WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
RENMINBI BOND DEALS BEGIN TO PAY
A Hong Kong-based toll road company will sell renminbi-denominated bonds to international investors this week in a little-noticed deal that marks an important change in China’s currency controls. Hopewell Highway Infrastructure, controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Gordon Wu, plans to raise at least Rmb1bn (£100m) from institutional investors.
ZLOTY BULLSLIKE POLAND POLL RESULT
The Polish zloty advanced on Monday as a victory for Bronislaw Komorowski in a tight presidential election over the weekend raised hopes for further economic reforms in the country. Analysts said the win for Mr Komorowski, a member of the country’s ruling Civic Platform party, meant the Polish government no longer had to worry that its economic policies would be vetoed.
GALA WANTS JUNK BOND SALE
Gala Coral, the gambling group, is seeking the consent of its lenders to sell up to £600m of junk bonds, as well as to lift its capital expenditure. Gala is paying its banks £3m in fees in order to win more than two-thirds of their support for the bond sale, which would be rated below investment grade – known as high yield or junk – and would be used to repay senior debt.
CARREFOUR TO SELL ASIAN STORES
Carrefour, the world’s biggest supermarkets group after Wal-Mart of the US, is planning to sell its operations in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore to focus on countries in which it is market leader. The retailer would not comment on the potential disposals, which are at an early stage and which analysts said could fetch €600m-€800m. The planned sale is in line with the strategy set out by Lars Olofsson, who is the firm’s chief executive.
THE TIMES
TRAVIS PERKINS CEMENTS A £558M DEAL
Travis Perkins is set to become Britain’s leading builders merchant and plumbing supplies company after clinching a £558 million deal to buy BSS Group. The acquisition in cash and shares could see Travis Perkins, which also owns the Wickes DIY retailer, capture as much as 25 per cent of the UK market and will overtake Wolseley. The OFT must approve the deal.
PRESENTERS REVEAL JOY AFTER 6 MUSIC IS SAVED FROM AXE
6 Music, the BBC radio station that the corporation pledged to axe, was saved yesterday after the broadcaster’s governing body said that executives had failed to make a convincing case for its closure. The BBC Trust said the station should be reprieved.
The Daily Telegraph
UK TOWNS WITH FEWEST JOBS
Doncaster, Barnsley and Grimsby have the worst employment prospects of any major towns in the UK, according to an independent analysis. A study by the Work Foundation found the three Northern cities were the hardest hit from the recession, with “very low” levels of employment in growth sectors combined with relatively low-skilled populations.
HACKERS BREACH YOUTUBE SECURITY
YouTube has been the victim of a hacker attack, with a specific focus on Justin Bieber, the Canadian teenage pop singer. The site was affected for approximately two hours before its parent company, Google, began to take action. Hackers had managed to abuse a flaw in the site which allowed them to redirect YouTube users to adult sites and send them fake pop-up messages.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
MONARCHY FINDS SAVINGS
Queen Elizabeth II is having to cut spending and put off palace repairs as royal finances are squeezed by Britain’s budget crisis. Accounts published Monday by Buckingham Palace reveal the total public cost of supporting the monarchy was £38.2m in the 52 weeks to March 31, the equivalent of 62 pence per person.
E.ON WEIGHS MAJOR REVAMP
German utility E.ON said it is considering a corporate restructuring that would strip responsibility from its two biggest units and hand it to corporate headquarters in Düsseldorf. The move would mark the first major step of new chief executive Johannes Teyssen as he looks to centralise control of a company with generation and distribution operations supplying over 30m customers in more than 30 countries.