Monday newspaper round-up: Eurogroup, South Korea, Lloyds

19th Dec 2011 06:54

Jean Claude Juncker, the head of the Eurogroup, said all 27 European Union finance ministers, including George Osborne, would talk together in the afternoon to approve or reject extending the funds to the IMF as agreed in Brussels by December 19. The loans would be used by the IMF to support struggling eurozone countries. The finance ministers are also tasked with devising a voting system to govern the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) after the Brussels decision to replace unanimity sparked a revolt. The ministers are under pressure to have a deal ready for approval by EU leaders when they convene on Tuesday, The Telegraph writes. South Korea's military was placed on special alert today following news that Kim Jong Il, the "Dear Leader" of North Korea, had died after 17 years dictatorial control over the starving, nuclear-armed and enigmatic regime. The 69-year-old's death - reportedly from a heart attack he suffered while aboard a train on Saturday - was announced by North Korean state media by a weeping newsreader earlier this morning. As the announcer, dressed in black, read out the list of members of the funeral committee - a roster significantly headed by Kim's youngest son and successor, Kim Jong un - he was at times too choked with tears to speak clearly, The Times reports. Lonrho, the FTSE-listed conglomerate lining up to go into a joint venture with Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is advertising flights for its African-based carrier Fly540 that it is not actually operating. The company's website Fly540africa.com has been offering for sale, or listing as sold out, flights between destinations in Angola that have not been operating for weeks according to sources on the ground. The problems with the routes come despite Lonrho announcing a "full roll out of services in Angola" to the London Stock Market in July. Earlier this month it was announced that easyJet founder Sir Stelios was to undertake a feasibility study aimed at establishing a low-cost airline in Africa, Fastjet, The Telegraph says. Private equity firm, 3i, has teamed up with institutional investors to prepare a bid for Edinburgh Airport, which has been put on the market by airport operator BAA. (...) BAA is hoping to raise around £460m from the sale of the airport, with the process due to begin formally in January.The group, led by 3i Infrastructure, will be one of a number of airport operators and private equity firms expected to take part in a competitive sales process for Scotland's largest airport next year. Stagecoach founder Brian Souter is considering an offer through his investment vehicle, Souter Investments, while US asset management firm, Carlyle Group, has formed another consortium. Aeroports de Paris, which owns Charles de Gaulle airport, and Global Infrastructure Partners are also thought to be interested in a potential deal for Edinburgh Airport, which handles around 9m passengers a year, according to The Telegraph.One of Britain's smallest energy companies has set out to break the stranglehold of the industry's Big Six by becoming the first supplier for more than a year to cut bills that have soared to record levels. The move by the tiny, fledgeling Co-operative Energy, made with an accompanying fanfare highlighting its customer-friendly credentials, will turn the spotlight once again on the leading suppliers and their prices, which have made a key contribution to rising inflation. (...)The new tariff is cheaper than the £1,293 average standard tariff from the Big Six ? British Gas, EDF Energy, Scottish and Southern Energy, ScottishPower, E.ON and RWE npower. The industry giants are thought to be unlikely to follow suit, however, The Times reports.Lloyds´ highest paid executives, including its recovering boss Antonio Horta-Osorio, have been slapped with a pay freeze as the taxpayer- backed institution also comes under pressure to take an axe to bonuses this year. It is understood that the bank's top 1,000 senior executives, including many stationed in Edinburgh, were told of the move last week. It comes after Lloyds plunged to a £3.9bn loss in the first nine months of the year, forcing it to warn last month that it may have to postpone some of its recovery targets until after 2014. The loss was triggered by a £3.2bn write-down to cover the mis-selling on payment protection insurance (PPI). Lloyds refused to comment last night but one insider stressed that executive pay was "very much linked to the performance of the business," The Scotsman writes. AB