THE HEADLINES IN BRIEF: INVESTORS DUMP EURO. MORE MONEY TO BAIL OUT SPAIN. CALLS FOR THE END OF FREE BANKING & THE ROW OVER THE GOLDEN BUNNY
….EURO CRISIS…..
FINANCIAL TIMES
BIG EUROPEAN FUNDS DUMP EURO ASSETS
By David Oakley and Alice Ross in London
Some of Europe’s biggest fund managers have confirmed they are dumping euro assets amid rising fears over a possible Greek exit from the eurozone and single currency turmoil. The euro’s sudden fall this month caught many investors by surprise. On Thursday, the euro hit a fresh 22-month low at $1.2514.
WWW.BBC.CO.UK
EUROPEAN BUSINESS ACTIVITY FALLS TO NEAR THREE-YEAR LOW
According to a survey by Markit. Its index, based on a survey of purchasing managers in the manufacturing and service sector, fell to 45.9 in May, a 35-month low. In response, the euro fell to $1.2515 against the dollar, a 22-month low.
CITY AM
BANKIA BAILOUT BILL SOARS AGAIN TO OVER €15BN
By Katie Hope
Spain’s fourth-largest lender Bankia is expected to today beg the state for more than €15bn (£12bn) to bail it out when its new management team presents a restructuring plan “The help needed to clean up the bank will be more than €15bn,” a source told Reuters last night. The bill is almost double the estimation of Spain’s finance minister Luis De Guindos, who just 24 hours earlier told parliament that Bankia needed an injection of at least €9bn.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
GOVERNMENT SPENDING PREVENTS WORSE DOUBLE DIP RECESSION
By Philip Aldrick, Economics Editor
The concerns emerged after the Office for National Statistics revealed that the double-dip recession was even worse than feared. The economy shrank by 0.3pc in the first quarter of the year, the ONS said in its second estimates, rather than the 0.2pc initially thought. Government spending hit record levels in the three months to March in spite of the austerity drive, rising by 1.6pc to £81.5bn and delivering 0.4 percentage points of overall economic growth. However, the taxpayer-funded boost was not enough to offset weak activity in construction, trade and the financial sector.
…. THE OTHER NEWS …..
DAILY TELEGRAPH
MOMENTUM GATHERS TO END FREE BANKING
By Philip Aldrick, Economics Editor
An end to the era of free banking moved closer last night after the Treasury Select Committee threw its support behind plans for banks to introduce current account charges. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the committee, urged regulators to clear away any obstacles stopping banks from charging and to bring the 28-year-old practice to an end.
GUARDIAN
GLAXOSMITHKLINE AND ASTRAZENECA INVEST IN ANTIBIOTIC RESEARCH
By Julia Kollewe
Britain's two biggest drugmakers have joined forces in the battle against superbugs such as MRSA. As new drug resistant superbugs such as the "New Delhi" bug have emerged, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca have teamed up with academics and other Big Pharma companies to tackle antibiotic resistance, which is becoming a major health threat around the world. For example, drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis are spreading at a frightening rate.
FINANCIAL TIMES
INSULTS FLY OVER TROUBLED HP BUYOUT
By Maija Palmer in London
As many as a quarter of the staff at Autonomy quit the British software group soon after its acquisition by HP, former employees said, with one likening the US computer maker’s internal procedures to “being water-boarded” almost daily.
THE SUN
FAG PACKET BAN 'BOOSTS TERROR'
By Steve Hawkes, Business Editor
Moves to introduce plain packaging on cigarettes will be a “gift” to criminal gangs and terrorists, it was claimed yesterday. Alison Cooper, chief executive of Imperial Tobacco, said she could not believe the Government was still considering the plans on health grounds.
DAILY MAIL
SHAREHOLDER SPRING EYES FRESH TARGETS
By Rupert Steiner And Rob Davies
A clutch of British firms yesterday risked the wrath of investors backing the intensifying Shareholder Spring with details of bumper executive pay packages. The top team at online fashion retailer ASOS (up 133p to 1655p)will share an eye-watering £57million windfall after hitting performance targets with a 93 per cent increase in annual pre-tax profit.
DAILY EXPRESS
BT MANAGERS IN £90M BONUS
BT chief Ian Livingston has collected £4.7million as part of a £90million shares bonanza for 1,000 managers. The shares payout is under a turnaround plan put in place in 2009 after the company issued a profits warning. Livingston’s £4.7million long-term incentive payout is on top of his annual pay, bonuses and benefits of £2.5million. He is also in line for a further £1.3million of shares in three years time.
….AND FINALLY ….
NO EU TRADEMARK FOR CHOCOLATE RABBIT, SAYS COURT
A Swiss-made chocolate bunny, wrapped in gold foil and with a red ribbon around its neck, cannot be registered as a trademark, the EU court has ruled. Lindt and Spruengli have made the rabbit since 1952 and applied for an EU trademark in 2004. But other firms make Easter chocolate bunnies too and an Austrian company has even wrapped them in gold foil.
