WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
THE SUNDAYS
The Sunday Telegraph
INVESTORS DEMAND ETHICS AUDIT
New rules should be introduced that would increase the cost of capital for companies with controversial environmental and human rights records, according to one of Britain’s largest investors. Steve Waygood, chief of sustainability research at Aviva Investors, said: “If companies were forced to publish long-term data on the implications of their projects it would force businesses to become more responsible.”
CLEAR CHANNEL TO RESTART F1 IN US
American outdoor advertising giant Clear Channel will act as a promoter of Formula One in a bid to re-ignite interest in the motor sport in the US after years of setbacks. Clear Channel’s co-founder Billy Joe McCombs was revealed to be the key backer behind a $250m circuit in Texas.
THE SUNDAY TIMES
MAUDE TARGETS CONSULTANTS BILL
The government is considering setting up its own in-house management consultancy in a drive to spend less with external advisory firms such as McKinsey and KPMG. Supporters of the plan want the government to assemble a small squad of experts that could be drafted in to manage projects on an ad hoc basis.
RETAILER’S HOMEMADE SUCCESS
Two entrepreneurs who founded an online retailer with £70,000 raised by remortgaging their homes have sold a stake to the venture capital firm behind Skype.
Notonthehighstreet.com was set up by Holly Tucker, 33, and Sophie Cornish, 45, in 2006. The site sells 35,000 lifestyle products, ranging from porcelain bowls to baby booties, that are sourced from small businesses all around the country.
TODAY
FINANCIAL TIMES
MADRID CUTS SUBSIDIES FOR SOLAR POWER PLANTS
Spain will cut the subsidised electricity prices paid to new photovoltaic solar power plants by up to 45 per cent. With the help of generous state subsidies, Spain has become one of Europe’s leading producers of alternative energy.
AUDIT SHOWS ROLLS ROYCE VALUE TO ECONOMY
Rolls-Royce has become one of the first companies to produce an audit of how its activities add value to the UK economy, in findings that will add impetus to the debate about the wider impact of high-value manufacturing and engineering. An analysis found that output linked to activities by the aero-engine company last year added up to 0.56 per cent of UK GDP.
The Daily Telegraph
TRANSFER FROM BAUGUR BOSS MADE AFTER FREEZING ORDER
More than £500,000 was transferred out of the accounts of Jon Asgeir Johannesson, the former Baugur boss and ex-House of Fraser director – after a worldwide freezing order on his assets. The High Court has frozen another £585,648 sent by Mr Johannesson to four different accounts, following a freezing order on 11 May this year. The new order was made at the request of Glitnir, the collapsed Icelandic bank.
TRAIN PASSENGER NUMBERS BOOSTED
Growth in rail passenger numbers has returned to levels not seen since the recession started, according to the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). In the first six months of the year, the number of journeys taken rose 5.1 per cent to 681m, up from 648m.
THE TIMES
REFORMS RAISE CONCERNS FOR VOLATILITY ON YEN EXCHANGES
Currency traders have been told to steel themselves for an explosion of volatility after “Mrs Watanabe” was stripped of her right to play the markets with unlimited leverage. From yesterday online foreign exchange brokerages in Japan were no longer able legally to offer their customers the 100, 200 or even 400 times collateral leverage many of them have used to lay massive, market-moving bets.
MINISTERS TOLD EASE UP ON BANKS
The new chairman of the powerful Treasury Select Committee has stepped into the escalating row over loans to small business, telling ministers to stop threatening the banks. Andrew Tyrie issued the warning as the high street banks braced themselves for fresh criticism in a week when they will reveal half-year profits.