WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
LIBYA’S NEW OIL CHIEF WARNS THAT OUTPUT WILL NOT RECOVER UNTIL LATE NEXT YEAR
Libyan oil production will not return to pre-war levels until late next eyar at the earliest, with many of the county’s oil facilities having suffered heavy damage and looting during the conflict, according to the newly appointed charman of the county’s National Oil Company.
CBI CHIEF CALLS FOR OSBORNE TO ACT ON GROWTH
George Osborne needs to “step up a gear” and produce a game-changing growth plan if he is to have a chance of reviving the British economy in 2012, warned the nation’s biggest business lobby group as it downgraded its forecasts for next year after a tumultuous August. John Cridland, director general of the CBI employers’ organisation, urged the chancellor to sanction European-style toll roads, cut national insurance contributions for employers hiring young people and scrap the 50p income tax rate immediately as part of the second leg of this growth review, due in November.
SHIRET TO RETURN TO CITY ON RETAIL TEAM OF RBS
Tony Shiret, one the best known and highly regarded retail industry analysts, is poised to make his return to the City with a new role at Royal Bank of Scotland.
SECURITY FEARS DRIVE MOVE TO BLOCK SOCIAL MEDIA
Nearly a third of UK companies are blocking their employees from using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in reaction to growing fears about intenet security, according to a new study. Highly publicised hacking incidents are causing a “knee-jerk” reaction among companies to clamp down on internet use.
THE TIMES
HONDA ANNOUNCES ANOTHER GLOBAL RECALL
Honda is recalling almost a million cars worldwide to repair problems with power windows and computer equipment in its second big recall in as many months. None of the affected models are sold in Britain. Honda will also recall 26,000 CR-Z hybrid models in various markets, including 3,045 in the UK, after it found in testing that faulty IMA motors potentially could make the car move forwards or backwards if the driver stalled.
MI6 ACCUSED OVER TORTURE
The Libyan rebel commander at the centre of the storm over Britain’s collusion with the Gaddafi regime accused UK intelligence agents of ignoring his claims that he was being tortured. “I have no doubt, not a single doubt, they knew,” Abdel Hakim Belhadj said.
The Daily Telegraph
FORTELUS ABANDONS PROVIDENT POSITION
Fortelus Capital, one of London’s leading hedge funds, has thrown in the towel on its bet against Provident Financial by closing its short position. Traders estimate that the fund has lost around £10m betting against the sub-prime lender. Provident has been one of the most popular “shorts” for London hedge funds and traders.
PLANNING REFORMS ARE WRONG, NATIONAL TRUST WARNS
The coalition’s controversial planning reforms are “fundamentally wrong” and need more than a simple rewrite if the countryside is to be protected, the National Trust has warned. Opposition to the Government’s draft National Planning Framework has been growing amid concern it will lead to large scale developments springing up across rural Britain.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
IN TSUNAMI’S WAKE, A CAR-SALES BOOM
At least one business in the tsunami-ravaged city of Rikuzentakata is booming: automobile sales. As entrepreneurs restart companies and families rebuild their lives, they are buying cars to replace vehicles swept away by the massive waves that hit on 11 March. Toshiaki Hasegawa, who has set up a small makeshift dealership on a hillside plot hastily cleared of timber, said he has sold 70 used cars and trucks since late April.
SOCGEN DEALS EYED BY LIBYA
Officials working with Libya’s new governing authority are examining whether any payments made by Société Générale as part of its business relationship with the Libyan Investment Authority ended up in the hands of people close to Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s regime.