Friday Papers: Irish face bill of €50bn for bank rescue - other news

Financial Times

* Ireland has pledged to inject extra capital into its stricken financial sector as fears rose that the total cost to save its banks could rise as high as €50 billion.

* The US government took a major step towards ending two years of taxpayers’ assistance to AIG, clinching a deal that could allow the US Treasury to sell its huge stake in the insurer at a profit.

* Hewlett-Packard named Leo Apotheker, a long-time senior executive at SAP, the German business software provider, as its new chief executive.

* US prosecutors on Thursday charged 70 people allegedly involved in a global cybercrime scheme that used malicious software to steal more than $3 million from dozens of bank accounts.

* Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, said the renminbi was on track for significant appreciation against the dollar and there would be no “trade war” or “currency war” between the US and China.

* Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s pugnacious chief of staff, will on Friday announce his resignation to run for mayor of Chicago, White House officials confirmed on Thursday.

* Bob Dudley, the new chief executive of BP, has sent the clearest signal yet that the UK oil group is on course to restore its dividend payments next year.

* UniCredit’s board has unanimously appointed Federico Ghizzoni, one of its most longstanding senior managers, as its new chief executive to replace Alessandro Profumo.

* Tradition accused Icap of orchestrating a “one-sided spin campaign” after its rival won a court order aiming to prevent its traders from defecting.

* * AZ Electronic Materials is to launch plans to list in London in what could be one of the biggest UK initial public offerings of a private equity backed company this year.

* Greece’s parliament has pushed through legislation that in effect grants a tax amnesty to millions of citizens; the law will allow the government to collect about €2 billion over the next two years.