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Newspaper Briefing, including Lloyds aims to sweeten branch sales - Daily Mail
The Times
Cyber-attack raises stakes in leadership race at IMF: The International Monetary Fund has become the latest multinational organisation to fall victim to a hacking attack, raising questions about the security of internet-based communications. The attack comes at a highly sensitive time for the IMF, which is in the throes of appointing a new successor after the shock arrest and resignation last month of its previous Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Von Essen founder ‘hatched plan’ for knighthood: The founder of the collapsed von Essen hotels chain offered to fund a refurbishment of the Governor General’s residence on the Caribbean island of Antigua in return for a knighthood, The Times has been told. Andrew Davis visited Antigua about a year ago to discuss the proposal after being put in contact with officials by an executive at one of von Essen’s lending banks, according to three sources connected to the company.
Westfield strikes with ‘boutique bowling’: The Company behind the concept of buffing ten-pin bowling with cocktails, cuisine and loud music, is expanding beyond Central London. The company behind the trendy “boutique bowling” concept, in which ten-pin bowling is glammed up with cocktails, fine cuisine and loud music, is expanding beyond Central London.
Expanding BrightHouse creates 2,000 jobs: BrightHouse is to create 2,000 jobs over the next five years after accelerating its store opening programme. Britain’s biggest rent-to-buy retailer, owned by the private equity company Vision Capital, is stepping up its planned store openings from 21 to 30 a year. Additional jobs are expected to come from opening new distribution centres.
Bank searches for economic clues on Google: After years of poring over the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics, the Bank of England has turned to Google to find out what is happening in the economy. In its latest quarterly bulletin, the Bank said that it had started to monitor what people look for on internet search engines such as Google, as it believes it is a useful economic indicator. In particular, it helps to give the Bank an insight into what is happening in both the jobs and housing markets.
City regime ‘isn’t a kind of whack-a-mole for central bankers’: A senior official has promised that the Bank of England will not stifle the City under the weight of its new regulatory regime, arguing that the financial sector needs to see “more risk-taking, not less”. Andy Haldane, the Bank’s Executive Director for financial stability, said that its new Financial Policy Committee would not behave like “risk nutters” who stamp down on every excess that pops up in corners of the financial system.
The best of British is back in vogue with super-rich: The super-rich are back on Bond Street. Demand for Britain’s most exclusive leather, jewellery, fashion and handbags is not only bouncing back from the recession last year but also surpassing the industry’s expectations for growth, a survey of the leading luxury brands has found
Foreign companies fund private army: The Afghan Government is building up a 7,000-man privately funded militia to protect the country’s mining industry as it struggles to attract foreign investment while battling against a bloody insurgency. The Mining Protection Force will be funded entirely by foreign companies through licences they buy to develop iron, gold and copper mining projects.
No jobs, no money, just promises: A Chinese-owned mine that was supposed to bring riches to Afghanistan has fuelled insurgency as villagers launch rocket attacks. A Chinese-owned mine that was supposed to bring riches to Afghanistan has so far only fuelled the insurgency as dispossessed villagers launch rocket attacks on a company they accuse of failing to honour its promises.
Scratching the surface of an emerald industry that could be worth billions: Among the peaks above Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley, thousands of miners are hunting for some of the world’s finest emeralds. Four thousand metres up in the Hindu Kush Mountains, there is a deafening blast as the ground begins to shake.
Anne Ashworth and Ed Smith debate renting vs buying: To rent or to buy? Writer Ed Smith loves being a tenant but property editor Anne Ashworth wishes the market would be kinder to buyers. `A recent survey by Populus found that 64% of Britons polled believe that their prospects of ever buying their own home are zero.
Financial Times
Banks set to hit Merlin lending targets: Britain’s big banks are on schedule to beat lending targets set in a government peace deal this year, it has emerged, undermining mounting criticism from senior politicians that loan volumes are too low. A government minister last week revealed details of the targets for actual lending set in the Project Merlin accord, struck between banks and the government in February.
Hopes rise for end to water deal dry spell: Water company customers in drought-hit areas of England still hope for adequate rainfall, but bankers praying for an end to the prolonged dealmaking dry spell in the sector have received a trickle of good news. The decision by Agbar, the French-Spanish owners of Bristol Water, in effect to put the utility up for sale has sparked hopes that a long-awaited round of deals will come to fruition.
