WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
FUND BEARS LEAD THE PACK IN VOLATILE MARKETS
Bearish hedge fund managers are making their biggest gains since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Only a handful of hedge fund managers have made money in May and June, when many of the industry’s biggest names were caught out by a sharp rise in market volatility.
INDIAN TAKEOVER OVERHAUL COULD DRIVE UP M&A COSTS
Buying controlling stakes in companies in India will become more expensive and tougher under radical changes regulators are proposing for the country’s merger and acquisition rules. India’s takeover panel on Monday said investors who wanted to buy more than 25 per cent of a company would have to make a mandatory bid for all remaining shares in the target.
HOARE GOVETT WINS LANDMARK BLUE-CHIP CLIENT
Hoare Govett, the corporate broking arm of Royal Bank of Scotland, has won a blue-chip corporate broking mandate for the first time since it was bought by RBS from ABN Amro three years ago. According to people close to the process, Hoare Govett has won a co-broker mandate at Cable & Wireless Worldwide, the new non-UK business spun out from Cable & Wireless Communications.
DEMAND FOR TECH STAFF RISES AT STHREE
SThree, the white-collar recruiter, said demand for technology staff had increased for the first time since 2008. With employment figures in the US and UK showing the jobs market has stabilised, the recruiter said IT staff hiring rose 4.1 per cent in the quarter to end May. But Russell Clements, chief executive, described the recovery as “patchy”, with a fall in underlying profits.
THE TIMES
GOLDMAN TRADER TO FIGHT ABACUS FRAUD CHARGES
The Goldman Sachs trader charged in the $1 billion Abacus fraud case is expected to fight the charges when he files his response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) claims later today. Sources with knowledge of Mr Tourre’s case said that he was likely to file a detailed defence to the allegations.
HUNGARY THE LATEST FOCUS OF FINANCE FEARS
The Hungarian currency was on the slide and government borrowing costs on the rise today as the Budapest administration became the latest focus of fears for the finances of European countries. In a separate development Moody’s downgraded the debts of the Irish government, another of the European countries in the debt crisis spotlight.
The Daily Telegraph
BT TO RAISE COST OF MAKING A CALL
Millions of families face a sharp rise in their phone bills due to a 10 per cent price increase by BT. The minimum cost of making a call will now be 17.3 pence due to changes to connection charges and call rates. The telecom giant said the rise in charges was needed to prop up its finances to survive the effects of the recession.
GOOGLE BUYS METAWEB TO ‘IMPROVE’ SEARCH
Google has acquired Metaweb, an internet information database company, in a bid to “improve its search” offering. The search giant announced its acquisition late on Friday evening via its company blog. Jack Menzel, director of product management at Google, wrote: “We’ve acquired Metaweb, a company that maintains an open database of things in the world.”
WALL STREET JOURNAL
GERMANY PROBES BANK’S IRAN DEALINGS
The German government is investigating the activities of an Iranian-owned bank in Hamburg for its alleged work in support of Tehran’s controversial nuclear program, officials said. A spokesman for the German Finance Ministry said Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, and Germany’s banking oversight agency, BaFin, are investigating the activities of the European-Iranian Trade Bank AG.
CHINA PASSES US AS TOP ENERGY USER
China has passed the US to become the world’s biggest energy consumer, according to new data from the International Energy Agency. The milestone reflects China’s burst of economic growth and its future needs as an industrial powerhouse.