WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
SEC LAUNCHES EXCHANGE PROBE
The US market regulator has launched a broad investigation into whether exchanges favour large trading companies at the expense of smaller customers. The enforcement inquiries emerged from examinations by the Securities and Exchange Commission of how exchange operators, some of which also regulate their customers, manage conflicts of interest with hedge funds, high-frequency trading groups, banks and asset managers.
LOW RATES SPUR GLOBAL SURGE IN CORPORATE BOND SALES
Global non-financial companies have issued a record amount of bonds this year with groups including Petrobras, Enel and SABMiller taking advantage of cheaper borrowing costs and more favourable economic and market conditions.
STAKE IN MONTE DEI PASCHI UP FOR SALE
The banking foundation behind Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is considering a “mixed” sale of a 15 per cent stake in Italy’s third-largest bank by assets.
HONG KONG OFFICE SPACE IS WORLD’S MOST COSTLY
Hong Kong has unseated London as the world’s most expensive place to rent office space. The cost of renting prime office space in the island state soared 28 per cent last year to £97.11 per sq ft a year, said Knight Frank.
THE TIMES
BANKING’S GLASS CEILING IS MEASURED IN HOURS
A machismo culture of burning the midnight oil, where long hours count more than productivity, is hindering the efforts of women to reach the executive floors of Britain’s banks. A study highlighting the paltry representation of senior women in the financial industry has pinpointed a culture of “presenteeism” as a key factor for female bankers opting out of fighting for promotion.
DENBY IN OVERDRIVE TO MEET ASIAN DEMAND
Three years after it was rescued from bankruptcy, Denby’s factory is running at full capacity,
The Daily Telegraph
COUNTRYWIDE IN £21M PROVISION FOR PROPERTY VALUE CLAIMS
Countrywide, the UK’s largest estate agent, is facing an avalanche of legal claims dating back to valuations it gave prior to the credit crunch in 2008. Provisions made in the last two years against legal claims have topped £21m. The cost in 2011 was £9.4m, significantly more than the company’s loss for the year of £7.3m.
IBM SUPERCOMPUTER WATSON HEADS TO THE UK
IBM is bringing Watson, the supercomputer that became a US television star, to Britain to tap demand from companies keen to profit from the growing volume of data they generate.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
BONUSES AT MF GLOBAL DRAW TWO SENATORS’ FIRE
Two lawmakers prodded the bankruptcy trustee in charge of unwinding MF Global Holdings to drop his plan to pay bonuses to top executives who were at the securities firm when it collapsed.
BANKRUPTCY’S SPARE CHANGE
Many companies that collapse under bankruptcy-court reorganisation are leaving behind small pools of money – and no one knows what to do with them. Years after a company’s demise, some money can remain unclaimed by creditors who didn’t cash their cheques and unexpected payments can trickle into the estate.