WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
FIAT CONFIDENT OF BANK FINANCING
Fiat’s ambitions to marry off its auto division with Chrysler of the US took a step forward yesterday, as it said banks were ready to provide €4bn ($5.1bn) in loans to help finance the demerger of its non-automotive operations next January. The Italian group also reported better-than-expected second quarter results.
PAULSON IN UCITS MOVE
Paulson & Co is to launch a version of its hedge funds that will be open to retail investors. Hedge fund investing is typically restricted to wealthy people and institutions, but the fund, which will be a Ucits structure domiciled onshore in Europe, will be open to anyone. The fund will launch this year, according to people familiar with the move, and follows a wave of similar set-ups from European hedge fund managers.
OMRON HIT BY CHINA LABOUR UNREST
Another Japanese manufacturer has been hit by labour strife in Guangdong province as a wave of Chinese strikes that began in May refuses to subside. The unrest is putting increasing pressure on Japanese managers to review the way they run plants in China. Several hundred workers walked off the job at an Omron factory in Guangzhou, which supplies electronic components to carmakers in the region.
FUND FOR RELIEF OF POVERTY EYES RICH RETURNS
BlueOrchard, the largest private sector investor in microfinance loans, has raised $195m for a type of private equity fund that will buy minority stakes in microfinance lenders to refinance their expansion and modernisation. Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, co-founder and chief executive of BlueOrchard, said the fund would provide capital and expertise to help microfinance institutions expand.
THE TIMES
GALA CORAL CEO TO STAND DOWN
The new owners of Gala Coral Group, the betting and gaming operator, have launched a search for a chief executive after deciding that the company needed some fresh blood at the top. Gala Coral, which had insisted last month that Dominic Harrison would be staying on after the recent financial restructuring, announced today that he would be leaving at the end of September “to seek new career opportunities”.
LORD BLACK WALKS FREE
Lord Black of Crossharbour walked out of a Florida prison last night in his greatest victory yet in the legal struggle he calls “the fight of my life”.
Black, who was sentenced to six and a half years in 2007 for defrauding investors in his newspaper empire, left the Coleman Correctional Institute after just 870 days.
The Daily Telegraph
SWISS ENDURE SAFE-HAVEN AGONY
Switzerland is fighting a losing battle to stop massive inflows of funds from investors fleeing sovereign risk in the euro area and the rest of the world, raising the risk of a violent spike in Swiss franc if global debt jitters return. The Swiss National Bank said it lost over 14bn francs (£8.8bn) in the first half of the year in a forlorn attempt to hold down the currency against the euro.
18,000 MORTGAGE HOLDERS FACE BILL HIKE AFTER CLYDESDALE BANK ERROR
Thousands of Scottish mortgage holders are facing increases in their monthly repayments thanks to a banking error, with some being charged an extra £300 per month. Clydesdale Bank and its sister company, Yorkshire Bank, apologised after miscalculating monthly repayments on variable rate mortgages.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
COMPUTER VIRUS ATTACKS SIEMENS CONTROL SYSTEMS
Computer hackers have designed a virus that targets industrial control systems built by German engineering giant Siemens, activating a kind of malicious software that analysts say represents a growing corporate espionage threat. The virus, dubbed Stuxnet, is spread by devices plugged into USB computer ports.
INVESTOR URGES SHAKE-UP OF ELAN’S BOARD, MANAGEMENT
An activist shareholder in Elan is launching a campaign to shake up the Irish biotech company’s board and management, saying “ineptitude and mismanagement” have destroyed shareholder value in recent years. In a letter to the board, Danish investor Ib Sonderby accused it of failing to “monitor” chief executive Kelly Martin.