What the other papers say this morning
FINANCIAL TIMES
CHINA’S LENDING HITS NEW HEIGHTS
China has lent more money to other developing countries over the past two years than the World Bank, a stark indication of the scale of Beijing’s economic reach and its drive to secure natural resources. China Development Bank and China Export-Import Bank signed loans of at least $110bn (£70bn) to other developing country governments and companies in 2009 and 2010, according to Financial Times research.
RUSNANO PLEDGES TO INVEST IN UK MICROCHIPS
A company spun out of Cambridge university to make cheap plastic microchips has won the promise of a $650m investment from Russia’s state-backed nanotechnology corporation. Rusnano will take an immediate stake of about 25 per cent in Plastic Logic in exchange for an initial injection of $150m. The Russian government may eventually take control as the rest of the finance becomes available.
EUROPEAN SECURITISATIONS FACE S&P DOWNGRADE
Nearly half of all European securitisations could be downgraded following changes in the criteria Standard & Poor’s uses to measure the creditworthiness of deals. The criteria, which cover how third parties involved in deals are evaluated, are global but the new changes will more heavily affect European deals because of their higher use of counterparties to provide interest rate and currency swaps.
INVESTORS SNAP UP US COMPANY DEBT
Banks and companies have borrowed record amounts in the US bonds markets in the first two weeks of the year, with investor appetite for debt showing no signs of waning, data from Thomson Reuters shows.
THE TIMES
QUANGO CHIEF’S PAY CUT TO £57,000 FOR A TWO-DAY WEEK
The new chief executive of a quango targeted for cuts has accepted a pay package about £61,000 smaller than his predecessor in a move that reduces his pay below that of the Prime Minister. Bill Galvin, who yesterday was promoted to be chief executive of The Pensions Regulator — one of hundreds of quangos facing cuts — will receive base pay of £138,000, which is £4,500 less than David Cameron.
HEALTH AND SAFETY REGIME IS PAIN-FREE
A survey of 550 companies by the law firm Norton Rose found that most businesses are relaxed about regulations, which they say are flexible and have little negative impact. Nine in ten companies said that they had enough freedom to decide the best way.
The Daily Telegraph
INDIA PICKS BANKS TO LEAD $4BN SALE OF 5 PER CENT ONGC STAKE
The Indian government has hired six investment banks to lead the sale of a 5 per cent stake in Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), India’s largest oil exploration company. Selling the stake is expected to raise about $3bn (£1.9bn) to $4bn for India, according to the country’s oil secretary, S Sundareshan.
GRADUATES WITHOUT WORK EXPERIENCE ‘WON’T FIND JOB’
Graduates who have not bothered to secure work experience while studying stand “little or no” chance of getting a job at one of the UK’s leading employers, a new report showed. A third of this year’s graduate vacancies are expected to be filled by applicants who have already worked for the organisation during their degree course, according to the research by High Fliers, published today.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
CHINESE PRESIDENT QUESTIONS THE DOLLAR AHEAD OF WASHINGTON TRIP
Chinese President Hu Jintao emphasized the need for cooperation with the U.S. in areas from new energy to space ahead of his visit to Washington this week, but he called the present U.S. dollar-dominated currency system a “product of the past” and highlighted moves to turn the yuan into a global currency. “We both stand to gain from a sound China-U.S. relationship, and lose from confrontation,” Mr. Hu said.
GERMANY IS RELUCTANT TO BOLSTER RESCUE FUNDS
European finance ministers debated Monday how to beef up their giant rescue fund for troubled euro-zone countries but ended the first day of a two-day meeting without reaching a firm resolution on how to do it, amid German reluctance to open the doors to more and bigger bailouts.