Tuesday newspaper round-up: GM, Bernanke, RBS

25th Aug 2009 05:56

General Motors is trying to formulate a $4.3 billion financing plan that would allow it to keep control of its European operations and avoid selling Opel and Vauxhall, people familiar with the situation said, according to the Times.Ben Bernanke is to be reappointed by President Barack Obama for a second four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, according to a White House official, says the FT.The sale of Royal Bank of Scotland's retail and commercial assets in China has hit a stumbling block that could derail negotiations with preferred bidder Standard Chartered, according to people familiar with the matter, writes the FT.Almost 5,000 retail jobs will be saved at Focus DIY today when some of the country's biggest commercial landlords back the chain's proposed Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA), thereby preventing it from collapsing into administration, reports the Telegraph.ITV is 'weeks away' from signing a deal with Hulu, the US-based web TV service, to syndicate its content in exchange for equity in the company, according to the Telegraph. Hulu, which is co-owned by Disney, News Corporation and NBC Universal, has been trying to break into the UK video-on-demand marketplace since February 2009, when the Competition Commission blocked Project Kangaroo, the joint VOD service from ITV, BBC Worldwide and Channel 4.Debt markets were given a significant confidence boost on Monday when Santander, Spain's largest bank, launched a programme to buy back securitised bonds with a face value of €16.5bn ($23.6bn), says the FT.London Underground warns today that it has "grave doubts" the company responsible for upgrading tube services under a private-public partnership deal can deliver improvements to one of the network's main lines on time, writes the Guardian.The management of Kleinwort Benson, the private banking group, is in talks with a number of bidders about a £300 million buyout of the business that could see the return of Simon Robertson, the bank's former chairman. Kleinwort Benson has been put up for sale by Commerzbank, its German owner, after a ruling from the European Commission that it must divest some of its operations, reports the Times.Car dealers were last night scrambling to get paperwork to the US government after a late surge in sales under its taxpayer-subsidised car scrappage scheme, which has buoyed sales, according to the Independent.Toyota was forced to issues a recall on more than 680,000 cars in China yesterday, potentially jeopardising its position in the world's fastest-growing market, says the Independent.