Standard Chartered pulls out of govt bonus talks - papers

Negotiations to reduce bank bonuses have been hit by the withdrawal of Standard Chartered from talks with the government.

While other institutions, including Barclays and RBS, are close to a deal with authorities, Standard Chartered still plans to increase bonus payments, the Telegraph reports.

A spokesman for Standard Chartered says: "We do not want to be in a position where we're having to treat our UK staff differently. The reality is that 97% of our staff are overseas and more than 90% of our profits come from outside the UK."

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European leaders clash over further bailouts

The possibility of committing further funds to bail out struggling nations is splitting leaders across Europe.

An EU Commission proposal to double the size of Europe's €440 billion bailout fund for euro-zone governments has been dismissed by Germany, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Concerns have been expressed that the EU has not set aside enough financing to rescue Spain if the country were to lose access to bond markets.

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King attacked for crossing line into politics

Mervyn King has come under fire from fellow MPC members for being too political in his backing for government cuts.

Adam Posen has told MPs the governor of the Bank of England crossed the line between monetary and fiscal policy when he backed George Osborne's deficit reduction plan earlier this year, the Guardian reports.

Referring to the Bank's May inflation report, Posen said: "A number of the people on the committee, myself plus at least one other, were concerned that that statement could be seen as excessively political in the context of the election."

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Private equity popularity growing in China

Private equity is becoming the ‘darling' of the Chinese government with funds such as Carlyle, Blackstone and TPG entering the market to set up local currency funds and expand their investments.

Deals worth billions of dollars are expected to be confirmed over the coming months in Shanghai and Beijing, allowing private equity firms to bypass strict currency and investment controls and put offshore money into renminbi-denominated funds, the Financial Times reports.

The improved attitude towards private equity is seen as a sign of a shift in China's macroeconomic policy priorities, away from attracting foreign industrial companies.

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