WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
BIG MEDIA NAMES BACK BOUTIQUE BANK RAINE
Eric Schmidt, Sean Parker, Peter Chernin and other big names from the media and technology sectors have invested in a merchant bank started by two ex-Wall Street dealmakers and Ari Emanuel, head of William Morris Endeavor talent agency.
CAPITAL RULES DEAL A BLOW TO LIFE ASSURERS
More than half of UK life assurers will need to restructure their businesses to cope with new European capital rules, while a number are looking at changing their home country to escape the regime, according to a survey. The UK industry is also losing confidence that they will be ready for the Solvency II rules when they come into effect in 2013, according to research by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
STATOIL LOOKS TO ARCTIC FIND
Statoil says it has struck oil in a newly explored area of the Barents Sea describing it as the most significant Norwegian oil discovery for a decade. The Skrugard field is estimated to hold at least 150m-200m barrels of oil equivalent, with a possibility of up to 500m. The discovery highlights the energy industry’s sharpening focus on the Arctic, amid predictions the region could hold up to a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas.
FEARS OVER GERMAN GAMING RULES
International betting companies hoping to enter the German sports betting market when it is liberalised next year will face tough rules that could make it risky to do business in Europe’s largest economy. According to a confidential agreement, a betting company could have its operations shut down if German punters use a company’s websites that are aimed at other markets.
THE TIMES
BATTLE LOOMS OVER RETURN OF INFLATION-PROOF SAVINGS BOND
National Savings & Investments is heading for a row with the banks and building societies as it prepares to poach billions of pounds of the nation’s savings by resuming the sale of inflation-protected bonds.Graham Beale, chief executive of the Nationwide building society, told The Times that the impact could be enormous.
LANDLORDS URGED TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY TO OFFICE TENANTS
UK office tenants paying a total of £4.06bn a year in service charges should demand better transparency and accounting procedures from their landlords, a report has found. The report claims many commercial landlords are failing to account for how they spend the money.
The Daily Telegraph
GORDON BROWN ADMITS: I MADE A BIG MISTAKE ON BANKS
Gordon Brown has admitted he made a “big mistake” in the way he tackled financial regulation before the banking system collapsed. n his first clear admission of some responsibility for the financial crisis, the former prime minister claimed he had not understood how “entangled” the world’s financial institutions had become.
‘100 VICTIMS’ OF NEWS OF THE WORLD PHONE HACKING
Row over the News of the World hacking scandal intensified after company privately admitted there could be up to 100 victims. The disclosure came as a senior politician who has conducted a parliamentary investigation into the affair suggested that further arrests were likely to follow, with one source saying they could be this week.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
OGILVY TO LAUNCH CHINA DIVISION
Ogilvy & Mather, advertising unit of WPP PLC, is launching a new China practice in an attempt to grab more advertising dollars from Chinese companies expanding overseas, the agency’s top executive said. The agency is investing an initial $1m to open the New York-based China-focused division, Ogilvy & Mather Chief Executive Miles Young said in an interview. Ogilvy has tapped Lyndon Cao, a former senior manager at state-run newspaper China Daily
SEC BOOTS UP FOR INTERNET AGE
Federal securities regulators are weighing demands to make it easier for fast-growing companies to use social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to raise money by tapping thousands of investors for very small amounts of shares. The SEC is looking at adapting its rules.