What the other papers say this morning – 22 August 2013
FINANCIAL TIMES
Interns keep working at BofA
Bank of America Merrill Lynch gave interns the option to end placements early after a 21-year-old undergraduate died. But they have decided to keep working. The decision by Moritz Erhardt’s peers to stay on highlights the determination of many young people to win a passport into that world. BofA said it was not aware of any interns at the US bank’s London office taking up an offer to leave before the end of the week, when internships are scheduled to finish.
City man pays £800k over basement
Kensington council has demanded a fee of more than £800,000 from a hedge fund manager seeking to build a vast subterranean extension underneath two adjacent west London properties. Reade Griffith, founder of Polygon Investment Partners, wants to create two underground floors including a swimming pool, spa and “treatment area” below their home. The new basement, at about 900 sq m, is equivalent to eight average-sized new-build family houses.
Naked Wines raises $10m
Naked Wines – the UK-based “Kickstarter for wine” – has raised $10m as the British crowdfunding group plans to speed up its expansion in the US and Australia. The company allows customers to act as angel investors, paying £20 per month to invest in winemakers in exchange for preferential rates and exclusive access to any wine produced.
THE TIMES
Heinz cuts office jobs
Almost 250 staff working for Heinz in Britain could lose their jobs as part of a streamlining of the business after its sale six months ago. Heinz has about 2,600 employees in Britain in factories in Hayes, Wigan, Kendal, Telford, Westwick and Worcester.
Insurers brace for flood of claims
A string of catastrophes during the first half of the year cost insurers $20 billion worldwide in claims payouts, according to the latest estimates. Torrential floods accounted for $8bn (£5bn) of the claims losses, the Sigma research organisation said yesterday.
The Daily Telegraph
MPC member proposes more QE
The Bank of England may need to resort to further “quantitative easing” if the economy stalls again, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has conceded. Martin Weale, one of four external members of the committee, said he could “certainly envisage circumstances” for further asset purchases.
Football ground becomes the Cigg-E
Worried health officials hit out today as a football club revealed e-cigarette company Cigg-E had bought the naming rights to its stadium. Merthyr Town’s ground in South Wales will be known as the “The Cigg-e Stadium”.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Tesla amps its Model S safety rating
Tesla Motors has created its own vehicle-safety ranking based on federal crash-test data to amplify a claim that its Model S electric car is the safest car ever tested by US regulators. Tesla said its car hit 5.4 stars, although the government’s ratings do not go beyond five stars.
Disney to sack 175 employees
Walt Disney is planning to lay off about 175 people from its television arm. Most of the cuts to Disney’s total staff of 7,600 will come from the company’s operations staff and eight TV stations. The stations a seven per cent decrease in advertising revenue in the second quarter.