WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
DEADLINE LOOMS TO OUT SECRET SUITORS
Companies covertly circling UK acquisition targets are being warned by advisers that they risk the disclosure of their identities to the market in coming days if they pursue bid talks. On 19 September, the UK Takeover Panel, which regulations M&A of public companies, brings into force new rules that require greater disclosure aorund bid situations.
SMES WILL FACE THREAT FROM REFORM, SAYS SANDS
Small and medium-sized businesses, which are widely viewed as critical to restoring economic growth, will be among the biggest victims of bank reforms, according to the chief executive of Standard Chartered. Peter Sands, who as head of the emerging markets-focused bank, has been one of the strongest critics of regulatory changes, said SMEs and other riskier customers would bear the brunt of rising bank costs.
BIDDERS FOR EMI ARE TOLD OF £150M LIABILITIES
HMV, the embattled music retailer, has complicated the auction of EMI after it emerged that the record label carries a potential liability of up to £150m on the property leases of some of HMV’s shops. Bidders in the EMI auction have been informed that before the label spun off the retailr into a separate entity in 1998, it had guaranteed 40 property leases on HMV stores.
BOLTON’S CHINA FUND BUYS BACK STOCK TO TIGHTEN DISCOUNT
Fidelity China, the investment vehicle managed by Anthony Bolton, on Thursday bought back stock for the first time after shareholders dumped their holdings following a period of poor performance.
THE TIMES
BLAIR – IRAN IS THE REAL ENEMY
Tony Blair backs regime change in Iran and Syria and warns the West of a long and hard struggle to defeat terrorism and the flawed ideology that supports it. The former Prime Minister, in an interview with The Times to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11, blames Tehran for helping to prolong the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the allies’ initial victories.
FACTORY TURNS TO MARMITE POWER — THEN MAGNUM FORCE
Love it or hate it, Unilever is to start using the waste from the production of Marmite to power the factory that makes the divisive yeast extract. Marmite, itself a byproduct of the brewing industry, is made at the Anglo-Dutch group’s site in Burton where inevitably some sticks to the sides of manufacturing equipment.
The Daily Telegraph
TNK-BP INTERNAL FRAUD PROBE LEADS TO 37 CRIMINAL CASES
Explosive revelations over the extent of alleged fraud and corruption at BP’s Russian joint-venture have emerged just days before David Cameron makes a high-profile visit to Moscow. TNK-BP, the company jointly owned by the UK oil major and four oligarchs, disclosed the extraordinary details of a new probe, detailing hundreds of allegations of unscrupulous behaviour.
PLANNING REFORMS IN FEE THREAT TO VILLAGE GREENS
Communities would have to pay up to £1,000 to apply to save their green spaces from the developers’ bulldozers under plans to speed up the planning process, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. In official documents, ministers admit the proposed charge is likely to mean that fewer people will apply for the special protection.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
GOP CANDIDATES ASSAIL FED CHIEF
Some Republican presidential candidates have turned the 2012 campaign into open season on Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich both took swipes at the Fed chief at Wednesday night’s GOP debate, piling onto earlier criticism by Texas Governor Rick Perry, Minnesota representative Michele Bachmann.
SWISS CAP MOVE RILES OFFICIALS IN NORWAY AND CANADA
Norwegian and Canadian officials on Thursday criticised Switzerland’s move this week to cap the rise of its currency, as the impact reverberated in currency markets world-wide. The Norwegian krone soared against the euro after the Swiss National Bank said Tuesday that it would use “unlimited” spending to prevent the euro from falling below SFr1.20.