WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
THE SUNDAYS
The Sunday Telegraph
PRU ENSURES CHANGES TO CAZENOVE RESEARCH
JP Morgan Cazenove has rewritten a piece of research about Prudential that initially made a string of adverse comments about the insurer’s accounting procedures. The research note is understood to have made disparaging remarks about reporting decisions taken by Tidjane Thiam, set to take over as chief executive this year.
SEGRO NEARS BRIXTON TAKEOVER
Segro is closing in on a takeover of fellow industrial property group Brixton after management and shareholders of its target rejected alternative proposals from bondholders. Segro has secured a preliminary agreement to acquire Brixton for £107m in an all-share offer and could now announce its firm intention to make the bid by the end of the week.
The SUNDAY TIMES
HANDS READY FOR PORTS BID
Terra Firma, the buyout firm controlled by Guy Hands, is set to bid for PD Ports this week. Rival suitors include HGCapital, CVC, Carlyle and Star Capital. Babcock & Brown Infrastructure was forced to slash its asking price after steel giant Corus decided to mothball its Teeside plant, which accounts for a quarter of turnover.
MOBILE GIANT’S TURKISH GAMBIT
Vodafone has discussed offering its struggling Turkish subsidiary in part-exchange for T-Mobile UK, which is expected to be sold later this year by Deutsche Telekom. The German phone group is this weekend
considering approaches from Vodafone, O2 and Orange, who are all keen to consolidate their position in Britain’s highly-competitive mobile market.
TODAY
FINANCIAL TIMES
MADOFF LAWYER SAYS HE WOULD DO IT ALL AGAIN
The man who defended Bernard Madoff would not hesitate to do it again. “Absolutely,” says Ira Sorkin, who vigorously argued for leniency on behalf of his client only to see him sentenced last week to a 150-year prison term for running a $65bn Ponzi scheme that devastated thousands of lives.
EXPORTERS SQUEEZED BY EURO GAINS
The euro’s strength is forcing European companies to step up cost-cuts to compete with rivals from the US and elsewhere amid fears that it could slow their recovery when demand picks up. The euro, which has risen to $1.40 from $1.25 in March, is making life “difficult”, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, head of Italian defence group Finmeccanica, told the FT.
The Daily Telegraph
SOCK SHOP TO OPEN RETAIL OUTLET
Sock Shop, the iconic 1980s specialist store, is to open its first retail outlet in the UK since the chain closed down after going into administration three-and-a-half years ago. Ruia Group, the hosiery and textiles manufacturer who bought the Sock Shop brand from the administrators, are opening a store at Manchester Airport this week.
WAL-MART SHOPPERS TO VOTE FOR GOODS THAT RETAILER WILL STOCK
Shopper at Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, will be able to vote on what products it stocks under a new initiative being launched in the autumn. In a bid to harness new technology, empower customers and ensure that it has the right products on its shelves, Wal-Mart will allow groups of customers to vote on which non-food products from China it should place orders for.
THE TIMES
ROYAL MAIL’S PENSION SCHEME COULD BE CLOSED
The head of the postal group’s pension trustees is considering closing its retirement scheme after the shelving of reform. The chairman of Royal Mail’s pension trustees is considering plans to close its retirement scheme to existing members after legislation to part-privatise the postal service was shelved last week.
TAXI WAR FOR BAA’S HEATHROW
BAA has incurred the wrath of black cab drivers in London by striking a deal to allow a minicab company to pick up passengers at Heathrow. The deal will allow Addison Lee and One Transport to operate a booking service directly from the airport, prompting cabbies to threaten a blockade of Heathrow over what they call an unacceptable encroachment of minicabs on to their lucrative turf.