WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
BMW EYES TIE-UP WITH PEUGEOT FOR MINI
BMW is examining whether to share platforms with PSA Peugeot Citroën for its Mini small car, it emerged yesterday, as the German premium carmaker returned to profit in the second quarter on the back of cost-cutting. Norbert Reithofer, BMW’s chief executive, said the company was talking to its French rival about a deeper co-operation but refused to give any details.
BONUSES CAUSE LOSS AT OCH-ZIFF
Och-Ziff, the listed US hedge fund group, surprised investors on Tuesday by recording worse than expected losses because of a large increase in bonuses for top traders.
In spite of a turnaround in the $22bn hedge fund’s fortunes, shareholders have seen their dividend halved and a $88.3m second-quarter net loss.
ZIM OFFERS EQUITY FOR PRICE CUTS
One of the world’s fastest-growing container shipping lines is offering shipowners equity in return for cuts in the cost of chartering ships as it struggles to avoid insolvency. The offer by Zim Israel was disclosed in a lengthy announcement to the Tel Aviv stock exchange by the Israel Corporation, its parent, which is planning to lend Zim $350m to stay solvent during the worst-ever downturn for container shipping.
TPG EYES IPO FOR AUSTRALIA’S MYER
TPG, the US private equity group, is considering a public float of Myer, Australia’s largest department store group, within the next five months, in the latest sign that the market for initial public offerings is opening up.
Leading private equity firms, many clogged with portfolio companies bought during the boom years, have been denied opportunities to realise cash from their investments since late 2007 as debt markets seized up.
THE TIMES
NUCLEAR POWER ‘NEEDED TO FILL ENERGY GAP’
Britain should treble the share of electricity it generates from nuclear power to avoid sleepwalking into a dangerous dependency on imported gas, Gordon Brown will be warned today in a report by Malcolm Wicks, the Prime Minister’s special envoy on energy security.
OFF-PLAN BUYERS RETURN TO LONDON
Off-plan buyers have returned to the London housing market and are putting down deposits for homes that will not be completed for at least a year, amid a shortage of property for sale in the capital. Barratt, the housebuilder, said that it has received reservations worth 10 per cent of the full asking price for almost half the flats at its 10 Rochester Row development in Westminster, six months before the launch.
The Daily Telegraph
SFO INTENSIFIES ICELANDIC BANKING INQUIRY AFTER KAUPTHING LEAK
The SFO 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. A team is understood to be examining the document connected to the failed Icelandic bank, which had many UK clients.
GENEALOGY WEBSITE ANCESTRY.COM TO FLOAT FOR $75M
The technology boom is back. Ancestry.com, a genealogy website that allows users to trace their family trees, is hoping to raise $75m (£44.3m) by becoming the latest US tech-based company to float. Ancestry.com is planning to float on either the Nasdaq stock market or the New York Stock Exchange in the next few months, with the help of Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
NOVARTIS BLAMES ACTIVISTS FOR ATTACKS
A burst of attacks on Swiss drug giant Novartis, including a theft of the ashes of the chief executive’s mother from a grave site, have raised concerns that animal-rights groups are stepping up their campaign against the drug industry. Novartis officials said they believe animal-rights groups are behind the attacks.
ELECTRONIC ARTS’ LOSS WIDENS AS REVENUE FALLS
Electronic Arts’ fiscal first-quarter loss widened and revenue fell, largely because of accounting for deferred revenue, but the videogame maker topped Wall Street expectations on strong sales of “Sims 3” and sports titles for the Nintendo Wii. Chief financial officer Eric Brown called the results “solid” as the company affirmed its fiscal-year forecast.