What the other papers say this morning – 28 October 2013
FINANCIAL TIMES
Big Six face challenge over bills
Britain’s energy regulator is on course to clash with the “Big Six” power companies this week over the importance of wholesale gas and electricity prices in rising customer bills. Data from energy regulator Ofgem show wholesale prices have been almost flat over the past year, rising by a mere 1.7 per cent. According to the regulator, wholesale costs should contribute only around an additional £10 to household charges.
Emirates consider record Boeing order
Emirates Airline, the fast-growing Gulf carrier, is in advanced negotiations with Boeing to buy as many as 100 long-haul passenger jets, in what could be a record-breaking $30bn-plus commercial order for the US aircraft manufacturer. Dubai-based Emirates is also evaluating whether to buy more long-range aircraft from Airbus, including A380 superjumbos and the largest version of the European aircraft maker’s planned new A350 jet.
Salaries surge for compliance staff
A shortage of qualified compliance staff in the banking and asset management industry has sparked a surge in salaries as groups struggle to cope with the flood of new regulations coming into force after the financial crisis. Average salaries for compliance staff at investment management companies in the UK has jumped 11 per cent this year amid fears that lack of staff will force some smaller groups out of business.
THE TIMES
Baird takes over consultant
Alpha Financial Markets Consulting, which provides management consultancy services to the asset and wealth management sectors, has been sold in a £28m deal. Baird Capital, the UK private equity division of Robert W Baird & Co, bought the majority stake in Alpha and intends to expand its European customer base and develop its business in the US.
Kalibrate primes pump for flotation
A technology company that delivers petrol pricing to the pumps has kicked off a £35m flotation of the business. Kalibrate Technologies, will seek to raise £8m through a listing on London’s junior Aim market that will be announced this morning.
The Daily Telegraph
Risk as Chinese dollar debt soars
Foreign loans to companies and banks in China have tripled over the last five years to almost $900bn and may now be large enough to set off financial tremors in the West, and above all Britain, the world’s banking watchdog has warned. “Dollar and foreign currency loans have been growing very rapidly,” said the Bank for International Settlements in a new report.
Pensions fund ups assets to £15bn
Britains’s embattled long-term savings industry will get a rare boost tomorrow when figures from the Pension Protection Fund show that the rescue scheme for workers at collapsed companies has increased its assets.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
Data centre outage hits healthcare site
The federal data hub relied on by all 14 state-run health care insurance exchanges and 36 exchanges run by the federal government was not working yesterday because the company hosting the hub lost its network connectivity, the Obama administration said. The outage means people trying to sign up online for health care insurance in all 50 states could not complete the process.
Samsung to hold developers conference
With its first developers conference in San Francisco this week, Samsung Electronics is taking a big step toward cultivating a host of software and service for devices that can compete with those offered by Apple.