WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
EUROZONE FEARS SEND INVESTORS TO HAVENS
Investor worries over the Eurozone have deepened, hitting the markets of the single currency’s weaker economies and sparking a flight to the safety of US Treasuries, German bunds, the yen and the Swiss franc. Global equities lost ground and the euro weakened on Tuesday, while European bank stocks came under pressure as doubts over the continent’s financial system resurfaced.
DANA PITCH FOR HIGHER KNOC OFFER FALTERS
Dana Petroleum has made a last-ditch attempt to convince a group of its largest shareholders to demand Korea National Oil Corp raise its $1.87bn hostile offer. Dana, which is due to issue its official defence document on Wednesday, has approached a collection of institutional investors and hedge funds to marshal support for a higher offer.
EQUITIES SEEN AS NEW FOCUS FOR BANKS
Equity derivatives and increased leverage will be key to revenue growth for the global investment banks in the next couple of years, with the big US and Swiss groups best positioned to prosper, according to a JP Morgan report on the sector.
ELAN HITS BACK AT CONFLICT OF INTEREST CLAIMS
Elan, the Irish drug company, stepped up an unusual defence against a catalogue of alleged conflicts of interest and corporate governance failings. In a letter to shareholders, Kelly Martin, the chief executive, confirmed connections that he and other directors had with external companies, including some that did business with Elan, while arguing that they did not act against shareholders’ interests. He accused Ib Sonderby.
THE TIMES
OUT GO JEANS AS DUNCAN DROPS INTO THE LUXURY CAR BUSINESS
Andy Duncan, the former head of Channel 4 and possibly one of the scruffiest chief executives to have led a large British commercial organisation, has landed a job where a hand-crafted suit and Hermes tie are de rigueur: running the HR Owen luxury car group. In an extraordinary and abrupt change of career direction, Mr Duncan has swapped Big Brother and Hollyoaks for selling Rolls-Royces and Ferraris.
GOVERNOR BRACED TO FACE TUC SHORT OF BROTHERLY LOVE
Mervyn King will walk into a political bear pit next week when he becomes only the second Governor of the Bank of England to address the annual Trades Union Congress. Delegates are gearing up for the most highly politicised annual conference.
The Daily Telegraph
GEORGE SOROS GIVES $100 MILLION TO HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
George Soros, the billionaire financier, is giving $100m (£65m) to a human rights organisation in one of the largest acts of philanthropy so far this year. Famous for betting against the pound when Britain was forced to withdraw from the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992.
BANK CAPITAL RULES UNCERTAINTY SETS UP MARKET FOR AN ANXIOUS WEEK OF WAITING
A group of central bankers and regulators from around the world agreed on the new capital requirements for banks, however the industry will have to wait until after a further meeting at the weekend to hear the final proposals. On Sunday, the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision, the oversight body for the Basel Committee, will meet.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
ANHEUSER WINS PARTIAL VICTORY IN US COURT
A federal judge here handed a partial victory to the US arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev, ruling that an Illinois beer-distribution law discriminates against out-of-state brewers. At issue is Anheuser’s bid to acquire a controlling stake in its largest Chicago beer distributor, City Beverage, which could help the brewing giant compete more effectively the market.
BP TO TAKE SOME, NOT ALL, BLAME IN GULF-SPILL REPORT
BP’s report on its investigation into the Deepwater Horizon disaster will assign some of the blame to itself but also hold other companies responsible for the various decisions that led to the explosion, said a person familiar with the matter. It is unclear how much of the blame will be shouldered by BP in the report.