WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
BARCLAYS AT CENTRE OF LIBOR INQUIRY
Barclays is emerging as a key focus of the US and UK regulatory probe into alleged rigging of benchmark interbank lending rates that are the reference point for $350,000bn in financial products, people familiar with the investigation said. Investigators are probing whether communications between the bank’s traders and its treasury arm, which helps set the daily London interbank offered rate, or Libor, violated “Chinese wall” rules that prevent information-sharing between different parts of the bank.
EX-INTEL MANAGER TELLS OF PROFIT FROM INSIDER TIPS
A former Intel manager testified that he earned more than $150,000 in trading profits after his longtime friend, Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, learnt information about the takeover of outsourcing company PeopleSupport.
SIEMENS TO SPLIT INDUSTRY ARM
Siemens is poised to split its vast industry business in two in order to tap into the fast-growing demand for infrastructure in the world’s largest cities. At an extraordinary supervisory board meeting next Monday, Peter Löscher, the chief executive of Europe’s largest engineering conglomerate, is expected to present a plan to shuffle parts of its industry business into a newly created “infrastructure sector”, two people close to the situation said.
BUFFETT SET TO MEET INDIAN INSURANCE HOLDERS
Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, will on Friday meet his new insurance policy holders in the Indian capital following his company’s entrance into one of the fastest-growing retail markets in the world.
THE TIMES
BUILDERS WIN APPEAL AGAINST RECORD FINES
The Office of Fair Trading suffered another embarrassing blow yesterday when the Competition Appeal Tribunal slashed more record fines that it had imposed on construction companies accused of illegal bid-rigging. Galliford Try had its fine reduced from £8.33m to just under £1.4m. Five other construction companies also had their fines cut by nearly £5m in total.
THREADBARE NEST WILL OFFER LOW EARNERS NO HOPE OF A BIG PENSION
The flagship pension fund being set up to nudge millions of low to moderate earners into retirement saving for the first time is aiming for a minimum investment return no more ambitious than preserving the real value of what employees and employers put in.
The Daily Telegraph
HUFFINGTON POST TO LAUNCH UK EDITION THIS SUMMER
The Huffington Post will launch a UK edition this summer, said its co-founder Arianna Huffington. Ms Huffington said one reason she agreed to sell the news website to AOL for $315m (£195m) last month was to provide the financing to expand into international markets, such as the UK and Canada.
HAMMERSON PLANS £350M CITY TOWER
Hammerson has submitted plans for a new £350m residential tower and major office development that will drive expansion of the Square Mile beyond its traditional boundaries. The FTSE 100 company has revised its original plans for Bishops Place on Shoreditch High Street and now aims to develop a residential tower with 243 apartments.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
INVESTOR POOL LOSES MAJORITY CONTROL OF ROCHE
The Swiss family that has controlled drug giant Roche Holding AG for decades said one family member has dropped out of the group’s voting pool, meaning that the family pool has lost majority voting control of the company. The pool, which unites the publicity-shy descendents of company founder Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, now hold 45.01% of Roche votes.
FANNIE REPORT WARNED OF FORECLOSURE PROBLEMS IN 2006
Fannie Mae was warned in a 2006 internal report of abuses in the way lenders and their law firms handled foreclosures, long before regulators launched investigations into the mortgage industry’s practices. The report said foreclosure attorneys in Florida had “routinely made” false statements in court.