WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
THE SUNDAYS
The Sunday Telegraph
NATIONAL GRID IN $26M US INQUIRY
National Grid is facing an investigation by United States regulators over allegations it is trying to charge more than $26m in excessive costs to American consumers, including management expenses for private school tuition fees and the transatlantic shipment of a wine collection. The claims have come from New York and Massachusetts, where the heavily-regulated British electricity giant is trying to raise rates by $369m and $107m respectively in a crucial election year.
FORMER ENRON BOSS REFUSED BAIL
Jeffrey Skilling, the former boss of Enron who was jailed for 19 fraud charges in 2006, has been refused bail while he appeals against his convictions. The US Court of Appeals in New Orleans denied his request for bail.
THE SUNDAY TIMES
OPODO OWNER MULLS SELL-OFF
Travel reservations gian Amadeus is preparing to offload its majority stake in Opodo, the online holiday operation. The Madrid-based company has begun sounding out potential advisers for a sale. it has held preliminary talks with a number of investment banks to hear their ideas about how a disposal could be handled. No adviser has yet been hired, however, and further meetings are planned. if it goes ahead, a deal is not likely to take place until next year.
BOSNIAN REFUGEES MAKE IT BIG IN PIZZA BUSINESS
Two immigrants who fled war-torn Bosnia for Britain in 1992 are preparing to sell a slice of a pizza business they founded here. Adnan Madjedovic and Edin Basic spoke little English when they arrived in the UK, but secured jobs in catering.
TODAY
FINANCIAL TIMES
CBI WARNS OVER CUTS TO UNIVERSITIES
The head of the CBI employers’ body has raised new fears over the impact of the government’s austerity programme on universities, warning that the cuts “would have serious consequences for the [higher education] sector”.
CREDITORS RENEW HUNT FOR NADIR’S MISSING ART
Bankruptcy trustees pursuing the assets of Asil Nadir, the businessman who returned to the UK last month to face prosecution for theft, are reviving their search for half a dozen works of art acquired by him in the years before he fled the country in 1993. The Art Loss Register lists six paintings that were owned by Mr Nadir.
The Daily Telegraph
JOB VACANCY DECLINE KNOCKS CONFIDENCE
The confidence of Britain’s bosses in the economic recovery could be waning after new figures reveal a decline in the number of job vacancies last month. Industries including engineering, manufacturing, financial services, training and IT all suffered a drop in the number of jobs available in August compared with July, according to the Reed Jobs Index.
TV PRODUCER POWER CORP ON BRINK OF ADMINISTRATION
Power Corp International, one of Europe’s biggest independent television producers and distributors, is on the brink of entering administration.
Lloyds Banking Group could call in administrators as early as today over repayment of Power’s loan from the bank, which is said to be £10m-£12m.
Power has been in talks with Lloyds.
theguardian
EXIT FROM EUROZONE IS GREECE’S WORST OPTION, SAYS JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET
Greece’s exit from the Eurozone would be the “worst possible option”, Europe’s central bank chief said at the weekend amid concerns over the debt-stricken country’s ability to pull itself out of crisis. Ahead of a crucial week for George Papandreou, the prime minister, with threats of renewed civil unrest over government austerity policies in the run-up to the leader’s keynote annual economic speech, the ECB president sought to squash speculation that Athens’ only solution was to revert to the drachma.
GOOGLE FACES FIRST US COMPETITION INQUIRY
Regulators in Texas have launched the first broad anti-trust review of Google’s search and advertising practices in the US.