WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
MOVES TO WEAKEN YEN NOT OVER, SAYS KAN
Japan stands ready to intervene again in foreign exchange markets, but also plans to put in place broader economic and monetary policies that will help to weaken the yen, according to Naoto Kan, the prime minister. Mr Kan stressed that Tokyo’s yen-selling intervention last week was forced by “drastic” exchange rate moves, a reference to the 15-year highs Japan’s currency hit against the dollar following his victory in a ruling party leadership battle.
LUFTHANSA TO NAME NEW CHIEF
Lufthansa is expected to confirm today that its deputy chief executive will take over the top job at the German airline from Wolfgang Mayrhuber. Christoph Franz is expected to be named chief executive of Europe’s largest airline by revenues after a meeting of Lufthansa’s supervisory board.
NOKIA DELAYS THE LAUNCH OF NEW HANDSET
Nokia has warned customers of another delay to its new flagship smartphone, but denied it marked a fresh setback in efforts to reclaim lost ground from Apple and other rivals. The world’s biggest mobile phonemaker said it had decided to delay delivery of the N8 for a few weeks to allow time for final adjustments.
E-COMMERCE TAKES INSTANT LIKING TO FACEBOOK’S BUTTON
The Like button feature for websites unveiled by Facebook in April is fast gaining traction among e-commerce and media companies which have seen spikes in internet traffic and increases in sales after using it. The pale blue Like button lets Facebook users casually signal their affinity for a brand, item or product and broadcast that back to the website.
THE TIMES
PARIS FORCES BANKS TO DETAIL CHARGES
French banks will have to include their total fees in monthly statements to customers under a package of measures unveiled by the Government today in an attempt to shed light on what critics say is an impenetrable and costly system. The move was announced by Christine Lagarde, the finance minister.
UNIONS THREATEN STRIKE AFTER SERCO BUYS PATHOLOGY UNIT
The outsourcing group plans to create a business with a £1bn-a-year turnover, from which analysts expect the company to make about £50m in profits. The part-privatisation of one of the world’s premier pathology units at King’s College Hospital in London could run into staffing problems from the outset as unions opposed to the deal threaten strikes.
The Daily Telegraph
EUROPE’S €440BN RESCUE FUND WINS AAA JUST IN TIME
Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have both granted the Eurozone’s rescue fund a AAA credit rating, clearing the way for swift action if needed as the region’s debt crisis threatens to erupt again. Goldman Sachs warned clients of a “measurable risk” that both Ireland and Portugal may have to tap the €440bn European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), though “probably only early next year” since both countries have adequate funding for several months.
PRICE OF CLOTHES SET TO RISE AS COTTON HITS 15-YEAR HIGH
Clothes prices on the high street could be set to rise after cotton futures hit a 15-year high yesterday, Flooding in Pakistan and China have sparked concerns about supplies, sending the price surging.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROZONE CRISIS ON DEBT IS OVER, ZAPATERO SAYS
Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero declared that the European debt crisis is over but said that the governments have to work better together and with markets to stave off such events. “I believe that the debt crisis affecting Spain, and the Eurozone in general, has passed,” Zapatero said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal yesterday.
NEW HEAD INSTALLED AT HACHETTE
Hachette Filipacchi Media US, which publishes Elle magazine, Women’s Day and other titles, named publishing-industry veteran Steve Parr as its new president and chief executive, marking the latest twist for a company wracked by change and uncertainty. Parr succeeds Alain Lemarchand, who was brought in two years ago to turn around the business.