Thursday newspaper round-up: Ireland, BAE, mobile phones...

11th Nov 2010 06:03

The International Monetary Fund was forced last night to deny that Ireland had requested financial assistance after another run on Irish government bonds. In a rare denial, the IMF said that relations with Ireland were "normal" and described Dublin's plans to cut spending and raise taxes by €15 billion by 2014 as demonstrating its commitment to fiscal adjustment. Brian Lenihan's budget next month would be an "opportunity to define measures underpinning" that commitment, writes the Times. Ireland's cost of borrowing has rocketed to its highest level since the launch of the euro in 1999 after a dramatic sell-off by bondholders and banks. Ten-year bond yields hit 8.64pc on Wednesday, rising by more than half a percentage point. The sell-off was triggered by a cash-call estimated to be $1bn (£620m) by a clearing house on Wednesday morning, the Telegraph reports. BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defence company, said it had a record third quarter in its US security and maintenance businesses, and played down the impact of delays to big equipment programmes, the Telegraph writes. "Third-quarter sales grew in the US and we're still doing very nicely there," said Ian King, chief executive. "We're not seeing delays as serious as some of our competitors."The City's high-rolling equity, bond and derivatives dealers will have their mobile phone calls taped under rules aimed at stamping out insider dealing. Banks, brokers and investment houses will have to record all calls, texts and e-mails made using business phones or through Skype if they relate to deal orders and customer transactions, the Financial Services Authority is expected to say today, according to the Times. Foreign banks operating in London could be forced to explain their pay policies in the same way as European firms under new disclosure rules proposed by the City regulator. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is looking to close a potential loophole in which banks that are headquartered abroad could be exempt from releasing crucial data such as specific remuneration bands, the Telegraph reports.Google's 23,000 employees around the world will each get a 10 per cent pay rise in the new year, the latest move in what the internet giant has called "a war for talent" in the technology industry. The company, which makes profits at a rate of $1m (£624,000) per hour, announced the pay rise in an email to staff, which said staff would also get a holiday bonus of $1,000 this year, the Independent reports.The Prudential has cut thousands of agency staff in India after a crackdown by the country's regulator that threatens its short-term sales prospects. Britain's biggest insurer said that it had reduced its agency workforce in India by 28 per cent to 176,000 amid new curbs on charging and the imposition of lock-in periods for policyholders buying unit-linked products, the Times says. Unite has called on Goldman Sachs to intervene in a furious row with its caterers over allegations of racism. The union had planned to picket the investment bank's Fleet Street headquarters and leaflet its highly paid staff this morning over the row, involving the sacking of a long-time worker for Aramark, which handles catering at the bank's plush art deco offices, according to the Independent.