WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
INSURERS TO FUND POLICE TEAM IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN
Insurers are to spend £8.2m funding a specialist police unit that will be dedicated to cracking down on the growing problem of insurance fraud, which costs an estimated £2bn a year. A new unit of 35 specialist fraud detectives and police support staff will be operated by the City of London police’s economic crime directorate.
GLOBAL SWITCH IN £1BN MOVE TO EXPAND
Global Switch, the data centre operator owned by billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, is investing £1bn in the expansion of its network across the world amid continued talk of a future public listing for the group. The group is embarking on a development programme that will add 1.1m sq ft of additional space by 2013, at a cost of about £1bn.
TELECOMS GROUPS SEEK SHAKE-UP OF CHARGING MODELS
European telecoms operators should be free to develop new business models, including the controversial idea of charging online content providers for delivering their material to consumers, a report is expected to say tomorrow. The report responds to fears that broadband speed targets will be missed because of inadequate investment by telecoms operators.
DEALMAKER IN $1.7BN RAISING FOR CHINA FUND
Shan Weijian, one of private equity’s most successful dealmakers in Asia, has raised more than $1.7bn for a new fund focused on China at a time of increased scepticism about such investments in the country. The announcement of the first close of PAG Asia I is a huge personal endorsement for Mr Shan, formerly of TPG and associated with some of the most lucrative deals completed in Asia by the US private equity group.
THE TIMES
BRING MORE WOMEN ON BOARD OR WE’LL VOTE YOU OFF, DIRECTORS ARE WARNED
Some of the City’s most powerful fund managers are threatening to oust company directors who do not work hard enough to put more women in FTSE 100 boardrooms. The institutional investors taking a tough new line on diversity include Aberdeen Asset Management, Standard Life Investments, F&C Asset Management and Aviva Investors.
ASSANGE CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY ON EVE OF APPEAL
Julian Assange will today fight the latest round in his legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden on charges of sexual assault. The Wikileaks founder may begin his two-day High Court appeal with a hangover, however, after celebrating his 40th birthday on Sunday with a lavish party.
The Daily Telegraph
UK MANUFACTURERS FOCUS ON EXPORTS AS ECONOMY STRUGGLES
Manufacturers of parts and materials for the construction industry are increasingly focusing on exporting their products because of the challenging economic conditions in the UK. According to a new survey by the Construction Products Association (CPA), the number of manufacturers exporting goods increased by 18 per cent in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year.
DAILY STAR BENEFITS FROM NEWS OF THE WORLD’S DEMISE
The News of the World added more sales than any other newspaper on Sunday, but Richard Desmond’s Daily Star Sunday was the surprise winner among its rivals in percentage terms.
The Daily Star increased circulation by about 25 per cent at the weekend.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
MONSANTO, SINOCHEM IN DEAL TALKS
Chemicals conglomerate Sinochem is in advanced discussions with Monsanto to deepen their ties significantly, people familiar with the discussions said, an important sign of China’s growing appetite for US crops and biotechnology.
RISKIER LOANS MAKE A COMEBACK, AS PRIVATE FIRMS TAKE THE FIELD
After years as the lending market’s undesirables, aspiring home buyers with less-than-stellar credit are being offered home loans again—with some of the same conditions and catches critics say tripped up subprime borrowers five years ago. According to analysts, a handful of private investment firms have started making home loans to borrowers who fail to meet banks’ requirements, which got tighter post-crash.