WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
JPMORGAN TRIES TO CALM UK FEARS
JPMorgan’s top executives have embarked on a charm offensive to allay fears by staff and regulators that the ousting of Bill Winters as co-head of the investment bank will mean a diminished role for its London operations. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, made a surprise visit to London last week, meeting about 70 managers, to reassure them that the City and Europe remain crucial to the bank’s future, the group said.
DUTCH CENTRAL BANK TAKES OVER DSB
The Dutch central bank took control of DSB Bank, a small lender that focuses on mortgages and consumer credit, after a run on the institution following a consumer campaign. The move came after talks to sell the privately held bank – which has about €8bn in assets – to a group of the five biggest Dutch banks ended without a deal.
HEALTH INSURANCE LOBBY ATTACKS REFORMS
The White House and the health insurance industry descended into open conflict on the eve of a critical Senate vote that could determine the fortunes of Barack Obama’s healthcare reform plans. Supporters of President Obama accused the health insurance industry of attempted “sabotage” after it issued a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which estimated premiums would rise much faster under the proposed reforms than they would have done otherwise.
OPEL UNION CHIEF CONFIDENT OF MAGNA SALE
Opel’s labour chief has said that he expects the carmaker’s sale to Magna to be sealed this week, in spite of last-minute talks over job cuts in the UK and Spain. “There are still some points to clear up but we are almost there,” Klaus Franz, chairman of the Opel workers’ council in Germany, said yesterday.
THE TIMES
UK MUST RAISE TAXES BY £26BN A YEAR TO REPAIR THE ECONOMY
Britain must raise taxes by £26bn per year or cut public spending by 17 per cent in the three years to 2013-14, over and above the measures proposed in this year’s Budget, a report published today warns. Accountancy PricewaterhouseCoopers says that the damage to the economy inflicted by the recession means that fiscal tightening will need to be more aggressive than anticipated.
PENSIONS GENDER GAP IS WIDENING
Worries about job insecurity and debt during the recession are causing women to ignore warnings about the poor state of their pension savings, according to a report published today. Scottish Widows has found that women are lagging behind men when it comes to saving for their retirement.
The Daily Telegraph
LEHMAN BANKERS CLAIM £70M IN LOST PAY AND BONUSES
Six bankers at Lehman Brothers are claiming £70m for lost pay and bonuses from the administrators of the collapsed bank. Chapter 11 filings show that Italian banker Riccardo Banchetti, the former joint chief executive of Lehman in Europe and the Middle East, is claiming $26m (£16.4m), despite having held the job for only a few weeks before Lehman failed.
PALAMON CAPITAL PARTNERS IN TALKS TO BUY ADP DENTAL CHAIN
London-based Palamon Capital Partners is in exclusive talks to buy one of Britain’s biggest chains of dental practices from the collapsed Kaupthing empire. The private equity firm is in the final strokes of a deal for Associated Dental Practices, which operates 122 surgeries and serves 1.5m patients.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
BOFA TO HAND OVER DOCUMENTS RELATED TO ITS MERRILL DEAL
Bank of America agreed to hand over documents that detail the legal advice it received during its purchase of Merrill Lynch, according to people familiar with the situation, a sharp reversal after months of resisting such a move.
ONYX AGREES TO BUY PROTEOLIX
Drug maker Onyx Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire privately held Proteolix for $276m (£175m) cash plus potential milestone payments, giving Onyx a foothold in what it estimates to be a $16bn market for blood-cancer drugs. The deal could fill what Wall Street has perceived to be a hole in Onyx’s research pipeline, giving it access to Proteolix’s experimental drug carfilzomib, which is being studied in mid-stage clinical trials for people with multiple myeloma.