WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
RSA CONSIDERING ‘LARGER’ DEALS
RSA, the general insurer, is looking at large acquisitions – potentially worth about £600m – that might need to be supported with a rights issue, it has told investors and analysts. The company, which has a strong capital cushion and a stated strategy of pursuing smaller, bolt-on deals, said there were “recently emerged opportunities that could be larger than ‘bolt-on’ acquisitions”, according to KBWanalysts.
BID-RIGGERS FACE DOUBLE PENALTY
The government is to ask councils to continue to offer work to construction companies found guilty of bid-rigging in an investigation due to finish as soon as next week. The five-year Office of Fair Trading probe into cover pricing claims to have uncovered evidence that thousands of contracts valued at a total of £3bn were mis-bid between 2000 and 2006.
CARILLION TO SELL ENVIROS
Carillion is to dispose of Enviros, its environmental consulting division, in what is expected to be the last substantial divestment from its £570m acquisition of Alfred McAlpine. The business, responsible for managing the clean-up of the Atomic Weapons Establishment’s Cardiff site and building the Olympic rowing lake at Eton Dorney, is to be marketed to potential buyers by Rothschild.
GE UPS SOLAR POWER PRODUCTION
General Electric aims to ramp up production of solar power panels by early next year in a crucial step in the company’s bid to transform its initial investments in the renewable energy field into a multibillion-dollar business. GE has started to build pilot production lines at its facility in Colorado, said John Krenicki, a vice-chairman and chief executive of GE Energy Infrastructure, which includes the renewable energy division.
THE TIMES
DUNCAN ABOUT TO LEAVE CHANNEL 4 AFTER DISPUTE
The end of Andy Duncan’s five-year reign as chief executive of Channel 4 is expected to be announced within days, ending a bloody and longrunning boardroom dispute at the broadcaster behind Big Brother. Mr Duncan’s resignation and subsequent rapid departure was to be announced “imminently”, according to Channel 4 insiders last night.
BBC WORLDWIDE COULD BE PART-PRIVATISED IN MAJOR SHAKE-UP
The BBC’s highly profitable commercial division, BBC Worldwide, could be part-privatised in a major review of the corporation’s operations. The director general, Mark Thompson, said that the business could be listed on the stock market or a stake offered to a rival broadcaster at home or abroad.
The Daily Telegraph
POSTAL STRIKES SET TO COST THE ECONOMY MORE THAN £300M
The postal strikes which have left millions of letters and parcels undelivered across large parts of the country are set to cost the economy more than £300m, it is claimed. Lobby groups warned the government to “get a grip” on the dispute, which is threatening to escalate if 130,000 workers vote for a strike over the next few weeks.
US CREDIT SHRINKS AT GREAT DEPRESSION RATE
Both bank credit and the M3 money supply in the US have been contracting at rates comparable to the onset of the Great Depression since early summer, raising fears of a double-dip recession in 2010 and a slide into debt-deflation. International Monetary Research said US bank loans have fallen at an annual pace of almost 14 per cent in the three months to August.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
CHRYSLER FACES A CHILLY AUTUMN
Already mired in a tough year, USgiant carmaker Chrysler Group appears headed for more bad news. The firm’s dealers are bracing for a steep drop in September sales due to the unusually lean inventories the company was left with after its bankruptcy reorganisation, and a long summer shutdown of its plants.
INTEL ELEVATES THREE EXECUTIVES
USMicroprocessor giant Intel yesterday announced a management shakeup that shifts greater power to three executive vice presidents, while it said two other well-known managers are leaving the big chip maker. The company said the moves will allow Paul Otellini, Intel’s chief executive officer, to spend greater time focusing on corporate strategy and new initiatives to spur growth for the company.