WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
RIO CLASHEs OVER THE RIGHTS TO MONGOLIAN COPPER MINE
Tensions are rising between Rio Tinto and Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines over rights to a world-class copper deposit in Mongolia as the multinational mining group releases hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the mine over which it has limited control. Ivanhoe, which owns the Oyu Tolgoi project, vowed it would defend a scheme which it believes protects shareholders against takeovers, but Rio believes is a violation of its rights.
RISE IN NUMBER OF LAWSUITS AGAINST SOLICITORS
Lawsuits against solicitors have increased by 163 per cent in one year as a result of the recession and the falling property market. There were 210 claims against solicitors launched in the High Court in 2009, up from 80 in 2008, said data from the court.
RMS CONTESTS RISE IN LONGEVITY RISK
The increase in life expectancy is likely to slow compared with the past 30 years, meaning that insurers and pension funds could be overestimating the risk of longevity increases on liabilities, according to new forecasts. RMS, a modeller of natural catastrophe risk for the insurance industry, has created a model that explores how improvements in longevity come about.
BIG PROFITS REVIVE BUY-OUT GROUPS’ INTEREST IN CHINA
China is attracting renewed interest from private equity groups after a series of highly profitable deals that have marked a sharp turnround from the country’s previous poor record for buy-out firms. “For years there has been growth in China but it has been profitless growth,” Jonathan Zhu, co-head of Asia for Bain Capital in Hong Kong said. “But in recent years, we have seen growth with real profits.”
THE TIMES
PESSIMISTIC BOSSES REIN IN MARKETING SPEND
Bill Gates once said that if he was down to his last dollar, he would spend it on marketing. British companies are not apparently convinced of the merits of such a strategy. According to the latest Bellwether Report from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and accountants BDO, 20 per cent of companies reduced their marketing budgets over the three months to the end of June.
HE MAY BE ANNOYING BUT SINGER HITS RIGHT NOTES FOR GOCOMPARE.COM
The price comparison website whose moustachioed opera singer commercials were voted the most annoying ads of last year has soared into profit.
GoCompare.com reported after-tax profits of £12m for 2009.
The Daily Telegraph
CHINESE RATING AGENCY STRIPS WESTERN NATIONS OF AAA STATUS
China’s leading credit rating agency has stripped America, Britain, Germany and France of their AAA ratings, accusing Anglo-Saxon competitors of ideological bias in favour of the West. The US falls to AA, while Britain and France slither down to AA-. Belgium, Spain, Italy are ranked at A- along with Malaysia.
UK WOULD STILL BE IN RECESSION WITHOUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING
Prudent households trying to save are in danger of pushing the economy back into recession, economists have warned. Official figures suggested that the recession of last year was deeper than originally thought and that British families were tightening their belts – a move that could send the country into a double dip recession.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
SLOVAKIA OPPOSES GREEK RESCUE
The new Slovakian government remains opposed to a rescue package for Greece, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova said Monday, after a meeting with EU Council president Herman van Rompuy. She also said she would need to further discuss with her cabinet and Parliament the EU’s plans for a permanent Financial Stability Facility.
STRAPPED FLORIDA BANKS SEEK HELP
Florida banks, already weakened by the real-estate bust and hit again by customers suffering from the BP oil spill, are asking federal regulators for a reprieve from government-ordered capital raising as they struggle to stay alive. Florida’s top banking lobbyist requested all local banks be granted a 12-month break from higher capital requirements, new regulatory sanctions and loan appraisals.