WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
WALL STREET “MISPRICED” LINKEDIN’S IPO
A prominent Facebook investor and director accused Wall Street of undervaluing the LinkedIn initial public offering earlier this month, contributing to the doubling of its shares on opening day. Peter Thiel, an early Facebook investor and co-founder of PayPal, said banks did not understand the full potential of the latest internet companies and warned that the next Silicon Valley darlings would negotiate hard when their turn comes to go public.
TAKEOVER PANEL URGED OVER M&A’S PENSION TOLL
UK’s largest corporate pension schemes are pressing the Take over Panel to ensure that acquiring companies take account of a target company’s retirement plan when making a bid. They want the panel to force bidders to set out in formal documents how an offer will affect a pension scheme and its members.
TESCO PLANNING TO BOOST SALES WITH NEW BRANDS
Tesco, Brtain’s biggest retailer, is preparing to launch the first of a range of new brands over the new few weeks as it seeks to bolster its performance. Philip Clarke, the new chief executive, is expected to launch the new brands in both the food and non-food businesses.
SMALLER HOTELS OFFER TRAVELODGE ROOMS FOR GROWTH
Hotels in the UK’s big budget chains are getting smaller, with the opening by Travelodge of sites with as few as 20 rooms – half the company’s usual minimum size. The so-called Metro concept will allow the country’s second-biggest budget hotel chain to take over unusual locations such as pubs, defunct cinemas or office buildings.
THE TIMES
ENERGY WATCHDOG “MISLED PUBLIC OVER PRICE RISES”
Britain’s energy regulator has been accused of misleading consumers when it claims that suppliers are too quick to raise prices and too slow to cut them. Ofgem has come under pressure on the issue after an independent report commissioned by the trade body Energy UK said that the regulator’s analysis “cannot be relied upon”, calling into question its methodology. The report was conducted by the consulting firm Nera.
SOUTHERN CROSS TRIMS RENT AS IT STRUGGLES TO STAY AFLOAT
Southern Cross is cutting its rent by 30 per cent and remains locked in negotiations with its landlords to find a longer-term solution as it struggles to stay afloat. The group, which said that it would pay nearly a third less rent for the next four months.
The Daily Telegraph
EU PLANS TO STRIP UK OF BANK REGULATION POWERS
Sovereign control of financial regulation is under threat from European moves to harmonise rule books across member states, the three men at the heart of the future Bank of England have warned. Paul Tucker, the Bank’s deputy governor for financial stability, Hector Sants, who will become deputy governor for prudential regulation, and Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s chief cashier, said the UK’s proposed regulatory system risks becoming little more than a local police force for European rules.
CASH-STRAPPED FAMILIES SWITCH £60BN-WORTH OF MORTGAGES TO INTEREST-ONLY
Up to 300,000 households have switched more than £60bn of mortgage debt from repayment into interest-only deals in the last three years.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
FAMILY DETERMINED TO KEEP HERMES
Family shareholders of French luxury company Hermès said they are determined to keep their grip on the company, while larger rival and shareholder LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA sought to portray itself as a legitimate shareholder. The two sides have been locked in a fight over a family-holding company and a regulatory investigation into how LVMH bought its shares.
EXTRA AIRLINE FEES SOAR
Airline revenue from add-ons to ticket sales jumped to almost $22bn last year and continues to soar as more carriers chase extra sources of income. Faced with rising fuel prices and intense competitive pressure to hold down airfares, a growing number of carriers world-wide are charging passengers for services once included in ticket prices.