Financial Times Morning Headlines 11/22

Call to end ‘corrosive’ top pay deals

Packages should be restricted to basic salary plus one performance element, instead of the three or four that are commonplace, says the High Pay Commission http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/8ZDUP9/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Tackling UK deficit behind schedule

Downbeat Cameron assessment reflects growing view in official circles, including at the Bank of England, that the economy will rebound more slowly http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/XHVIDR/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Europe fears weigh on global equities

Bulls unable to escape sovereign debt shackles as budget deal failure in the US joins worries about persistent eurozone fiscal stress http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/FKJ8GI/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Financial Times - US homepage

Stimulus hopes fade as deficit deal fails

Increased likelihood of a partial government shutdown as ‘supercommittee’ is unable to bridge the deep partisan divide in Washington over spending and taxes http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/DW9BTM/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

MF Global shortfall doubles to $1.2bn

Estimated hole in customer accounts is equivalent to almost a quarter of the $5.45bn in client funds that the company was required to hold separately http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/62X3NX/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

US bankers warn reforms will hit eurozone

New curbs for US banks that restrict their ability to trade with their own capital will hit eurozone government bond markets, the industry says http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/XHVIYX/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Financial Times - Europe homepage

Austrian banks told to limit lending to east

Vienna’s moves show how even the eurozone’s strongest economies are feeling the pressure of the sovereign debt crisis http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/R3G4ME/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

US, UK and Canada impose new Iran sanctions

Measures against central bank follow UN report that provided evidence that Tehran was working on a nuclear weapon http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/XHVIYD/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Whitman sets low bar for HP’s earnings

Computer maker’s new chief steers Wall Street estimates down sharply, citing restructuring efforts and headwinds facing in the global economy http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/YB2EIJ/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Financial Times - Asia homepage

China property dip sparks bank fears

Market has dropped to levels seen as dangerous by the country’s banking regulator, according to documents obtained by the Financial Times http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/C4QHTH/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Olympus panel says no Yakuza involvement

The third-party body investigating controversial payments made by the Japanese group makes statement as organised crime speculation grows http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/AMIL17/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Qantas dispute enters arbitration

The Australian airline fails to reach a settlement with its unions over job cuts after 21 days of talks http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/XHVIY7/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Financial Times - World

Cairo crisis grows as cabinet quits

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s government has stepped down, while thousands take to Tahrir square to demand that the ruling military council goes http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/EXSGBQ/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Sirleaf to focus on Liberia’s jobless youth

As her main rival continues to contest the election result, the Nobel Peace Prize winner still has political hurdles to surmount http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/B5ETL5/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Australia stubs out tobacco packaging

Canberra has approved the world’s first law requiring that cigarettes be sold in unbranded packages, triggering legal action from manufacturers http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/QNB57Q/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Rajoy begins task of taking on Europe

Mariano Rajoy’s priority as victor in Spain’s presidential poll is to gain market confidence, starting by winning over Angela Merkel and Europe’s leaders http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/ZGAQE8/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Clinton visit sparks hope of Burma engagement

The Obama administration will take a calculated gamble that it can promote further reform in Burma when secretary of state Hillary Clinton visits the country next week http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/R3G4MS/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Financial Times - Companies

Lloyds hit again as key recruit drops out

Shares in the UK lender fall 7 per cent after Nathan Bostock, RBS’s head of risk, ditches plans to join the rival bank http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/JE3C0B/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

TCV takes half of Netflix’s $400m capital raising

US group sells $200m of convertible senior notes to long-time shareholder, and launches a $200m share offering http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/YB2EID/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Gilead acquires Pharmasset for $11bn

US pharmaceutical company buys Pharmasset in a cash deal intended to capitalise on growing demand for oral hepatitis C medicine http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/7AKP35/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Minister sidesteps criticism of Virgin deal

Mark Hoban defended the sale of Northern Rock but avoided directly answering questions over the unusual structure of Virgin Money’s bid http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/ORT7ZN/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Chevron faces possible ban over Brazil leak

Country’s oil and gas regulator said it could deny the US company access to lucrative fields as well as fined for the spill off the coast of Rio http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/R3G45T/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Financial Times - Financial markets news

Saudi Arabia halts $100bn oil expansion programme

Halt comes in spite of tightness in the oil market due to ongoing production disruptions in Libya, Syria and Yemen http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/SP8W4O/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Spain demands bond price switch

Treasury asks data providers to swap benchmark to older bond, pushing quoted yields below last week’s euro-era highs http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/HYFO6H/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Critics of credit default swaps have got it wrong

Critics of the product have misunderstood the fundamental difference between CDS and insurance http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/ZGAQEM/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Deal over Greek bonds to set template

PSI talks crucial to establish size of losses that creditors will have to take both now and under any future restructurings in the eurozone http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/C4QHT8/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Shanghai shines a light on China’s economy

With equities one few investment options in the country, China’s mainland market is more sensitive to liquidity and a leading economic indicator http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/5VWNF3/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Financial Times - Comment

The markets are not the monster

The markets are not the enemy of European politicians. In fact, they are all that stands between political leaders and angry citizens, writes Gideon Rachman http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/FKJ8BV/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Only way to stop the run on eurozone debt

The asymmetry is not in the statutes of the ECB but in the minds of Germans, traumatised by hyperinflation, write George Soros and Peter Bofinger http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/QNB57S/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

A tweet from Tahrir Square – time to tax the rich

We should impose a one-off global wealth tax of 10-20 per cent on individuals with a net worth in excess of $10m, writes Hassan Heikal http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/5VWNFP/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Memo to Merkel: it’s time to leave Britain behind

The British sense of superiority may for a time trump fear of exclusion. The wheel will turn again soon enough, writes Philip Stephens http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/YB2EIA/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

A Russian epic for the box office, not a court in England

There is something unseemly about hearing out a dispute over gains that it is hard to maintain were not ill-gotten, writes Jonathan Ford http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/R3G4MQ/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Financial Times - Management

Branding for me, myself and I

Aspiring entrepreneurs are using the internet to create personal brands in the hope of getting a mainstream break, writes April Dembosky http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/B5ETLI/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Corporate networks begin to bear fruit

Though the idea of workers sharing ideas is an old one, modern technology is making the process easier and cheaper, writes Andrew Hill http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/AMIL11/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

Case study: Delta Air Lines boycott

Delta become the target of a boycott that went viral and, as one of the US’s biggest airlines, it had a lot to lose http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/YB2EI4/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

The public image: Banque de France

Enough people are hoarding French francs for the Banque de France to say something about it, writes Jennifer Thompson http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/R382XS/YHT6RI/8ZMHHX/VL0DKU/FW/h?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21