WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
SHARE PRICE VOLATILITY CARRIES A HEART RISK FOR MARKET WATCHERS
Sharp moves in stock markets are closely correlated with a rise in heart attacks, according to a new analysis of studies in the US and China. Two recent academic articles have found a link between equity trends and coronary heart disease, suggesting that stock market volatility acts as a signal of health risks for investors who closely monitor their portfolios.
JEN TO LAUNCH SLJ WITH $220M
Stephen Jen, one of the world’s best-known foreign exchange strategists, is to launch his own hedge fund today. Jen’s SLJ Macro Partners, based in London, will begin trading with just over $220m (£136m) under management, people familiar with the launch say. It will be one of the higher profile hedge funds start-ups in London this year.
CEVIAN TAKES BILFINGER STAKE
Cevian Capital, a European investment group, has become the largest shareholder of Bilfinger Berger, the German industrial services and construction group, with a stake of more than 12 per cent. Cevian said Bilfinger’s share price “undervalues the company’s strong fundamentals” and it did not rule out increasing its shareholding further. However, it does not intend to take over Bilfinger.
ALSTOM CHIEF TRIGGERS SPAT WITH SIEMENS OVER TRAIN TECHNOLOGY LEAKS
Patrick Kron, chief executive of French engineering group Alstom, has triggered a spat with Siemens by suggesting that the German group may have inadvertently allowed key technical knowhow to leak out to Chinese companies through a high-speed trains partnership. Kron said that Alstom had been careful not to engage in joint ventures that involved giving up technology.
THE TIMES
SHAREHOLDER LOSES PATIENCE WITH OLYMPUS
The largest non-Japanese shareholder in Olympus has demanded access to the camera company’s boardroom minutes as pressure escalates over “unconscionable” outflows of cash on acquisitions. Southeastern Asset Management, an American fund that owns five per cent of Olympus, published an open letter to the Tokyo-based company hours after the Japanese Prime Minister expressed concern over a scandal shaking one of the country’s corporate mainstays.
HAND OVER FUND’S CASH, ACTIVIST INVESTOR TELLS 3I
An activist investor is demanding that 3i hands over to shareholders its lucrative holding in a separately listed investment fund, The Times has learnt. Laxey Partners has a one per cent stake in 3i.
The Daily Telegraph
BRAZIL TO OVERTAKE UK AS SIXTH-LARGEST ECONOMY
Brazil will overtake the UK to become the world’s sixth biggest economy this year, according to new projections. The Latin American giant’s GDP for 2011 is expected to hit $2.44 trillion (£1.51 trillion) compared with $2.43 trillion for the UK, the latest monthly forecasts from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) show. This will see Brazil, which last year overtook Italy to become the world’s seventh biggest economy, move up one more place to sixth with the UK falling to seventh.
SERCO BUYS AUSTRALIAN CONTACT CENTRE COMPANY EXCELIOR FOR A$13.2M
British outsourcing company Serco is buying Australian contact centre firm Excelior for up to A$13.2m, as it looks to strengthen its service offering.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
PBS CHANNEL IN UK TO REACH 14M HOMES
America’s Public Broadcasting Service is launching a dedicated TV channel in Britain today, marking the public television company’s first major foray abroad since it was founded more than four decades ago.
The channel, known as PBS UK, is set to air on British Sky Broadcasting Group and Virgin Media.
CHINESE SEE SAAB AUTO PROFITABLE BY 2014
Two Chinese companies planning to buy Saab Automobile aim to return the troubled car maker to profit by 2014, investing some 20 billion Chinese yuan (£2bn) over the next five to six years while cutting 500 jobs and slashing costs by one billion Swedish kronor (£97.5m). The firms plan to invest €610m (£526m) for the 2012-2013 period.