Vannin Capital earmarks £8 million to fund lawsuits: A litigation funder backed by private equity that launches this week has earmarked £8 million to fund seven lawsuits.
Tesco forecasts U.K. sales rebound: Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain by market share, is expected to move back into growth in its home market, when it reports sales figures this Tuesday, providing an early boost to new Chief Executive Philip Clarke.
Supermarkets offer lifeline to builders: Builders are set to cash in on a wave of supermarket building as the U.K.’s largest retailers fight to increase their share of the highly competitive grocery market. The number of planning approvals granted for large-scale retail developments jumped to 217 in the last three months of 2010, a 36% per cent rise on the same period a year earlier, according to research published on Monday.
Banks battle over U.S. tax law: Banks and foreign governments are mounting an increasingly desperate push against a sweeping U.S. tax law that will force overseas institutions to report their American clients to the Internal Revenue Service.
Unilever Chief shuns deals in drive for growth: Unilever’s Chief Executive has in effect promised annual organic growth targets of an industry-trumping 7 to 8% in a prediction the consumer goods group would not require acquisitions to meet its target of doubling revenues.
Lloyds offers easier way to switch banks: A new system aimed at revolutionising the way bank customers switch their current accounts has emerged as a key line of defence in Lloyds Banking Group’s battle against proposals to shrink its dominant share of the market.
Red tape cut for smaller power suppliers: Ministers are to cut red tape for small power companies to help them compete with larger rivals as pressure grows over soaring gas and electricity bills.
Lex:
Biohazard: barons of subsidy: U.S. biofuels barons always have something up their sleeves whenever anyone mentions the “food versus fuel” conundrum. These days, “distillers’ grains” – a by-product of ethanol production, unfit for human consumption but apparently fine for livestock – are presented as proof that the debate is a non-starter. The surprisingly blunt report from 10 agencies, including the World Bank, United Nations and International Monetary Fund, urges governments to cut subsidies to the biofuels industry. A U.S. government report calculated last year that taxpayers give $1.78 in subsidies to reduce gasoline use by one gallon through the use of biofuels, but even this underestimates the true cost. Since 2000, U.S. ethanol output has risen 10-fold and corn has gone from less than $2 a bushel to nearly $8. A third of the U.S. corn crop now goes to ethanol, which makes up a 10th of U.S. retail petrol sales. Meanwhile, cereal, meat and other displaced crops have risen in price. What is more, for notionally “green” policies, the environmental damage from U.S. and European Union biofuel quotas is considerable, ranging from fertiliser run-off to deforestation in countries exporting palm oil.
Eurozone v ECB: bust-up looms: The gloves are off in the Eurozone’s fight for survival. Ireland is jousting with France over corporate tax rates; the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have skirmished over Portugal; the Greeks are fighting with everybody, including themselves. The bust-up investors really need to watch, though, is the one looming between Frankfurt and Berlin. It will shape the resolution of the Eurozone crisis. The institutions squaring off are the European Central Bank and the German government and parliament. The ECB has been consistent in its opposition to bailing in private investors to a restructuring of Greek debt. That remains the position of Jean-Claude Trichet, the bank’s president: a “credit event” by Greece must be avoided. That used to be the position of the German government. Not any more. Wolfgang Schauble, Germany’s Finance Minister, wants a private sector contribution as a condition of German participation in any more bail-out funds for Athens.
ENRC: dirty laundry: It is hard to quantify the value of corporate governance. But in the case of Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, the London-listed Kazakh miner, a rough figure can be calculated. ENRC has been dogged by governance concerns since it listed in 2007 but matters came to a head in February this year when Felix Vulis, Chief Executive, resigned for “personal reasons”. Since then, ENRC’s shares have lagged behind FTSE 350 mining companies by about 16%, equivalent to about £2 billion of market capitalisation. The ousting of two Independent Directors last week confirmed shareholders’ fears over the quality of its governance. The three Russian oligarchs who collectively own about 44% of ENRC are unlikely to care. Sure, with the company’s dirty laundry fully aired, it will struggle to attract reputable replacements. But ENRC’s free float is less than 20%. The founders’ stake, taken together with that of the Kazakh government, which owns almost 12%, means the company is in effect privately controlled.
