WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
COMPANIES NOW TURN TO PRIVATE PLACEMENTS FOR FUNDING
Private placement deals – whereby companies tap investors directly for loans – are on track for one of their strongest years, highlighting the extent to which companies are seeking to diversify their funding sources away from banks. Companies tapped the market for $27.4bn in the first half of the year, only just shy of the $28.5bn raised in the whole of 2009, according to data from Reuters.
DEUTSCHE BANK FUNDING TAKE-UP SLOW
A €300m ($380m) fund set up to provide equity for undercapitalised German companies has still to make its first investment six months after it was announced by Deutsche Bank as a way to stave off a credit crunch for Europe’s biggest economy. Concerns have eased over smaller companies.
TPG PLANS LAUNCH OF RENMINBI FUND
TPG has joined the queue of western private equity groups rushing to raise renminbi-denominated funds from Chinese investors that will allow them to make local currency investments across the country. Unveiling a partnership with the local government of Shanghai’s Pudong district on Monday, San Francisco-based TPG said it planned to start raising its debut renminbi fund later this year with a Rmb5bn ($735m) target.
MOBILE MARKET SHOWS SIGNS OF REVIVAL AFTER DOLDRUMS
The UK’s mobile handset market has bounced back after nearly two years in the doldrums, according to figures from GfK. Using data collected at the point of sale, GfK found that second-quarter sales were up 5.15 per cent to 7.5m handsets, compared with the same period in 2009, thanks to a rebound in pay-as-you-go phones and continuing demand for smartphones.
THE TIMES
FINANCIAL CRISIS COULD SAVE EUROCOPTER WORK FOR BRITAIN
The world’s largest manufacturer of helicopters has suggested that work could return to the UK from Romania as the two countries were on a par for costs in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Eurocopter is understood to have told the Ministry of Defence that it could move a £300m contract to the UK with little impact on price.
MERKEL STANDS UP TO POWER GIANTS ON URANIUM TAX
Two German power giants supplying gas and electricity to millions of British homes face a levy on the fuel they use in their nuclear power plants after Angela Merkel refused to back down on plans for a new tax. RWE and E.ON have been pressing the German Chancellor to drop a plan to tax companies by the amount of uranium they use.
The Daily Telegraph
CULLUM: SMALL FIRMS PARALYSED BY RECESSION “TRAUMA”
Peter Cullum, the multi-millionaire owner of insurance broker Towergate, has warned that too many businesses are still “traumatised” by the recession and are failing to prepare for the future. Mr Cullum said he thought now was the time in the economic cycle when businesses should be planning a series a “transformational changes” from which they could profit when the economy recovers.
RBS HEAD OFFICE DAMAGED BY GOLF BALLS IN CLIMATE PROTEST
Windows at the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters in Edinburgh have been smashed by golf balls during an ongoing climate change protest, it is claimed. Activists have been gathering at the RBS head offices at Gogarburn since Thursday and an estimated 500 were on site.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
HOW WIKILEAKS KEEPS ITS FUNDING SECRET
The controversial website WikiLeaks, which argues the cause of openness in leaking classified or confidential documents, has set up an elaborate global financial network to protect a big secret of its own—its funding. The site has established a complex system for collecting and disbursing its donations to obscure their origin and use, founder Julian Assange said.
EX-SPRINT EXECUTIVE JOINS HUAWEI PARTNER
Huawei Technologies is turning to a start-up staffed by a number of former Sprint Nextel executives to help the Chinese telecom equipment maker win long-sought contracts with top US wireless carriers. The firm, Amerilink Telecom, started last year in Overland Park, Kansas with Huawei as its first customer.