WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
FSA FINES WILLIS ARM A RECORD £6.9M
The UK arm of Willis, the number three global insurance broker, has been fined a record £6.9m by the City watchdog for anti-bribery and corruption failings related to commissions paid overseas. The fine is the largest meted out by the Financial Services Authority for failings in systems and controls aimed at preventing and detecting financial crimes.
JOHN LEWIS TO OPEN 10 CITY CENTRE STORES
John Lewis is delivering a rare piece of good news for Britain’s beleaguered high street, with moves to open 10 smaller stores in city centre locations over the next five years. The staff-owned department store chain, beloved of better-off shoppers, plans to open stores of between 65,000 sq ft and 100,000 sq ft, creating 3,000 jobs.
ICAHN SPARKS MOTOROLA SURGE WITH PATENT PROPOSAL
Motorola Mobility’s shares gained more than 12 per cent after Carl Icahn, Motorola’s largest shareholder, urged the US smartphone maker’s management to explore options for its extensive patent portfolio. Mr Icahn’s move comes shortly after the $4.5bn sale of a portfolio of more than 6,000 wireless patents held by Nortel Networks, the bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment group.
SCIENTISTS WARN OVER APEING HUMANS
Experiments to make animals look, sound or even think like people could soon be on the research agenda, according to a UK scientific body that has warned politicians and the public to start considering the implications. The Academy of Medical Sciences has spent the past 18 months investigating present and future research into “animals containing human material”.
THE TIMES
NETWORK RAIL SAYS ITS REPUTATION MEANS THAT IT JUST CAN’T GET THE STAFF
Network Rail has claimed that it is struggling to hire talented managers because some people believe that their careers could be damaged by the company’s reputation. David Higgins, chief executive, said that ensuring the company had high-quality people to manage the UK’s rail system was the single biggest issue he faced.
CASTLESTONE RAIDED BY REGULATOR AFTER COMPLAINT
The Financial Services Authority raided the offices of the London fund manager Castlestone Management after receiving a complaint about the company. The regulator confirmed that it visited offices near Sloane Square and in Chichester yesterday as part of an ongoing investigation.
The Daily Telegraph
IEA TO STOP SELLING EMERGENCY OIL DESPITE HIGH PRICES
The International Energy Agency (IEA) will stop selling oil from its emergency reserves, following its historic release of stocks in the past month. The global energy watchdog put 60m barrels on to the market in an attempt to dampen prices, which had soared above $120 per barrel in the wake of lost supply from war-torn Libya.
UK CAR PRODUCTION RECOVERS AFTER JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
Car production in the UK bounced back last month as manufacturers recovered from disruption caused by the Japanese earthquake. The number of cars made in the UK rose 1.8pc in June compared with last year, new figures reveal. This provides new hope that GDP figures next week will show growth in the economy during the second quarter of 2011.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
FOUR MORE CREDIT SUISSE BANKERS CHARGED IN TAX CASE
US prosecutors yesterday charged Credit Suisse Group’s former top offshore banking executive in North America and three other senior bankers with defrauding the US government, increasing pressure on the Swiss bank over US customers’ secret accounts that the officials say were used to evade taxes.
AMD STRUGGLES TO FIND NEW CEO
Millions of Americans are unemployed and looking for work, yet at least one well-paying job has gone unfilled this year. Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s search for a new chief executive has entered its seventh month, a delay seen as an indicator of the challenges facing the chip maker’s next leader. A number of prominent executives have turned down approaches by AMD.