WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
DIMON DISMISSES REGULATORY THREAT
JP Morgan Chase executives have told investors the bank will prosper even after the implementation of new regulations as they maintained profit targets and dismissed talk of a historic threat to Wall Street’s business model. “I’ll be damned if we don’t have record profits for the next year or two,” said Jamie Dimon, chief executive, as US finance’s most vocal critic of new regulation shrugged off the impact during an investor day.
BLACKSTONE AND KKR WEIGH BILLABONG BIDS
Blackstone and KKR are considering joining the bidding race for Billabong, the Australian surf wear company that has rejected a revised A$840m offer by TPG, say people familiar with the matter.
FSA WARNS OF £20BN PENSION TRANSFER BILL
A drive to encourage defined benefit pension scheme members to transfer their savings pots out of their employer’s scheme could cost companies an extra £20bn, a review by regulators has suggested. The Financial Services Authority, which regulates the advisory firms brought in to help scheme members decide whether to take up an employer’s offer of a transfer value, said on Tuesday that it was increasingly concerned about how the advisers determine when such a move really is in an individual’s best interest.
THE TIMES
REPUBLICANS BICKER OVER CALLS
The battle for the Republican presidential nomination got nastier still yesterday when a furious row broke out over Rick Santorum’s attempts to recruit Democratic voters as spoilers in the key Michigan primary. Mitt Romney was enraged after it emerged that the rival campaign made automated calls to Democrats on the eve of the primary.
CUT-PRICE CHRISTMAS STAMPS PROMISE FOR THE POOR
Five million Britons could be offered the chance to buy their Christmas stamps at last year’s prices while the rest of the country faces a steep increase in postal costs.
The Daily Telegraph
NUMBER 10 SILENT ON WHETHER DAVID CAMERON USED REBEKAH BROOKS’ POLICE HORSE
Downing Street has refused to disclose whether David Cameron used the police horse lent to Rebekah Brooks on riding trips together. The Prime Minister is long rumoured to have spent time horse-riding with Brooks, the ex-News International boss.
PAUL CONROY EVACUATED FROM HOMS IN RESCUE THAT COST 13 LIVES
A British photographer working for the Sunday Times has been evacuated from a beleaguered enclave of the Syrian city of Homs in a perilous rescue that cost the lives of 13 volunteers.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
HEWLETT-PACKARD PLANS LAYOFFS
Hewlett-Packard said yesterday it would cut some jobs in its group focused on mobile software. About 275 people will be affected, a person familiar with the matter said, or just under half the team that works on the software, known as webOS.
UNICREDIT CHAIRMAN WON’T SERVE NEW TERM
UniCredit chairman Dieter Rampl won’t serve a new term, the Italian bank said in a statement, a surprise announcement that comes in the wake of a capital increase that has altered the bank’s shareholding structure and brought in new foreign stakeholders.