PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - July 14

Financial Times

REVIEW OF RETIRING AGE BROUGHT FORWARD

The UK government plans to bring forward to next year a review of the "default retirement age." Employers can force staff to retire at 65, though in 80 percent of cases where employees ask to work longer the request is accepted. Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggests in a strategy document on adapting to an ageing society that "allowing older people to continue working, unfettered by negative views about ageing, could be a big factor in the success of Britain's business and our future economic growth."

HOUSE SALES RISE AS MARKET IMPROVES

Newly agreed sales are rising at a faster rate across the housing market than at any time since 1999, when records began. The figures come from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors monthly housing survey, which also found that the majority of estate agents expect house prices to rise, the first time such optimism has been reported since May 2007. Nationwide has reported price rises in each of the last three months, but accountants PwC have warned prices may fell yet further, though at a slower rate.

COMPANIES' OPTIMISM LEAPS AHEAD

A quarterly survey of 117 chief financial officers by professional services company Deloitte found optimism among company directors at its highest for two years. Nearly three quarters of respondents expect the economy to recover in 2010, though 59 per cent expect to wait at least 12 months before they see an increase in demand for their own products and services. Deloitte vice-chairman Margaret Ewing said: "While CFOs may believe the end of the recession is in sight, they are of the opinion that the business environment will remain very difficult during the first year of any recovery."

BANK STRIKES CAUTIOUS NOTE ON STIMULUS

Bank of England deputy governor Charlie Bean told a meeting of business leaders the Bank will assess one month at a time whether it will start to withdraw its 125 billion pound stimulus programme. Bean said "things look as if they are heading in the right direction," but that the Bank did not want to withdraw the stimulus too early "and nip the recovery in the bud." He said the full impact of quantitive easing could take at least nine months to come into effect.

SPICE TASTES BENEFITS OF RECESSION AS CUSTOMERS UP SPENDING

Utilities services group Spice has announced a 53 percent rise in pre-tax profits. Revenue Assurance, which scans utility bills for instances of underbilling, was one of the group's best-performing businesses. Chief executive Simon Rigby said: "We always knew we had it in us [to perform strongly], but for the last ten years everyone else has been doing well too. This is probably the worst recession in 100 years and it's going to throw us into sharp focus."

TOUGHER TARGETS FOR RBS CHIEF TO COLLECT FULL BONUS

Royal Bank of Scotland(RBS.L) chief executive Stephen Hester will have to achieve tougher performance targets next year to receive his maximum bonus. According to people close to the discussions, Mr Hester will be set targets on profitability and other measures, not just the RBS shares price target that he has been set for his 2009 long-term incentive plan. UKFI, the government body that manages the state's 70 per cent stake in RBS, published its first annual report on Monday, reporting that the body's stakes in financial institutions were trading at a paper loss of 10.9 billion pounds as of the end of June.

EMERALD CONFIRMS TAKEOVER DISCUSSIONS

Emerald EnergyEMEN.L confirmed in a statement it is a possible target of an all-cash takeover bid. Traders speculated last week about a potential 750 pence per share bid for the oil field developer from a Chinese state-owned oil company such as Sinopec or Cnooc. Any potential take over of the company could hinge around Russian investor Michael Kroupeev, Emeralds largest shareholder with a 29.5 per cent stake.

FOUR SEASONS MOVES TO CUT DEBT