WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
TERRA FIRMA SEEKS €1BN SOVEREIGN FUND POOL
Guy Hands’ Terra Firma Capital Partners is looking to raise up to €1bn (£860m) from a sovereign wealth fund to retain its ability to do deals after the investment period of its buy-out fund runs out next year. The private equity group has been approached by several large investors from China and the Middle East that want it to set up a separate pool worth between €500m to €1bn.
CHINA CRACKS DOWN ON ROGUE EXCHANGES
The Chinese government has launched a crackdown on hundreds of unregulated electronic equity and futures exchanges that have sprung up in recent years to trade everything from fine art and commodities to insurance products. The country’s State Council published a notice announcing a campaign to “clean up and consolidate” the many exchanges.
ALARM OVER INCREASE IN RATE OF PUB CLOSURES
Pub campaigners have warned that the pace of pub closures could accelerate after the government said it would not intervene in the so-called beer tie – the contracts that make tenants buy beer from pub companies rather than on the open market. The select committee had called for “statutory intervention” on the beer tie to help the struggling pub sector.
CODELCO OPENS DOOR TO DEAL WITH ANGLO
Codelco has opened the door to a financial settlement with Anglo American in a tug-of-war over a prized mine in Chile, but the state-owned copper miner has suggested that any deal would not come cheap. Chief Diego Hernández conceded that it could buy less than the full 49 per cent stake in Anglo’s south Chilean arm.
THE TIMES
3,000 JOBS GO AT BAE — AND THE TAXPAYER FOOTS THE BILL
BAE Systems has handed the taxpayer a bill for up to £110m to fund 3,000 redundancies and the closure of its historic Hawk jet manufacturing plant near Hull, MPs have been told. In an excoriating attack on the defence group in the Commons yesterday, David Davis accused BAE of exporting high-end British engineering jobs abroad.
LAW GIANT IN RETREAT FROM EUROPE
One of the City’s leading legal partnerships has been forced to rethink its international strategy after scrapping a long-running alliance with two continental European firms yesterday. Herbert Smith said it had severed its ties with Gleiss Lutz of Germany and Stibbe of the Netherlands days after the Europeans rejected an overture for a formal merger.
The Daily Telegraph
THOMAS COOK’S BANKS MULL EXTRA £100M LOAN
Thomas Cook’s 17-strong banking syndicate is close to extending the company a £100m loan to save it from imminent collapse. Shares in the 170-year old holiday business jumped 47pc yesterday, rising 5.23 to 16.35p, as the company held frantic talks with its banks aimed at securing a short-term refinancing deal before the weekend.
GROUPON PILOTS SOCIAL NETWORK
Online coupon business Groupon is piloting a social network target at premium customers – but shares have crashed to below the level of its initial public offering (IPO). Sources at the company have told The Daily Telegraph that it intends to develop its service, Groupon Reserve, as an invitation-only social network. It is currently being tested in New York.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
SUZUKI TAKES VOLKSWAGEN DISPUTE TO ARBITRATION
Suzuki Motor Corp yesterday followed through on its threat to take its dispute with Volkswagen AG to international arbitration, demanding that the German car maker return its nearly 20 per cent stake in Suzuki after the Japanese company declared an end to their fractious alliance.
SIGNS OF SPENDING SWITCH FOR CONSUMERS
As the annual post-Thanksgiving shopping onslaught begins, the spending habits of Americans will be closely scrutinised for clues. But there are already signs that consumers have changed their behavior in ways not seen during other economic cycles—and the recovery is suffering because of it. Their dollars are far more likely to flow to goods like cellphones than to services like getting hair cuts.