WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
HIRING RATES ARE FLAT IN THE UK
Employers expect a “static” rate of recruitment for the remainder of this year, according to new research, underlining concerns about the momentum of economic recovery.
The survey of 2,100 employers by Manpower, the recruitment company, is likely to intensify debate on whether the private sector can create enough jobs to offset those that will be lost in the public sector over the coming years.
HURD JOINS ORACLE IN TOP JOP
Mark Hurd is to become co-president of software maker Oracle only a month after being forced out as head of Hewlett-Packard over breaches of the computer makers’ code of conduct.
The rapid return by one of the technology industry’s best-known executives reflects the strong support he has continued to receive in some corners of Silicon Valley, in spite of his falling-out with HP’s board after an investigation of sexual harrassment allegations levelled by a former HP marketing consultant and actress, Jodie Fisher.
HEDGIES FEEL AUGUST RESULTS HEAT
Hedge fund managers are facing growing pressure to deliver strong performance in the last four months of the year after yet another month of mixed results.
While August was, on average, a positive month for the industry, several big-name managers struggled to gain traction, with many more under pressure to ramp up the level of risk in their portfolios to boost year-end numbers, according to brokers.
The average hedge fund returned 0.17 per cent in August, according to preliminary month-end numbers from Hedge Fund Research. The average fund was up 1.29 per cent this year until the end of July.
THE TIMES
JOBS RISE UP TO 7 PER CENT INSIDE RING-FENCED NHS
National Health Service employment increased in every part of the UK in the first three months of the year, according to figures released yesterday. The largest gains were in the East Midlands and the East of England, where headcounts rose about 7 per cent year-on-year, the Office for National Statistics said.
PENSIONS FUNDS GIVE HENDERSON TWO WEEKS TO PAY UP
One of the City’s top investment houses has been given a two-week ultimatum to pay compensation to pension funds responsible for the retirement incomes of hundreds of thousands of people after a seemingly low-risk investment vehicle went badly wrong. A group of 30 pension funds has written to Henderson Group demanding compensation.
The Daily Telegraph
NATIONAL GRID SUFFERS US POWER FAILURE
An unprecedented investigation into National Grid executives’ expenses by US regulators is putting the spotlight on the British utility’s strategy in the world’s biggest economy. 10 years on, the British utility giant is facing trouble on several fronts in the US, where it makes a third of its profits.
GROUP DISCOUNT BUYING HITS UK
An unprecedented investigation into Small businesses are being a sold a new way to attract customers by tapping into groups of friends on social media websites but one leading player has warned of pitfalls for the unwary. One of the leading US group marketing companies that has just launched in the UK, LivingSocial, warns small businesses to think carefully about how they use these rapidly emerging marketing tools.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
EU SEEKS BANK LEVY CONSENSUS
Ways to protect taxpayers from bearing the cost of any future banking crisis will top the agenda at a meeting of European Union finance ministers on Tuesday. EU countries paid out sums amounting to 16.5% of the bloc’s gross domestic product to prop up financial firms during the credit crunch, according to EU figures, sending government debt skyward. Governments are keen to ensure that banks and other financial institutions that caused the crisis contribute to the cost of these and any future bailouts.
VALE LOOKS TO FERTILE FUTURE
This week, Brazilian miner Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, sets off on a new goal: to become the world leader in the production of crop fertilisers. It plans to spend $12bn in three years in this area.