WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
ABU DHABI MOVES TO SECURE FOOD SUPPLY
Abu Dhabi is to make a bold foray into commodities with the establishment of a government-owned trading house aimed at securing food supplies for the import-dependent nation and capturing profit margins in metals and agriculture trading. People familiar with the plans say the company, which is called Abu Dhabi Sources or ADS, is likely to be started with a capital base of several hundred millions of dollars.
SHADOW BANKS FACE REGULATORS’ SCRUTINY
Global regulators will turn their attention to the lightly supervised shadow banking market, according to Lord Turner, chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority and one of the world’s leading voices on regulation. In an interview with the Financial Times, Lord Turner said it had been one of the “fundamental failures” of regulators not to think in systemic terms about the role that shadow banks – such as money market funds and non-bank investment vehicles – had played in the run-up to the financial crisis.
INTERNET BLOW FOR GOOGLE AND BBC
Internet service providers should be free to favour traffic from one content provider over another as long as they inform customers, the communications minister will say on Wednesday at the FT’s telecoms conference in London. The government’s refusal to back so-called net neutrality principles will come as a blow to companies such as Google and the BBC that believe unfettered access to the internet fuels innovation. This position paves the way for new revenue streams for ISPs such as BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media by allowing them to charge media companies for “fast lane” access.
THE TIMES
CITY URGED TO INVEST IN ASSET OF THE FUTURE BY HONG KONG
City of London institutions were urged yesterday to invest in Hong Kong to take advantage of a potentially huge new asset class: renminbi-denominated securities. The former British colony was perfectly placed to exploit growing trade in the securities, its finance minister said.
HOLIDAY CASH VICTIMS ON A LOSER
Administrators to the holiday currency broker Crown Currency Exchange warned yesterday that compensation to thousands of customers was likely to be minimal. MCR and SPW, brought in as joint administrators to the Cornwall-based company last month, said that they had received more than 8,000 valid claims totalling more than £16 million. They said that demands ranged from £100 to £20,000.
The Daily Telegraph
CLAIMANT COUNT SET TO REACH 1.5M
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit is expected to have edged closer to 1.5m in October, according to economists. Ahead of the official unemployment figures out tomorrow, economists predict the claimant count rose by 5,000 last month, reaching 1.48m. It would be the third consecutive month the UK claimant count has grown, rising from a 16-month low of 1.46m in July.
FED DISMISSES IDEA THAT QE IS SOME SORT OF CHAPTER IN A CURRENCY WAR
The Federal Reserve has robustly defended its latest efforts to reignite a US recovery, with the central bank’s vice chairman dismissing the idea that they’re writing “some sort of chapter in a currency war.” In an unusual move, Janet Yellen, the Fed’s vice chairwoman, spoke to US newspapers to defend the central bank’s move.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE CAR REGISTRATIONS FALL 16 PER CENT
New-car registrations in Europe fell 16% from a year earlier in October, the seventh-consecutive month of declining registrations after the state-backed car scrapping schemes ran out, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said yesterday.
ADIDAS TAKES ON RIVALS IN CHINA
Adidas AG is expanding its business in China in an attempt to overtake rivals that have gained market share in recent years. The German sporting-goods company on Tuesday announced plans to add 2,500 stores in China by 2015, including 500 by the end of next year, up from 112 now. Upscale outlets, featuring Adidas’s high-end fashion lines, are planned for larger cities, where many consumers favor Nike.