WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
FERREXPO SEES IRON MARKET SHIFT
Ferrexpo signalled that iron ore demand was shifting back to Europe after being heavily reliant on China, as the Ukranian miner unveiled an 81 per cent drop in first-half profits. Ferrexpo reacted to the collapse in demand from steelmakers in Austria by selling iron ore pellets to China, incurring damaging shipping costs.
FORTRESS INVESTMENT WARNS US
Fortress Investment Group yesterday accused the US of interfering with creditors rights and warned against US involvement. One of Fortress Investmentfounders, Pete Briger, said that the involvement could hurt the government’s long term credibility. He added the government’s response to the financial crisis lacked a longterm perspective. Instead US officials had a “parochial view” by simply bailing out banks.
DEUTSCHE BANK EYES STAKE IN SAL OPPENHEIM
Deutsche Bank is in advanced talks to take at least a minority stake in Sal Oppenheim, one of Europe’s best known and biggest independent private banks, in a deal designed to strengthen its business with affluent clients. Germany’s biggest bank has made a non-binding offer for a stake in Sal Oppenheim in a deal that could further the expected consolidation of Europe’s private banking sector.
UBP AIMS TO LURE BACK INVESTORS
Union Bancaire Privee is poised for a restructuring as the Swiss private bank and its rivals in the fund of funds industry increase the transparency of their operations to win back investors. UBP – one of the biggest victims of the Madoff fraud and once the second-largest hedge fund investor in the world – has seen its fund of funds business shrink by more than $18bn (£10.6bn) in the past six months.
THE TIMES
UNITE WANTS BA TO BRING IN ITS BIG-HITTERS FOR PAY NEGOTIATIONS
Unions representing employees of British Airways are poised to demand that the airline use managers with more seniority to negotiate proposed pay cuts and contract changes. Unite, which represents 28,000 BA workers, regards the airline’s negotiating team as having insufficient power to agree a deal.
REUBENS BLAME BANKS FOR PBR BID FAILURE
The wealthy Reuben brothers today accused bankers to Premium Bars & Restaurants (PBR), the collapsed Living Room and Prohibition bar operator, of frustrating their attempts to buy the company. The property entrepreneurs refuted suggestions that they had precipitated its collapse this week by changing the terms of their £52m offer.
The Daily Telegraph
SWINE FLU SKIVERS COST FIRMS MORE THAN VIRUS, SAY EMPLOYERS
Staff using the swine flu pandemic as an excuse to take time off work are causing more disruption to businesses than the virus itself, according to employers. Thousands of healthy workers are thought to have taken advantage of official guidelines on the pandemic to extend their summer holidays.
SFO INTENSIFIES ICELANDIC BANKING INQUIRY AFTER KAUPTHING LEAK
The Serious Fraud Office is gathering extensive intelligence on the Icelandic banks in the aftermath of last autumn’s crash that left thousands of UK institutions nursing millions of pounds of losses. The SFO’s team has intensified its inquiries following the leak of Kaupthing’s loan book on to an internet site, Wikileaks.org , over the weekend, according to sources.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
TAYLOR BEAN TO CEASE OPERATIONS
Taylor Bean, the 12th-largest home-mortgage lender in the US, has closed down its mortgage-lending operations announced that it has closed down its mortgage-lending operations. The privately owned mortgage bank cited Tuesday’s move by the Federal Housing Administration barring it from making loans insured by the FHA.
MOVIE-RELATED GAMES BENEFIT ACTIVISION
Activision Blizzard posted second-quarter earnings that benefited from movie-related games like “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and the “Guitar Hero” franchise. The company cut its 2009 revenue guidance by $300m, to $4.5bn, and pushed back two releases—”Singularity” and “StarCraft II”— into 2010 as it sees more difficult market conditions ahead.