FINANCIAL TIMES
CHINESE GDP GROWTH SLOWS TO 7.6%
By Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing
China’s growth fell to 7.6 per cent in the second quarter, its slowest since early 2009, as a property market downturn and weak exports weighed on the world’s second-biggest economy. Over the past two months, as evidence of the slowdown has mounted, the government has shifted its policy to a pro-growth stance, which analysts say is likely to bring about a recovery in the second half of the year.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
MOODY'S SLASHES ITALY'S RATING BY TWO NOTCHES
US ratings agency Moody's downgraded Italy's government bond rating by two notches, citing the knock-on effects of a possible Greek exit from the eurozone and Spain's banking woes. Moody's stressed that Italy did have some strengths: a primary budget surplus not counting interest In reducing the rating to Baa2 from A3, Moody's said that Italy was now "more likely to experience a further sharp increase in its funding costs or the loss of market access" for borrowing to service its budget.
GUARDIAN
SURREY POLICE SHELVE PRIVATISATION PLAN AFTER G4S OLYMPIC FAILURE
Surrey police have announced their intention to withdraw from Britain's biggest police privatisation contract in the face of active campaigns against the move by some of the declared candidates for the job of the force's police and crime commissioner. They took the decision after a discussion in which the failure of G4S to deliver on Olympics security was cited as a factor.
CITY AM
JAPAN’S MAD MEN BUY AEGIS IN £3.2BN DEAL TO SHAKE UP AD INDUSTRY
By Lauren Davidson And James Titcomb
Japanese advertising agency Dentsu has, after a string of attempts, finally cracked the global market with a £3.16bn bid for Aegis. Shares in Britain’s second biggest ad agency jumped 45 per cent to 234p after Dentsu unveiled its 240p per share offer, a 48 per cent premium to Wednesday’s closing price. The deal –the second biggest the ad industry has ever seen – comes just days after Publicis acquired top British agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty.
THE SUN
CITY’S CHIEFS TO DITCH BARCLAYS
A CITY council “appalled” by the Libor-rigging scandal is taking millions of pounds out of BARCLAYS.
In the latest blow to the banking giant, Labour-controlled Leicester has vowed to cut its ties and switch more than £6million to rival banks.
DAILY MAIL
OFFICIALS TELL OSBORNE A FURTHER £65BN OF CUTS
Britain will need another £65billion in tough austerity measures to manage the impact the ageing population has on its already-creaking public finances, the tax and spending watchdog has warned.
In its annual fiscal sustainability report, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said extra tax hikes or spending cuts will be needed from April 2018 to keep finances under control until 2061.
DAILY EXPRESS
SPONGERS CAN SUE TO CLAIM BENEFITS
CLAIMING benefits could become a human right under proposals put forward by a Government panel. If the scroungers’ charter is put into law, workshy residents could be free to sue ministers for failing to provide them with a comfort¬able standard of living. The plans to extend the controversial Human Rights Act to cover so-called socio-economic rights sparked fury last night. Politicians and campaigners hit out at the hare-brained scheme that could cost hard- working taxpayers billions.
WWW.BBC.CO.UK
BANK LENDING SCHEME DETAILS DUE
Sir Mervyn King Sir Mervyn King said there was "a great black cloud of uncertainty" hanging over global business. Details of a scheme aimed at boosting High Street bank lending will be unveiled later by the Bank of England. The aim is to make billions of pounds of cheap funds available to banks but only if they use the money to boost loans to businesses and consumers. The move is part of a raft of measures taken to try to increase lending.
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DAILY TELEGRAPH
PARROT IN TROUBLE FOR SHOUTING OUT TAXI BOOKINGS
A parrot called Pepe, who's home used to be a taxi firm office, has been annoying neighbours by squarking taxi bookings all day long. When the bird started shrieking orders, Pepe got in trouble with the neighbours in Glasgow who called the police to complain about the noise.
