WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
HRE CHIEF BACKS HARSH CONDITIONS FOR SUPPORT
The chief executive of Hypo Real Estate says that a German government plan to enforce a controversial “squeeze-out” of minority shareholders next week is the only option for the troubled bank. Axel Wieandt said the move – which will deprive shareholders of a chance to recover further value from the lender after its near-collapse – was “in the best interests” of the company.
REVAMPED OLYMPIC RETURNS TO THE SKIES
Greece’s privatised carrier was relaunched yesterday as Olympic Air, with a new short-haul fleet and a reduced network of European routes. Marfin Investment Group aims to make the “new” Olympic a competitive full-services carrier in southern Europe and the east Mediterranean.
AIR INDIA SUSPENDS DOMESTIC TICKET BOOKINGS
Air India has suspended ticket bookings indefinitely, after about 180 senior pilots went on a mass sick leave as they stepped up a protest over a steep cut in pay. The protest has forced the cancellation of a quarter of flights in the past four days. The pilots’ action followed the announcement last week that India’s ailing state-owned carrier would cut its “productivity-linked incentives” for about 7,000 employees by up to 50 per cent.
GIC EYES NEW MARKETS
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund has signalled that its investment focus would shift to emerging markets after unveiling a 20 per cent drop in the value of its portfolio. The Government of Singapore Investment (GIC) is estimated by analysts to manage more than $200bn (£125bn). In effect this means the aggregate value of its assets dropped by at least $40bn in the year to March.
THE TIMES
RBS COMES TO RESCUE OF FOUR SEASONS HEALTHCARE
British taxpayers are set to become owners of Four Seasons Healthcare, the UK’s largest nursing home chain, after an agreement between the company and its main lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 70 per cent-owned by the government. Under a deal, lenders will halve Four Season’s £1.55bn debt mountain to £780m in a debt-for-equity swap.
FRANCE TÉLÉCOM BOSS LAMBASTED AS SUICIDES REACH 24
Didier Lombard, the chief executive of France Télécom, faced calls for his resignation today after another member of staff committed suicide yesterday, bringing the tally to 24 deaths in 18 months. The latest in a list of deaths, occurred on Monday when a 51-year-old employee killed himself in the French Alps.
The Daily Telegraph
RECESSION-HIT HOUSEHOLDS SAVING MOST CASH FOR SIX YEARS
Households are saving the biggest proportion of their incomes for six years, in the latest sign of the sea change the economic crisis has wrought in families’ financial behaviour. The saving ratio, which measures how much Britons are putting aside from their earnings, rose to 5.6 per cent in the second quarter of the year, the highest level since 2003.
JAPAN TIPS EVER DEEPER INTO DEFLATION
Japan is sliding into the deepest deflation since the Second World War, forcing the new-broom Democrats to abandon their strong yen policy within weeks of taking office. Core inflation fell a record 2.4 per cent in September, a steeper drop than at any time during the country’s Lost Decade.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC AND J&J SETTLE STENT SUIT
Boston Scientific has agreed to pay $716m (£449m) to Johnson & Johnson to settle 14 lawsuits over conflicting patent claims, including one that had resulted in a verdict in favour of J&J that Boston Scientific had appealed.
The settlement, announced yesterday, resolves most of Boston Scientific’s legal liability to J&J after 12 years of lawsuits over stents, popular medical devices that prop open clogged arteries to relieve chest pains.
BOFA’S MCGEE TO BE NAMED HARTFORD’S CEO
Hartford Financial Services Group, the struggling insurer that received $3.4bn (£2.1bn) in government aid, is expected to name Liam McGee, a former head of consumer banking at Bank of America, as its new chief executive.