The Daily Telegraph
Stanley Fischer’s chance of IMF job hampered by age, says Israeli Finance Minister: Stanley Fischer, Israel’s Central Bank Governor, has received an early blow in his bid to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after a key supporter branded his chances as “not great”. Mr Fischer announced on Saturday that he was throwing his hat into the ring, challenging frontrunner Christine Lagarde, France's finance minister, and Mexico's central bank governor Agustin Carstens.
FSA under pressure to re-examine ENRC flotation: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is under pressure to re-examine the flotation of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp (ENRC) after Sir Richard Sykes, the Kazakh miner’s ousted Non-Executive Director, claimed the listing was a “mistake”.
Dubai’s financial crisis laid bare as 217 new properties axed: The extent of Dubai’s financial crisis has been laid bare after the Arab state revealed that 217 property transactions were axed or put on hold in the wake of the troubles hitting the country.
Centrica Chairman warns steep energy price increases are inevitable: Households should be prepared for further rises in their power bills of the magnitude of Scottish Power’s inflation-busting 19% increase in gas prices and 10% hike in electricity tariffs, Centrica Chairman Sir Roger Carr has warned.
Prada’s Hong Kong IPO is ‘five times oversubscribed’: China’s fascination with high fashion has once again been underlined after Prada won strong support for its Hong Kong initial public offering. The Italian luxury goods group is looking to raise up to $2.6 billion (£1.6 billion) and has seen buyers place orders worth five times that amount, according to reports.
The Questor Column:
Bunzl is a great business but now a hold: Bunzl sources and supplies all the items that a business consumes – and it does so cheaper than its customers could themselves. The company provides consumables used in day-to-day business, be that coffee cups, carrier bags, labels, toilet rolls or cleaning items. It moves into new markets by marking targeted acquisitions that are funded from its cash flow. King Espana Completos is a distributor of food service disposables and cleaning and hygiene supplies in Spain. The business has three facilities, in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. Revenue last year was €29 million (£25.7 million) for this year, the shares are trading at 12.3 times estimated earnings and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Questor thinks they are a hold at these levels – and investors who got in on the original tip of 571p on 21 December 2008 should consider themselves long-term holders. This is because they would lock in a prospective yield this year of 4.5%, the company is well managed and its strategy is sound. The shares are up 36% since the tip, with the FTSE 100 up 34% over the same period. Bunzl. 765p. Questor Says “Hold”.
Buy Yule Catto as its markets bounce back: The chemicals sector has been one of the best-performing this year – and shares in Yule Catto have risen almost 11% in the year to date. It produces approximately 800,000 tonnes of polymer a year and this is by far the largest division, producing 88% of operating profit last year. The acquisition completed at the end of March and management remain “highly confident” that at least £20 million of synergies will be delivered. Indeed, actions taken in the first few weeks of Ownership have delivered synergies with an annual run-rate value of approximately £2 million. Plans are already being developed for very substantial increases in capacity in Asia for nitrile and SBR latex, used in coated paper, to be brought on line before the end of 2012. The shares do not appear to be trading on a stretched earnings multiple, indeed the shares are a discount to other players in the sector. In the year to December, Yule is trading on a multiple of 12.9, falling to just 9.1 next year. This compared with Croda on 16.5 this year, falling to 15 in 2012. Yule shares offer a small 1.4% yield, but the dividend is well covered by earnings so there is scope for this to rise. Yule Catto. 221p. Questor Says “Buy”.
The Independent
Structural jobs deficit must be tackled, says CBI: The CBI calls on the Government to tackle deep-seated structural unemployment which threatens to leave millions on the scrapheap without jobs. The employers' lobby said the Coalition must put as much effort into acting on long-term unemployment, skills shortages and high levels of public sector dependency as it does into tackling the deficit.
Lloyds’ new scholarships push bank’s U.K. efforts: Lloyds Banking Group is launching an undergraduate scholarship programme worth more than £12,000 in awards and paid work for students from lower-income families.
Bank of England must be prepared to support the economy, BDO says: The Bank of England must stand ready to rescue Britain’s economy from a double-dip recession, a leading accountant warned, amid growing concern the Government is not prepared to change course on fiscal policy if the recovery stumbles.
