WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
SCRUTINY THREATENS SUCCESS OF BAIKAL, SAYS LSE
Regulatory scrutiny over “dark pools” and the failure of most such platforms in Europe to make money mean that Baikal, the London Stock Exchange’s planned platform, “might not work”, says Xavier Rolet, LSE chief executive. “It’s not impossible that it might not work,” Rolet said. He said the LSE might instead use Baikal to “compete in other areas.”
ROCHE REVAMP BOLSTERS YOUNG CHIEF’S POSITION
Roche yesterday unveiled a shake-up of senior management to achieve change and strengthen the position of Severin Schwan, the Swiss pharmaceuticals group’s young chief executive. Bill Burns, Jürgen Schwiezer and Jonathan Knowles, the heavyweights heading pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and group research, will retire at the end of the year, to be replaced by younger executives.
DOGAN HIT BY RECORD $2.5BN TAX FINE
Turkey’s biggest media group on yesterday was hit with a record $2.5bn tax fine, sending its shares down 20 per cent after a year-long confrontation between its owner and the country’s prime minister. The fine deals a powerful blow to one of Turkey’s most prominent family conglomerates. It also raises questions about political interference in business and that could tarnish the country’s image among foreign investors.
LEGEND HOLDINGS PLANS PUBLIC LISTING
China’s Legend Holdings yesterday unveiled plans to transform itself from a state-controlled enterprise into a listed company in a move that could help its affiliate Lenovo gain access to orders and overseas acquisition targets.
THE TIMES
EX-LEHMAN BOSS CLAIMS HE IS BEING ‘DUMPED ON’
Richard Fuld, Lehman Brothers’ vilified former chief executive, is preparing for another barrage of criticism as the anniversary of the Wall Street bank’s collapse draws near. “I’ve been pummeled, I’ve been dumped on and it’s all going to happen again,”Fuld said yesterday.
$40M ‘MINI-MADOFF’ CHARGED IN NEW YORK
A New York fund manager has been accused of running a mini Madoff-style investment scam since the 1970s, ripping off more than 800 investors. Philip Barry was charged by the US Attorney’s office in Brooklyn with a single criminal count of securities fraud. It is alleges that Barry accepted more than $40m from investors who believed that he was investing the cash in stock options.
The daily telegraph
UKRAINE AND RUSSIA SPAR OVER GAS TRANSIT
Tensions are again growing between Russia and Ukraine over payments for transporting gas to Europe, echoing last winter’s crisis that led to shortages. The Kremlin has insisted that Russia should not pay its neighbour in advance for transporting gas to European nations, despite Ukraine’s pleas for early payment at a time when it is seeking an international bail-out package.
BAGGAGE CHARGES HELP SWELL AIRLINE REVENUES
Baggage, check-in and priority boarding charges may infuriate passengers but they have proved a boon to the world’s airlines as they cope with the vicious aviation downturn. Analysis of of 92 airlines has found that ancillary revenues leapt 345 per cent in 2008 to €7.68bn (£6.73bn) from 2006.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
UNILEVER SAYS MORE WORK NEEDED TO GROW IN CHINA
Anglo-Dutch consumer-products giant Unilever was one of the first multinationals to enter China, nearly a quarter-century ago. But even today, top executives said, the market remains too big and untapped to regard profitability as the main measure of success.
PRESCRIPTION FOR UBS: HARD WORK
UBS organizational and operational restructuring is on track, but the Swiss bank’s efforts to renew client trust will require long and hard work, chief executive Oswald Grübel said.
In a memo sent yesterday to the bank’s 70,000 staff, Grübel said that “returning the group to profitability will only be the beginning.” He warned that “the recovery of our reputation will require hard work and relentless effort.”