WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
SHELL STAFF DETAILS LEAKED TO CAMPAIGN GROUPS
Royal Dutch Shell has suffered a serious breach of security after contact details for more than 170,000 employees and contractors were e-mailed to environmental and human rights campaign groups. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, gives names and telephone numbers for all the company’s workforce worldwide, including some home numbers used for business. The e-mail was ostensibly sent by disaffected staff calling for a “peaceful corporate revolution” at the company.
GOLDMAN WINS BOOKRUNNER ROLE IN AIA LISTING
Goldman Sachs has been chosen as one of the banks that will manage the $10bn-plus listing of AIG’s Asian unit – in spite of the political controversy over Goldman’s actions during the insurer’s near-collapse in 2008.
People close to the situation said Goldman was one of seven banks that had been selected as bookrunners for the initial public offering of AIA, AIG’s flagship life insurance division.
VALE HOLDS 79 PER CENT OF OSFERTIL AFTER $1BN DEAL
Vale, the Brazilian mining group, has agreed to pay $1.03bn for just over 20 per cent of Fosfertil, Brazil’s leading producer of fertilisers, in a further sign of its commitment to expansion in the sector. Last month Vale agreed to pay $3.8bn in cash for assets in Brazil owned by Bunge, one of the world’s biggest traders of agricultural commodities, including a 42.3 per cent stake in Fosfertil. The latest purchase, from Mosaic, the New York-listed fertiliser maker, brings Vale’s share in Fosfertil to 78.9 per cent and values the company at about $5bn. The Fosfertil deal adds to nine projects in potash and phosphates under development by Vale.
THE TIMES
BA SUSPENDS STAFF OVER ALLEGED INTIMIDATION
British Airways said that it had suspended a number of staff pending investigation into alleged intimidation. The airline has warned cabin crew that they face disciplinary action if they intimidate co-workers.
Crew are being balloted on industrial action. Sky News said that 15 crew had been suspended. BA declined to comment on the number.
PRODUCTION OF WIND TURBINES IN THE DOLDRUMS, SAYS REPORT
Britain needs to build two and a half wind turbines a day to have any chance of reaching its target of supplying 35 per cent of its power from wind by 2020, according to a report from Datamonitor, the business-information provider. The Crown Estate has recently granted licences to build a record number of offshore farms.
THA DAILY TELEGRAPH
GOLDMAN SACHS FACES “ROBIN HOOD TAX” VOTE RIGGING CLAIMS
Goldman Sachs is investigating claims that one of its computers was used to rig a public vote on the introduction of a so-called “Robin Hood tax” on bankers. The Robin Hood Tax campaign alleged that a Goldman computer was one of two computers that allegedly “spammed” the internet poll with more than 4,600 “no” votes in less than 20 minutes yesterday.
HOMES FOR SALE AT TWO-YEAR LOW
The number of homes on the market fell to a two-and-a-half-year low during January as sales picked up despite the winter weather, research showed yesterday. The average estate agent had only 55 properties on their books during the month, down from 59 in December and the lowest figure since July 2007, according to the National Association of Estate Agents.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
PRICE CUTS BOOST DANONE RESULTS
Price cuts on yogurt and water gave French food producer Groupe Danone SA a sales bounce at the end of last year, helping generate a 3.7 per cent rise in full-year net profit. Slashing prices more aggressively than competitors, however, could end up hurting Danone this year as the cost of raw materials rises.
EU REJECTS US DATA SHARING PROGRAMME
The European Parliament voted yesterday to kill a deal giving US counter-terrorism authorities access to banking data collected by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, a Brussels-based registry of international financial transactions known by its acronym, Swift. The vote, by 378 to 196, is a show of strength for the parliament.