Foyles bucks bad news for booksellers with latest branch at Olympics site: If close observers of the bookselling trade had been asked to pick the likely survivors from among the plethora of small chains that have steadily disappeared from Britain’s high streets it is unlikely that Foyles would have been at the top of anyone’s lists.
Banks’ profit margins hit record levels: Banks are are cashing in by raising their interest rates, research for The Independent has revealed. Despite the Bank of England last week keeping the base interest rate at a record low of 0.5% for 27 months in a row, the rates which lenders charge customers have risen, in some cases by almost 50%.
Desmond to unveil profit at Channel 5 in first year: Richard Desmond’s media group Northern & Shell will reveal that Channel 5 made a profit last year. The news comes just a month before the anniversary of the ailing channel’s acquisition by Mr Desmond in a deal worth £103.4 million.
Brits ‘cannot get enough’ of smartphones and tablets: The popularity of smartphones and tablet computers continues to soar in the U.K. and offers media content companies a big revenue stream, a report will say.
Lagarde gets Indonesia backing for her IMF bid: Indonesia became the first major emerging market to back Christine Lagarde’s push to be the head of the International Monetary Fund.
U.K. taxes high for both rich and poor: Tax bills for both low and high earners in the U.K. are among the highest for a major economy, research published claims. UHY Hacker Young studied 19 countries and found that the UK had the seventh-highest tax burden for those earning $25,000 (£15,400) and those on $200,000.
Planning apps activity rises: Commercial property planning applications jumped by 16% in the final quarter of last year, spelling potential good news for the construction sector.
The Guardian
Landlords to seek break-up of ailing Southern Cross: Southern Cross landlords meet to consider proposals that would lead to a break-up of the care homes company and the possible ousting of the management led by Christopher Fisher.
Crunch week for Glencore as share price props are removed: Shares in Glencore, the recently floated commodities trader, are entering a crucial week in which the artificial props supporting the share price will be removed and it announces its first results as a public company.
Nokia’s latest smartphone fails to impress market watchers: Nokia’s Chief Executive Stephen Elop left the stage quickly after his speech last week, when he set out how the Finnish mobile phone company planned to build the “third ecosystem” in the fast-growing smartphone market.
Glazers eye Hong Kong listing for Manchester United: The American Glazer family, which owns Manchester United, could list the company on the Hong Kong stock exchange in a move that would value the club at around £1.7 billion. A float would provide a profitable exit for the Glazers, which bought the club in a highly leveraged £790 million deal in 2005, although the family may retain a stake and use the proceeds from a share offering to reduce debt of £490 million.
3M sued for neglecting new anti-superbug test developed in U.K.: The government will this week begin legal proceedings against 3M, the U.S. conglomerate, for failing to commercialise an innovative technology that could have helped prevent deaths from the MRSA hospital superbug.
Daily Mail
Bank Chiefs face fresh cheques quiz from MPs: Bank Bosses face a grilling over their plans to scrap cheques when they are called to give evidence before the Treasury Select Committee this week. MPs will question Richard North and Gary Hocking, the chairman and chief executive respectively of the Payments Council, on Wednesday.
Hopes rise of end to credit card ‘fake fees’: The days could be numbered for ‘fake fees’ - excessive card charges applied on low-cost airline flights and other tickets. The Office of Fair Trading is due to report the findings of its inquiry into the practice within weeks.
Lloyds aims to sweeten branch sales: Bidders for the 600 branches being sold off by Lloyds Banking Group will be offered a compensation package in case customers refuse to be transferred. The news comes as it was reported last night that Lloyds was preparing to axe up to 15,000 jobs on top of the 28,000 cut in the last two years.
Daily Express
Hugh Osmond targets energy supplier: Hugh Osmond, the buy-out king who built up Pizza Express and Punch Taverns, is close to buying a power supply firm backed by investor George Soros and a private equity firm run by former Amercan Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Virgin to sell gym stake: Sir Richard Branson’s gym chain Virgin Active has opened exclusive talks to sell a stake to private equity group CVC Capital in a move that could value the fitness firm at £1 billion. The buyout firm, which also backs the AA and Formula One, is in talks to buy around a third of the 76% stake Virgin owns in the clubs.
Zambeef will plough £34 million into farmland: Zambeef, the first Zambian company to float on Aim, is planning to join the market in a listing which will help it raise £34 million. Zambeef Products is a “farm to fork” company involved in growing, processing, distributing and retailing almost everything from beef to bread, oils to eggs and pork to chickens.
