Monday newspaper round-up: Berlusconi, SMEs, Vodafone

7th Nov 2011 06:58

Cabinet minister Danny Alexander has accused some trade union leaders of being "hell bent" on strike action over changes to public sector pensions with little regard for the interests of their members. The Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury said the Government would be contacting 2.5 million public sector workers directly over the next weeks to "explain to them directly" the latest improved pensions offer (...) The union is now set to strike on November 30, when teachers, civil servants and other public sector workers will also be staging a walkout - the biggest in the UK for decades, writes The Telegraph.Silvio Berlusconi is engaged in frantic negotiations with rebels in his governing coalition ahead of a key vote on Tuesday which could end his 17-year political career. The prime minister has spent the weekend imploring dissident MPs to stick with the government, as he defied calls for his resignation from not only the opposition but also within his own ranks. With the loyalty of up to 20 government MPs reportedly wavering, the fate of his three-year-old administration could hinge on a vote in parliament tomorrow on what would normally be a routine piece of legislation which signs off on Italy's 2010 budget,The Telegraph reports.According to the CBI's quarterly trends survey of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), sentiment about the general business situation fell for the second consecutive quarter with a balance of -26 per cent of firms reporting that they were less optimistic than three months ago. That is the sharpest fall in sentiment since April 2009 when the figure stood at -42 per cent. Sentiment about export prospects also deteriorated, standing at -19 per cent, which marks the first fall since April 2009, according to The Independent. Vodafone is set to muscle in on BT and IBM's turf after setting up a division to target the lucrative contracts on offer around the Government's new plan to set up a "network of networks". The group will today announce the appointment of Simon Holmyard as head of its first Public Services Network (PSN) operation, to compete for contracts expected to run into hundreds of millions of pounds. It is the first UK mobile operator to target the space, says The Independent. State-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is to lavish around £500million in bonuses on its 'casino' bankers - despite a collapse in profits. Hundreds of traders and investment bankers who were bailed out by taxpayers at the height of the financial crisis are expected to walk off with pay and perks packages worth more than £1 million each.The huge hando-uts will fuel fury at City greed at a time when politicians and religious leaders are speaking out about corporate excess, according to The Daily Mail. David Cameron will today hold crisis talks with Cabinet eurosceptics as it emerged that Britain's exposure to the International Monetary Fund could rise to £40bn. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson will tell the Prime Minister he needs to toughen his stance on Europe, setting out a clear timetable for clawing back powers handed to Brussels. There is increasing concern that core EU nations are planning to use the debt crisis to join forces to 'bulldoze' over British interests, leaving the UK marooned in a permanent voting minority as they integrate further, The Daily Mail says. The private company that runs the FTSE 100 could kick overseas firms out of the benchmark index if they fail to comply with strict new listing rules. FTSE International is also considering taking a more hardline approach on corporate governance, in effect eliminating the "explain" aspect of London's "comply or explain" regime. Companies must comply with the combined code on corporate governance ? which sets out requirements for independent directors and board conduct ? or explain why they have not. Christopher Woods, FTSE's managing director, said: "We could simply take a more objective approach to the code and require that companies sign up in full." The most extreme option being considered, as part of a consultation launched last week, would see FTSE introduce a new set of indices based on minimum governance requirements, such as having an independent chairman, The Times reports. AB