Wednesday newspaper round-up: Official statistics, RBS sale, Shire

5th Aug 2015 08:27

(ShareCast News) - Sir Charlie Bean, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, will today put the nation's number crunchers on notice that the status quo is untenable, arguing that the internet revolution has rendered Britain's official statistics out of date. Speaking ahead of the launch of his official review into the state of the nation's economic numbers, he said the current framework for the national accounts "was developed in the aftermath of the Great Depression". While big data, rapid innovations in technology and the rise of the sharing economy had transformed industries around the globe, official statistics had soldiered along largely unchanged, he said. - The Financial TimesGreece needs a debt write-down of almost €100bn (£70bn) if the country is to stand a chance of clawing its way out of a "prolonged and severe depression", according to a leading think-tank. In a stark analysis, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) laid bare the impact of VAT hikes and strict budget targets that it said could become "self-defeating". - The Daily TelegraphRoyal Bank of Scotland's share price hit its lowest level this year as the government confirmed that it had sold a little over 5 per cent of the lender at a loss of £1.1?billion to the taxpayer. Investment bankers hired by the Treasury sold 630?million shares in RBS at 330p, sparking accusations from opposition politicians, and even the City, that the taxpayer had been sold short. Yvette Cooper, the Labour leadership candidate, said the £2?billion offer of RBS shares had been "handled disastrously", while Chris Leslie, the shadow chancellor, called the deal a "fire sale". - The TimesGeorge Osborne has tried to justify a £1bn loss on the first sale of shares in RBS in the face of criticism from politicians and City analysts by saying it was the right thing to do for the British taxpayer. The chancellor sanctioned the first sale of the stake in RBS, announced on Monday night, to cut the taxpayer shareholding from 79% to just below 73%. Slightly more shares than expected were sold after the stock market closed on Monday, crystallising a loss for the taxpayer after £45bn was ploughed into the bank to rescue it amid the financial crisis of 2008-2009. - The GuardianHedge funds made a fast buck at the taxpayer's expense last week by betting against RBS shares shortly before the UK government started selling its stake in the bank, according to people involved in the deal. They said some investors got wind that the government could be about to start selling part of its 78 per cent stake in the bank and quickly placed a bet that this would drive down the share price. - The Financial TimesThe International Monetary Fund has hailed China's progress on financial reform but said the renminbi still lags rivals on key metrics that determine whether the fund will formally endorse the redback as a reserve currency. The fund's executive board will make a final decision on the renminbi late this year as part of its regular five-yearly review of the currency composition of its Special Drawing Rights, a global reserve asset comprising the dollar, euro, yen and pound. - The Financial TimesThe financial regulator has dropped an investigation into a former senior UBS banker caught up in the Libor scandal, after its own review panel found there was not a strong enough case to pursue him. The Financial Conduct Authority will not take enforcement action against Panagiotis Koutsogiannis, known as 'Pete the Greek' to his colleagues, after the independent experts on its regulatory decision committee found that dishonest conduct was not proven. - The Daily TelegraphGoldman Sachs has admitted its fine for mis-selling toxic bundles of mortgage debt before the financial crisis could be £1.4billion bigger than previously feared. The Wall Street giant is in advanced talks with the US Department of Justice, which is expected to announce a settlement in the coming weeks. The negotiations suggest that the penalty could be bigger than previous estimated. - The Daily MailP&O Ferries experienced its busiest month for freight "in modern history" in July after it brought its freight vessels back into service to help deal with the transport chaos caused by the migrant crisis in Calais. Lorries have been piling up in Kent after police and highways officers launched Operation Stack, a traffic management system that has resulted in thousands of vehicles being parked on the M20. - The Daily TelegraphOne of Britain's biggest drug companies has initiated a $30 billion hostile takeover of Baxalta, an American rival, as it seeks to become the world's leading supplier of medicines for rare diseases. Shire has made public its all-share approach after being rebuffed by the management of Baxalta, which is known for its drugs that treat rare blood disorders, such as haemophilia. Flemming Ornskov, the chief executive of Shire, said that combining the businesses would create a company with the biggest portfolio of drugs for "orphan" diseases and the potential to generate $20 billion of sales by 2020. He said that he was puzzled at Baxalta's "lack of engagement" in a deal that could provide "firepower for further innovation and future growth". - The TimesThe old wisdom said hostile deals don't work in the world of cutting-edge pharmaceutical research because successful science requires willing partners. In the current bid-a-week biotech bonanza, such niceties can be thrown out of the window, it seems. Shire, the Dublin-based and London-listed outfit, has gone hostile with an all-share $30bn approach to US group Baxalta after being given the cold shoulder by a company spun out of former parent Baxter only last month. "You have left us with no choice but to make our proposal known to your shareholders," wrote Flemming Ornskov, Shire's chief executive and chief-deal-doer, to his Baxalta counterpart. No choice? In today's biotech world, that is indeed the thinking. The sector is awash with mergers and acquisitions and all are obliged to play. - The GuardianBritons could soon have to find another pastime to fill the mid-afternoon slot as demand for the classic cup of tea cools. Tea consumption in the UK has dropped by more than a fifth in the past five years, with the volume of tea sold dropping from 97m kg in 2010 to 76m kg this year. Consumers are opting for more exciting hot beverages, according to market research firm Mintel. - The Daily TelegraphThe "mum economy" - the businesses run by mothers with children aged 18 or under - is thriving in the UK, generating £7.2bn for the nation's coffers and supporting 204,000 jobs last year. A new report from economic think tank Development Economics, commissioned by eBay, has evaluated the contribution of "mumpreneurs" to the UK, and found that the sector is growing at an unprecedented rate. - The Daily Telegraph