WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
BARCLAYS RETAIL CHIEF WARNS NEW ENTRANTS
The new head of global retail banking at Barclays has joined the backlash of traditional bankers against the entry into banking of supermarkets and other consumer companies. Antony Jenkins said the new competitors may be under-estimating the difficulties of breaking into the market.
APOLLO SETS SIGHTS ON NYSE LISTING
Apollo Management, the big private equity firm headed by former Drexel Burnham Lambert executive Leon Black, is planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Apollo, which has $38.3bn (£22.7bn) in assets under management, would be the second buy-out firm to list in New York, after Blackstone.
SONY RETUNES $5BN AD BUDGET
Sony is looking to concentrate its nearly $5bn (£3bn) annual advertising firepower on a smaller number of products to “reinvent its marketing”, senior executives at the company said. The company fears it is being outgunned by competitors that spend heavily to promote specific products or categories, such as Apple with the iPod or iPhone, Samsung in televisions, or Canon in digital cameras
DUBAI AIR SHOW SEES DEALS START TO TRICKLE IN
The third day of the Dubai air show ended yesterday much as the first two had, with just a handful of extra order announcements from the main aircraft manufacturers that brought the total value of air-show deals to $8.3bn (£5bn). This is a far cry from the record $155bn in orders seen at the previous show in 2007, before the global recession hit, but better than some had feared given the gloomy sentiment at the Paris show.
THE TIMES
REVOLUTION IN THE AIR FOR LORD’S
Marylebone Cricket Club will consider selling the naming rights to Lord’s, the sport’s most famous ground, as part of a £400m redevelopment. The most radical scheme in the 195-year history of the home of cricket will see it transformed into a 21st-century super-stadium. Vision for Lord’s, as the proposals are titled, will be funded partly by flats around the periphery that estate agents estimate could sell for £1.2m each.
LAWYER FOR HERMITAGE IN KREMLIN CASE DIES IN PRISON
A Russian lawyer who represented Hermitage Capital and helped the London-based hedge fund in its allegations of theft and fraud against Kremlin officials has died in prison.
Sergei Magnitsky died on Monday at Matrosskaya Tishina detention centre while awaiting trial for conspiracy.
The Daily Telegraph
VAUXHALL BOSS REASSURES WORKERS
Vauxhall workers have been given a major boost after the man leading General Motors Europe said the car maker was looking to maintain production at both UK plants. Nick Reilly, the British-born interim boss of Vauxhall and Opel, met Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, and members of the Unite union and stated there were opportunities to “quite significantly” reduce the 800 job cuts that had been pencilled in for plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton.
UK HOUSE PRICES: PEAK FOR AFFORDABILITY “NOW OVER”
Housing affordability peaked in the second quarter of the year and is now deteriorating as property prices rise, according to Lombard Street Research. The affordability index improved from 118.1 points to 118.2 points between the first and second quarters.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
MERKEL SAYS GERMAN ECONOMIC CRISIS MAKES TAX CUTS A MUST
German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her new center-right government’s planned tax cuts, saying they are needed to get the country out of its worst economic crisis in 60 years. Speaking at a conference organized by German magazines, Merkel said there is no alternative to the government’s growth-promotion plans, which include tax relief in 2010 and tax cuts starting in 2011.
S.C. JOHNSON BIDS FOR SARA LEE UNIT
S.C. Johnson & Son has joined the bidding for Sara Lee air-freshener business, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially creating a formidable player in Europe with the combination of S.C. Johnson’s Glade brand and Sara Lee’s Ambi Pur. The bidding for the unit, could fetch more than $700m (£416m).