WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
INSURERS BLAME APPLE AS LEVEL OF FRAUDULENT CLAIMS RISES
The readiness of Apple to replace blocked or faulty iPhones with new smartphones is helping to fuel a big rise in fraud, insurers warn. Specialist mobile phone insurers say fraudulent claims have risen sharply amid the recession, especially related to smartphones. They estimate between 20 to 40 per cent of all mobile phone insurance claims are fraudulent.
EQT RAISES €4.75BN AS INVESTORS BACK TOP GROUPS
EQT Partners, Scandinavia’s largest private equity group, has raised €4.75bn in fresh capital in less than nine months in the biggest European buy-out fund raising to close since the height of the financial crisis. Demand for the Swedish private equity group’s sixth fund has by far outreached its initial target of €4.25bn.
TORY DONOR’S LINKS ADD PRESSURE ON FOX
Michael Hintze, the millionaire Tory donor who indirectly financed Adam Werritty, the controversial associate of the defence secretary Liam Fox, has tens of millions of dollars invested in defence companies through his hedge fund, CQS. One of the companies in which CQS invested benefited from a strategic announcement made by Mr Fox in July this year in his role as defence secretary.
CABLE HITS AT TREASURY OVER RED TAPE CHALLENGE
Vince Cable’s attempt to whittle away at the regulatory burden on business is being frustrated by the Treasury’s unwillingness to take part in his “red tape challenge” according to business department insiders. Officials in the two departments are at loggerheads over the Treasury’s refusal to allow the business department to pore over the regulatory burden being caused by tax regulation.
THE TIMES
SILENCE IS FAR FROM GOLDEN AS TALKTALK FACES £2M FINE
TalkTalk has once again attracted the scorn of the regulator, which has threatened to fine the company as much as £2 million as a result of a spate of “silent” calls received by customers. The new investigation by Ofcom rekindles the customer services headache that the broadband provider has had since it demerged from Carphone Warehouse in 2010.
MAYOR BACKS STOMACH-CHURNING GREEN POWER PLANT
The Mayor of London has created a new political stink in South London after backing a controversial new power station that turns the slops and rotting vegetation of the capital’s pubs and restaurants into electricity. Boris Johnson has overruled the disquiet of residents to give the go-ahead to an anaerobic digestion plant.
The Daily Telegraph
MARIO DRAGHI FEARS ITALIAN DEBT SPIRAL
Italy risks a debt spiral without “drastic” steps to cut spending and restore confidence in public finances, the country’s central bank governor has warned. “We must act fast. The sorts of interest rate rises seen over the last three months, if protracted, could lead to an uncontrollable spiral,” said Mario Draghi, who becomes head of the European Central Bank next month.
THIRD OF FIRMS DISCIPLINE WORKERS OVER SOCIAL MEDIA
One in three employers have had to discipline staff because they wrote something inappropriate about their company on a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter, a survey by law firm DLA Piper suggests. A further fifth have had to take workers to give workers a warning because they posted something nasty about a colleague.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NETFLIX TO PAY UP TO $1 BILLION FOR CW SHOWS
Netflix, working to boost its catalog of programming available for video-streaming, struck deals for shows from The CW Network. The movie-rental company has licensed the rights to stream more than 700 hours of previous-season episodes of The CW’s shows, including dramas “The Vampire Diaries,” “Gossip Girl,” and “90210”, as well as programs through the 2014 to 2015 season.
GAP TO CLOSE 21 PER CENT OF NORTH AMERICAN STORES
Gap said it plans to close about 21 per cent of its North American Gap brand stores between now and the end of 2013, a huge retreat for the retailer and a looming headache for mall owners already beset with vacancies. Gap plans to reduce its North American store count to 700 by 2013.