WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
UBS FEARS MISSING AMBITIOUS TARGETS
UBS bankers have privately conceded that the Swiss financial services group is unlikely to meet ambitious performance targets as it realigns its business in response to new rules on capital. Oswald Grübel, chief executive, surprised analysts last month by maintaining his medium-term goals of SFr20bn (£14bn) in annual revenues and SFr6bn in pre-tax profits for the group’s recovering investment bank.
CLIMATE PANEL CALLS FOR TWO MORE REACTORS
Two more nuclear reactors than envisaged initially might be needed within 20 years if carbon reduction targets are to be met in a cost-effective way, the government’s Committee on Climate change has found.
CEMENT DEAL SALES IN PIPELINE
Lafarge and Anglo American are lining up asset disposals to pay down debt and avoid anti-competitive action by regulators as the companies look to combine their UK cement businesses. The potential join venture, announced in February with expected combined sales of £1.8bn, is planning to sell about £600m of cement plants, quarries and ready-mix concrete mills, according to people familiar with the situation.
ECI PARTNERS PAYS UP TO €50M FOR CARTRAWLER STAKE
ECI Partners, the UK mid-market private equity firm, has paid about €40-€50m (£35-£44m) for a 50 per cent stake in CarTrawler, a Dublin-based provider of online car rental distribution systems. The deal which values CarTrawler at 10 times this year’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation,is ECI’s fourth acquisition in seven months.
THE TIMES
SWITZERLAND THREATENS TO CLAMP DOWN ON TAX EXILES
Financiers who quit London to take advantage of Switzerland’s low levies could be hit with bigger bills amid a backlash against foreign tax exiles. A raft of Swiss cantons are holding public referendums to abolish the tax deals for rich foreigners. On Sunday, Thurgau will vote on whether to scrap the deals. Another five cantons are set to hold similar referendums over the next few months.
JAGUAR LAND ROVER MEETS WITH GOVERNMENT OVER £750M ENGINE PLANT PLAN
Jaguar Land Rover bosses have held talks with the Government about support for bringing a new £750m engine plant to the UK as the luxury car maker steps up its ambitious expansion plans. It has identified three areas to potentially base the plant.
The Daily Telegraph
GARTMORE FOLLOWS NEW STAR INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS
The Gartmore name will disappear from the City next month, marking the final demise of a 42-year-old financial institution. The fund manager, founded in 1969 by the financial services group British & Commonwealth, will be rebranded as part of its new owner Henderson Group. Analysts had thought that Henderson might retain Gartmore as a brand.
BORDEAUX SET TO CASH IN ON CHINESE DEMAND
The price of a bottle of the very finest Bordeaux is about to soar higher than ever, driven up by a second successive exceptional vintage — and by China’s insatiable thirst for an investment. “The châteaux are saying: ‘We’d like to ask just a little bit more than last year,’” said broker Miguel Coumau.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
GUIDANCE IS SOUGHT ON PRIVATE TRADING OF CLOSELY HELD COMPANIES
SecondMarket Holdings, one of the biggest players in the booming “shadow market” for trading shares of closely held companies such as Facebook and Twitter, is seeking US approval for how it handles those transactions. The New York firm has held preliminary talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission about a potential “no-action letter” that would essentially guide SecondMarket on how to operate.
HOUSE RELEASES “DO NOT TRACK” BILL
A draft House bill would prohibit companies from tracking children on the Internet without parental consent, restrict online marketing to minors and allow parents to eliminate kids’ personal information.