DAILY TELEGRAPH
COALITION IN PENSION FEES CLAMPDOWN
By James Hall, Consumer Affairs Editor
Pension funds whose high charges have “torn the heart” out of savers’ retirements should scrap unfair terms and offer them new deals that do not penalise them, the Pensions Minister says.
Liberal Democrat MP and Minister of State Pensions Steve Webb. Announcing a clampdown on excessive pension fees, Steve Webb says that thousands of people are trapped in expensive old-style pensions, which can charge fees of up to 4 per cent of a pot’s value every year.
CITY AM
LOANS PLAN WON’T WORK
By Marion Dakers
Borrowing by British business is set to fall again this year, casting doubt on the government’s latest efforts to boost credit for companies, according to figures out today. Economists at the Ernst & Young Item Club expect corporate borrowing to slump 6.2 per cent, as the uncertain economic outlook wipes out any incentive to lend fostered by the coalition’s new “funding for lending” scheme.
THE SCOTSMAN
RUPERT MURDOCH FALLS OUT OF LOVE WITH PAPERS
By Dominic Jeff
Rupert Murdoch has stepped down from the boards overseeing the Sun, Times and Sunday Times, fuelling speculation he is preparing to sell his British newspaper empire. News Corp described the move as a “corporate housecleaning exercise” linked to the announcement last month that the firm would split into two separate companies – a smaller publishing division and a much larger entertainment and TV group.
DAILY EXPRESS
RECORD DIVIDEND PAYOUT TO HAND INVESTORS £41BN
By Peter Cunliffe
Millions of investors and savers have been given some respite from the turmoil on the financial markets by record dividend payouts by British stock market-listed companies. Quoted firms paid out an all-time high of £22.6billion in the second quarter of the year, a rise of 18.4 per cent against a year earlier, according to the latest Dividend Monitor from Capita Registers.
WWW.BBC.CO.UK
EURO HITS 11-YEAR LOW AGAINST YEN AMID SPAIN DEBT WOES
The euro has fallen to an 11-year low against the Japanese yen amid fears that debt problems in Spain are worsening. The euro fell to 94.71 yen in early Asian trade, its lowest level since November 2000.
FINANCIAL TIMES
BLEAK JOBS OUTLOOK RAISES HEAT ON FED
By Robin Harding in San Francisco
The US will make little progress tackling high unemployment before 2014 unless the Federal Reserve eases policy further, one of the central bank’s leading officials has warned in the run-up to a meeting next week where the option of “QE3” will be on the table.
DAILY MAIL
SPOTLIGHT ON BARCLAYS & LLOYDS AS BANKS PRESENT RESULTS TO INVESTORS
By Ben Griffiths
The spotlight will be back on two of Britain’s biggest banks this week as under-fire Barclays and state-backed Lloyds present half-year results to investors eager for more positive news about the sector. Barclays is enduring a leadership crisis after chief executive Bob Diamond stepped down in the wake of its £290m fine from UK and US regulators for fixing Libor – an interbank lending rate. Executive chairman Marcus Agius is also set to leave once a successor has been found.
GUARDIAN
COALITION STRATEGY TO BOOST ECONOMY IS HAVING OPPOSITE EFFECT, THINKTANK WARNS
By Rajeev Syal and agencies
IPPR report urges temporary tax cuts and spending on infrastructure to boost investment from the private sector. The coalition government's economic strategy is reducing confidence and cutting, a thinktank warned on Monday. The sluggish recovery from recession will see the UK's long-term GDP growth rate drop to just 1.7% by 2015 – its lowest level since the second world war and the equivalent of £165bn in lost output over 15 years – according to the Institute for Public Policy Research .
