WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
CHINA TELLS BANKS TO ROLL OVER LOANS
China has instructed its banks to embark on a mammoth roll-over of loans to local governments, delaying the country’s reckoning with debts that have clouded its economic prospects. China’s stimulus response to the global financial crisis saddled its provinces and cities with Rmb10.7tn (£1.08tn) in debts – about a quarter of the country’s output – and more than half those loans are scheduled to come due over the next three years.
NEW LIFE FOR LBO BOOM’S WALKING DEAD
The big leveraged buy-out groups of the credit boom – the companies that some investors have dubbed the “walking dead” – have gained renewed access to fresh funds as the junk bond market has rallied and buyers have flocked to the highest-yielding assets.
SHIPOWNER TO DEFY MARKET GLUT
The world’s highest-profile shipowner has outlined audacious plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in new ships for his latest company, in defiance of market conditions that have forced many rivals into or close to bankruptcy. John Frediksen told the Financial Times that his idea for newly founded Frontline 2012 would seem “crazy to most people”.
BUY-OUT GROUP EYES DUCATI DISPOSAL
Ducati is set to change hands this year after its private equity owner said it aimed to make three times its initial investment by selling or listing the producer of top-end Italian motorcycles. Investindustrial, the Italian private equity group backed by the Bonomi family, is looking to dispose of the motorbike brand in a deal worth up to €1bn.
THE TIMES
AIRLINES DEMAND UN PEACE TALKS IN CONFLICT OVER EMISSIONS
Airlines have called for help from the United Nations to resolve an “intolerable” dispute between Europe, the United States and China over penalties for aircraft emissions. Warning of the risk of a trade war over the contentious European Union emissions trading scheme for aviation, the International Air Transport Association has demanded urgent talks.
MADE IN BRITAIN BECOMES TRENDY AGAIN AS BUYERS SEEK FAST FASHION
The need to adapt quickly to changing fashions has prompted River Island to bring its manufacturing back to Britain. The clothing chain, one of the country’s largest, said that rising labour costs in China were also making production in Britain more viable.
The Daily Telegraph
BOOKIES SHOPS ARE NOT A BLIGHT ON THE HIGH STREET
The head of the bookmakers’ trade body has hit back at calls from the Government’s retail guru, Mary Portas, for the authorities to make it harder to open betting shops. Dirk Vennix, the chief executive of the Association of British Bookmakers, argues that any “restrictive policy against our industry risks plunging wider local economies into a more perilous state”.
PROVINCIAL TOWNS TO BENEFIT FROM OLYMPIC RIPPLE EFFECT
Towns including Oldham, Slough and Weymouth could be among the unlikely beneficiaries of an Olympic boost to their struggling high streets this summer, according to retail analysts. An Olympic Games “ripple effect” will extend beyond towns holding official events, says Springboard.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
SEC LOOKS INTO PRIVATE EQUITY
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an inquiry into how the private equity industry values its investments, how those investments are marketed, and other practices. Federal regulators sent letters to numerous buyout firms in December in an “informal inquiry” into the $1.2 trillion industry, which historically has not been a major focus of scrutiny by the SEC.
RENEWABLE FIRMS SEE TAX-EQUITY PARTNERS
The Obama administration is attempting to persuade US corporations about the benefits of investing in renewable energy, in an effort to help the industry after a government grant programme expired. The Energy Department effort includes a 13 March meeting where energy secretary Steven Chu would speak.