What the other papers say this morning
FINANCIAL TIMES
Generali set to exit US reinsurance
Generali has become the latest European insurer to plan an exit from the US after Italy’s largest insurer by annual premiums put its US life reinsurance business up for sale, according to a person familiar with the matter. Citigroup is advising the company on a sale of its Generali USA Life Reinsurance unit, which could be worth as much as $1bn.
Fed probes RBS over Iran dealings
Federal authorities in the US are investigating RBS for possible breaches of Iran sanctions in a probe that has already led to the departure of a senior risk manager. The bank is being probed by the Federal Reserve and Department of Justice after volunteering information to them and UK regulators about 18 months ago, several people close to the situation said.
China slowdown hits Rongsheng
China’s Rongsheng Heavy Industries said that in the first half of the year the company only received new orders worth $58m, evidence of how the global economic slowdown is hitting the sector in China after a boom of recent years.
THE TIMES
Arrest adds to problems at StanChart
The founder of a bank in which Standard Chartered has a significant stake has been arrested by Vietnamese police on charges of carrying out illegal business. Nguyen Duc Kien, founder of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank was held in connection with violations at three firms.
Fifty Shades helps Barnes & Noble
The success of EL James’s erotic trilogy Fifty Shades was behind a 46 per cent rise in quarterly digital content sales at Barnes & Noble.
The Daily Telegraph
China bubble in danger zone, warns Bank of Japan
China risks a repeat of Japan’s boom-bust disaster 20 years ago as exorbitant property prices combine with a demographic tipping point, a top Japanese official has warned.
Afren strikes oil as profits surge 621pc
FTSE 250 group Afren said pre-tax profits increased by a staggering 621.7 per cent to $316.1m in the half year as production from one of its fields in Nigeria surged.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Peugeot may lose index place
Battered and bleeding cash, PSA Peugeot Citroën SA is in danger of suffering a further blow: being kicked out of the CAC-40 index of blue-chip French stocks next month due to the collapse in its share price in the past year.
Outlook brightens for Estonia
The near-term growth prospects for the Eurozone’s youngest member, Estonia, could be better than previously expected, thanks to a summertime uptick in household spending.