Kolar will go prospecting after £12 million float: Kolar Gold hopes to glitter on Aim with a float which will raise £12 million. Kolar Gold will become the first Indian gold explorer to list in Britain in a move advised by Cenkos Securities, joint broker alongside Ocean Equities.
International expansion boosts Tesco’s potential: With the first store having opened in 1929, Tesco is one of the oldest food retailers in the U.K. It operates in 14 markets including Asia and North America. It operates in 14 markets including Asia and North America. You may also be familiar with its banking and insurance services, with other operations including property investment, garden centres, mobile phone services and fuel.
The Scottish Herald
Economy boosted by private sector jobs lift: The creation of full-time jobs in Scotland’s private sector economy last month grew at its fastest rate in more than three years, but concerns still run high over whether the expansion has the staying power to pick up the slack from the impending cuts in the public sector.
Massive complex in Qatar is Pearl in Shell’s oyster: People who need to obey a call of nature in Shell’s Pearl plant in the desert state of Qatar are prompted to complete an unusual heath check.
High street players don’t get me – I’m part of the credit union: Credit brokers preying on the indebted with random texts and phone calls have been extracting fees of £70 or more simply for passing on the name and address of a credit union to desperate borrowers.
Manufacturing advisory service unlikely to be cut: Nick Shields, the new Director of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS), has told The Herald the group is “probably” safe from ongoing public sector cuts because of its importance to Scotland’s economy.
Revealed: fibre optic cable Chief who has seen the light: With Scotland’s biggest banks likely to remain in recovery mode for some time the country needs to make sure it provides the right support for the high tech hopefuls that could take up some of the slack in the future.
It takes real nerves as well as sunshine to make perfect hay: The perfect weather of April gave way to rain and dreadful gales in the second half of May, and now south-west Scotland is suffering showers, and some very heavy ones at that.
The Scotsman
Osborne to launch sale of Northern Rock bank: Chancellor George Osborne is expected to kick off the sale of nationalised bank Northern Rock this week. Whitehall sources say the Chancellor will use his annual Mansion House speech on Wednesday to unveil his plans to return the taxpayer-owned bank to the private sector. Northern Rock was nationalised in February 2008 after it collapsed amid the credit crisis, sparking the first run on a U.K. bank for 150 years.
Fresh jobs on the way, courtesy of New York bank: Bank of New York Mellon, the U.S. asset servicing firm which has offices in Edinburgh, will today becomes the latest employer in Scotland to create jobs despite the tough economic environment. Rival financial services company State Street recently added a further 90 jobs to its 750-strong Scottish workforce while Xodus Group, the Aberdeen-based energy consultancy, has also revealed plans to almost triple its workforce to 900 over the next four years.
Scottish boost as workforce growth outpaces U.K. figures: Scottish firms took on staff at the fastest rate in more than three years last month as the economy enjoyed a fifth consecutive month of growth, according to research. The Bank of Scotland's (BoS) latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed that companies hired new recruits at the quickest pace since February 2008 despite only a "marginal" increase in the amount of new business.
Bill Jamieson: Hot agenda as world's investment giants set sail for Edinburgh: Representatives of some of the world's leading sovereign wealth funds gather in Edinburgh for a major conference in the city tomorrow. Sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are the giant aircraft carriers of global financial markets. Together these government-owned funds - investing in assets such as bonds, fixed-interest stocks, equities, property, precious metals, land and commodities - have an aggregate net worth estimated at between $3,600 billion (£2,200 billion) and $3,800 billion.
Debt advice firms fear OFT crackdown: Up to half of Britain's debt advice firms could close amid a crackdown by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Tougher rules to be launched this week are expected to include a ban on certain adverts and an end to cold calling by foreign-based companies on behalf of British debt firms.
California court could bring closure to Picsel legal battle: A year-long court action in the United States involving the founder and executives of a Scottish mobile technology firm may finally come to a head this month.Glasgow's Picsel Technologies, which went into administration in 2009 before it was resurrected through a management buyout, became embroiled in a legal dispute in the US last June. A suit was launched by several of the firm's former US employees, including Picsel's former chief operating officer in the Americas, Bill Vanke.
