WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
REGULATORS AGREE TO EXTRA CAPITAL CHARGE TO PROTECT TOP BANKS
Central bankers and regulators have agreed to impose an extra capital charge of 1 per cent to 2.5 per cent of risk-adjusted assets on the largest banks in a move to protect them from the losses that could trigger another financial meltdown. The agreement, forged in Basel, represents a victory for countries including the US and the UK.
NEWRIVER CIRCLES FOUR SHOPPING CENTRES
NewRiver, the retail property company, will tap into investor interest in real estate through an equity raising to fund a major new portfolio purchase that will more than double the size of its market value. The company will this week look to raise new equity as well as debt from HSBC to acquire four shopping centres.
MID-SIZED HEDGE FUNDS GROW FASTEST
Mid-sized hedge funds experienced the largest net asset growth in 2010, bucking the industry assumption that new money is flowing primarily to the biggest funds, according to research. A Citigroup survey of global hedge funds with more than $1bn under managment shows that managers in the “sweet spot” of between $1bn and $5bn experienced the largest percentage increase in assets under management last year.
LACK OF BIG DEALS ADDS TO PRIVATE EQUITY SLOWDOWN
UK private equity managers have tightened their purse strings in the first half of the year, as economic uncertainty and higher prices have brought the recovery in the buy-out market to a shrieking halt. The value of UK private equity led buy-outs in the first six months dropped to £5.7bn from £8.6bn in first half of the previous year.
THE TIMES
ICELAND CHIEF WOOS GOLDMAN TO RECLAIM HIS SUPERMARKET
Malcolm Walker is in talks with several banks, including Goldman Sachs, about a loan that would allow him to reclaim control of the Iceland supermarket chain he founded. Iceland has been put up for sale by the liquidators of Landsbanki, the bankrupt Icelandic bank.
OIL WINDFALL TAX ‘TO MISS NEW FIELDS’
North Sea oil and gas operators are becoming increasingly optimistic that the Treasury will exempt new fields from its controversial windfall tax, MPs will be told this week. Treasury officials are in discussions with companies about how to make sure the tax does not force them to scrap plans to develop new fields, which would result in a reduction in tax revenue.
The Daily Telegraph
£35,000-PLUS CARE BILL FOR BETTER OFF
The better-off will be expected to cover at least the first £35,000 of their care in old age under recommendations by a government-commissioned review, according to a report. Forthcoming proposals by the Dilnot Commission will call for more state funding for elderly care so that the current £23,250-threshold means test can be increased.
THE IEA CANNOT HOLD BACK THE TIDE OF HIGHER OIL PRICES
The world’s global energy watchdog last week pulled the trigger by releasing extra oil to the market, but was the gun loaded? That’s the 60m barrel question posed by Deutsche Bank analysts, who are sceptical that this amount in extra reserves will dampen prices in the longer term.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
NISSAN DRIVES BID TO TAKE ON RIVAL TOYOTA
Nissan plans to increase its global market share to eight per cent in a bid to close the gap with rival Toyota in key markets around the world. Nissan, Japan’s number two auto maker by volume, after Toyota, had a 5.8 per cent global market share last year. The new Nissan goal is part of a two-pronged plan to increase profit and volume over the next six years.
INVESTORS PAY FOR SAFE US DEBT
Investors seeking shelter from the eurozone debt crisis are pushing safe-harbor Treasury-bill yields so low that they are lending to the US government for free, or even paying a small fee to do so. The credit crisis in Europe and jitters about a global economic slowdown have investors hiding in conservative T-bills.