WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
MALAYSIA’S GENTING BUYS 3.2 PER CENT STAKE IN MGM UNIT
Genting, the Malaysian gaming group, has paid $100m for a 3.2 per cent stake in MGM Mirage, firming a relationship that could help pave the way for future deals in Macao and the US. Genting matched the $100m that Kirk Kerkorian, MGM Mirage’s largest shareholder, invested in the US gambling group’s $1bn equity offering last month. Genting and Mr Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp each bought 14.3m shares at $7.
KLM BAGS PILOTS FOR DOWN TO EARTH DUTIES
KLM passengers who lose their bags this summer might find themselves remonstrating with some highly paid ground staff following an a ppeal by the airline for its pilots to take on menial airport shifts. As it deals with a slump in international air travel, the Dutch arm of the Air France-KLM group has come up with an innovative way of balancing a payroll full of under-employed pilots with the seasonal need for more ground staff.
HEIDELBERGER DRUCK POISED FOR STATE AID
Heidelberger Druck underlined Germany’s economic woes yesterday when the world’s largest printing machinery maker said it expected to receive a state bail-out that would allow it to continue operating. Bernhard Schreier, chief executive , said the company would be on the brink of collapse without the aid.
FIRST RAND’S BLACK CEO
Sizwe Nxasana is to become the first black chief executive of a South African bank after First Rand said he was to head the second-biggest financial services group. The elevation of Nxasana marks a milestone in the country’s efforts to unpick the distortians of white rule.
TREASURY WEIGHS THE OPTIONS FOR AUTUMN SALE OF NORTHERN ROCK
The Treasury has told its investment banking advisers to examine the feasibility of selling Northern Rock, the nationalised lender, back to the City in the autumn. Sources said that the Treasury was trying to ascertain whether it should float the lender on the stock market, sell the bank to another financial group or remutualise it.
HOMEOWNERS ADVISED TO CASH IN ON THE ATTIC
House prices rose for a second consecutive month in April, official figures yesterday showed, providing another fillip for the housing market. The average property changed hands for £189,215 in April, up by 1.1 per cent from £187,193 in March, figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government indicate.
KEYDATA INVESTORS ASSURED MONEY IS SAFE
Professional services group PricewaterhouseCoopers has moved to reassure 85,000 savers who hold Keydata Investment Services’ capital protected investment plans that their money appears to be safe. But the administrator said that at least a dozen IndividuaProxy-Connection:keep-aliveCache-Control:max-age=0Savings Account (Isa) plans had been found to be non-compliant.
APAX WRITES DOWN INVESTMENT IN EMAP BUSINESS TO ZERO
Private equity group Apax has written off its investment in Emap, the business magazine publisher that it jointly owns with Guardian Media Group (GMG). Less than two years ago Apax and GMG paid more than £1bn for Emap’s business-to-business division, which publishes a number of magazines, including Retail Week.
HOUSE TO SUBPOENA FED OVER MERRILL DEAL
US House lawmakers said yesterday they would file a subpoena to compel the Federal Reserve to turn over internal notes and emails detailing the central bank’s role in encouraging Bank of America to complete its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has asked the Fed to turn over documents requested by the panel last week.
ROCHE DIABETES DRUG IN LATE-STAGE TEST
Roche Holding AG said yesterday it is moving a new potential blockbuster diabetes drug into late-stage testing, paving the way for a possible launch in 2014. The drug belongs to a class of medicines called PPAR agonists that has proved a big disappointment for many pharmaceutical companies.