WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
UK RAISES OPEL ‘SUBSIDY WAR’ FEAR
Lord Mandelson called on Brussels last night to ensure that Germany’s offer of multibillion-euro subsidies to smooth the sale of General Motors’ European arm does not begin a “subsidy war”, with governments using state aid to protect jobs. The UK business secretary’s intervention in the political row over the takeover of Opel and Vauxhall by Magna, the Canadian car parts manufacturer, reflects London’s fears that jobs at GM’s Vauxhall car plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton will be sacrificed.
YAHOO RULES OUT GOING SOLO IN CHINESE MARKET
The Chinese government’s harsh treatment of Google and other internet groups over the past six months has deterred Yahoo from attempting to conquer this market on its own, executives have said.
BURTON’S DEAL HITS DUKE STREET
Burton’s Foods, the biscuit group that makes Jammie Dodgers, has been taken over by its lenders in a debt restructuring that leaves Duke Street Capital, its private equity owner, nursing one of its biggest losses. The fate of Duke Street’s investment comes just over two years after its plans to close one of Burton’s factories caused it to be dragged in front of a parliamentary inquiry for questioning.
MERCKLE EMPIRE UNRAVELS WITH RATIOPHARM SALE
The break-up of the late Adolf Merckle’s industrial empire gained pace on Thursday when the German entrepreneur’s family holding company launched a sales process for Ratiopharm, the world’s fourth-largest generic drugs maker. VEM Vermögensverwaltung, Merckle’s main investment company, said detailed offer documents would be sent to potential bidders at the beginning of October.
THE TIMES
PENSIONS: GOVERNMENT UNDER FIRE FOR CUTTING SHORT TALKS
Business leaders joined the pensions industry in rounding on the government last night after it halved a consultation period on the introduction of universal workplace retirement schemes from three months to six weeks.
The CBI, the employers’ organisation, and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that the revised timetable for talks on the schemes was unacceptably short.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST ONLINE SALES RESTRICTIONS GOES TO EUROPE
A campaign to stop big brands from ripping off online shoppers and retailers delivered 750,000 signatures to the European parliament yesterday ahead of a review of an EU regulation on supply and distribution agreements.
The Daily Telegraph
POOR COUNTRIES NEED $55BN OF EXTRA AID, SAYS IMF HEAD
Rich countries must step up their support for poor countries, which need some $55bn (£33bn) of additional aid to enable them to rebound from a global financial crisis which they did not cause, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn has said. He said that the IMF would only be able to provide one-third of that sum, leaving a black hole of about $37bn to be filled.
IRISH BAD BANK PLAN REVIVES STOCK MARKET
The battered Irish economy enjoyed a mini-revival on Thursday as banking shares soared after the government unveiled its “bad bank” plans. Allied Irish Bank gained 30 per cent and Bank of Ireland rose 18 per cent as the overall market rose 4 per cent.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
FEDEX UPBEAT ON OUTLOOK DESPITE DECLINE IN PROFIT
FedEx said the economy is beginning to stabilise but warned that its earnings in the near term will continue to lag behind prior years’ gains, as first-quarter profit dropped 53 per cent. The package delivery giant’s optimism portends a stronger quarter for many transporation companies.
CALIFORNIA AG PROBES RATINGS AGENCIES
California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr has begun an investigation into three major US ratings agencies and their role in the financial crisis, in part to determine whether the firms violated California law. The attorney general’s office on Thursday issued subpoenas to McGraw-Hill, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings to provide information on their ratings processes by 19 October.