submitted today to KPMG, First Quench’s administrators, and will be considered over the next few days. KPMG hopes to conclude proceedings by the end of the month.
G20 RULES ON BANKERS’ PAY WILL ‘DISTORT PROFITS’
Bank profits will become distorted and far harder to scrutinise and compare as a result of the Group of 20 changes to banker remunerations, according to analysts and accountants. Analysts at Credit Suisse published a note yesterday highlighting the “potential accounting confusion” arising from moves to defer about half of bankers’ bonuses following the September decision by the G20 countries to order a global shift in pay structures.
CHINESE PROBE OF RIO TINTO IS EXTENDED
Chinese authorities have extended the investigation into four executives from Rio Tinto, who now face an additional two months in jail. The four have been imprisoned since early July on allegations that they stole state secrets, but the charges were downgraded three months ago when they were formally arrested.
THE TIMES
OFT TO INVESTIGATE THE HIGH COST OF GOING BUST
The cost of going bankrupt in Britain is too high, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said yesterday as it launched a sweeping review of Britain’s corporate insolvency market. The study, amid the longest recession in British history, will examine the way insolvency practioners set their fees and how they are appointed.
GENDER PAY GAP DIPS AS WOMEN’S PAY RISES
The pay gap between men and women has fallen by just one per cent in the past year as full-time women workers’ pay rose by 3.4 per cent. Over 12 months, full-time women’s weekly pay rose by 3.4 per cent to £426 compared to a 1.8 per cent rise for men at £531 a week. While the gap has narrowed, there remains a 16.4 per cent gap between men and women’s pay.
The Daily Telegraph
CHINA HINTS AT CURRENCY APPRECIATION BEFORE BARACK OBAMA ARRIVES
China has moved to defuse a currency spat with the United States by hinting that it will allow the yuan to rise in the coming months. The weakness of China’s currency, which critics say gives its exporters an unfair trade advantage, has become a major issue ahead of Barack Obama’s arrival in Shanghai on Sunday.
IFS CALLS FOR “HONEST” FORECASTING
Britain needs an independent body to forecast the public finances to force the Government to be more honest about its fiscal plans, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned. Robert Chote, the institute’s director, said the Conservatives’ suggestion of an Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR), would be one possible solution.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
BANKS FACE MILAN TRIAL ON DERIVATIVES SALE
A prosecutor here Milan wants the London unit of UBS, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank and Germany’s Depfa, as well as 13 people, to face trial for alleged fraud over the sale of derivatives from a bond issue by the city of Milan valued at €1.7 billion ($2.55 billion), people with knowledge of the situation said.
‘CALL OF DUTY’ GAME BREAKS SALES RECORDS
The videogame market has a new high scorer: “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” Activision Blizzard Inc. said first-day sales of the game, its much-anticipated shoot-’em-up title released Tuesday, hit 4.7 million copies in the first 24 hours in North America and the United Kingdom. That topped the previous record holder, “Grand Theft Auto IV”.