WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
STEEL INDUSTRY SET FOR A ‘NEW VOLATILITY’
Lakshmi Mittal warned yesterday that the impending large rise in the costs of iron ore would lead to “new volatility” in the steel industry by pushing up prices of the metal in a development that could harm the competitiveness of some of ArcelorMittal’s European plants. The chairman and main owner of the world’s biggest steelmaker said the company had started the process of informing customers in Europe about the impending price rises.
IPO LIFTS COUPLE TO TOP OF CHINA’S RICH LIST
A low-profile Chinese couple have become the country’s wealthiest people overnight after an initial public offering that also earned Goldman Sachs a near 200-fold profit on the bank’s original $5m investment in the pair’s pharmaceutical company. Li Li and his wife Li Tan’s company, Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical, sold 10 per cent of its shares this week in a Shenzhen-based IPO that values their combined 80 per cent pre-sale stake at about Rmb42.6bn ($6.2bn).
FINMECCANICA PONDERS FRESH PENTAGON BID
Finmeccanica is in talks with Boeing over a possible joint bid to supply the US with a new presidential helicopter after the Pentagon cancelled the Italian defence and industrial group’s original contract last year.
NUMBER OF FUNDS IN PORSCHE CLAIM GROWS
The damage claim involving Porsche’s failed takeover attempt of Volkswagen gained momentum yesterday when 18 hedge funds joined what has now become a more than $2bn US lawsuit against the sports car maker and two former executives, sources said.
THE TIMES
INVESTORS REBEL AGAINST BANK CHIEF’S COLONIAL PILE
HSBC is facing an investor revolt over plans to pay its chief executive £800,000 a year in cash and benefits for moving to Hong Kong. Institutional investors have told The Times they regard Mike Geoghegan’s relocation package as egregious and “in effect a pay rise by the back door”.
RUSSIANS WALK AWAY FROM £400M URALCHEM FLOAT IN LONDON
A Russian company has shelved plans for a $640 million (£418 million) listing on the London Stock Exchange. It would have been one of the biggest flotations in the City this year by a foreign business. It was unclear last night why Uralchem had abandoned its plans and a spokesman in London did not return calls. Reports in Russia said that the listing was pulled because of a lack of interest.
The Daily Telegraph
PRESIDENT OBAMA SAYS BP ‘ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE’ FOR SPILL CLEAN-UP
President Barack Obama said BP was “ultimately responsible” for the cost and clean-up of an growing oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico which threatens to develop into an environmental catastrophe. The US President is to dispatch two senior members of his cabinet to the site of the spill today to ensure that the British oil giant is “doing everything possible not just to respond to this incident but also to determine its cause”.
GOLDMAN’S FABRICE TOURRE TRADER BOASTED OF ‘CREATIVITY’ IN SELF-ASSESSMENT
The trader at the centre of the Goldman Sachs fraud allegations boasted of showing “creativity” in creating deals that enabled the investment bank to generate funds.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
CRIMINAL PROBE LOOKS INTO GOLDMAN TRADING
Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into whether Goldman Sachs Group or its employees committed securities fraud in connection with its mortgage trading, people familiar with the probe say. The investigation from the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office, which is at a preliminary stage, stemmed from a referral from the Securities and Exchange Commission, these people say.
STEVE JOBS ESCALATES FIGHT WITH ADOBE
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs escalated his fight with Adobe Systems over the software known as Flash, a battle that could shape the evolution of video and gaming on mobile devices. He posted an essay on Apple’s Web site criticizing Adobe’s software.