Tuesday Papers: Call for new global currencies deal - other news

Financial Times

* The world’s leading countries should agree a new currency pact to help rebalance the global economy, the Institute of International Finance, which represents more than 420 of the world’s leading banks and finance houses, said on Monday.

* Brazil raises tax on foreign capital inflows to 4% in an escalation of "currency war” between the world’s leading economies.

* The US justice department has sued American Express over allegations of anti-competitive policies, while reaching a settlement over the same issues with Visa and MasterCard.

* Visa has been blocked from starting any new business in China for almost one year, after a disagreement with China Unionpay, the country’s state-backed bank card monopoly.

* Twitter and Skype have appointed new chief executives; Dick Costolo will succeed Evan Williams at Twitter, while Skype has hired Tony Bates.

* European governments will be allowed to provide soft loans and other concessionary support to their banking and industrial sectors for one more year because of the lingering effects of financial crisis, according to Europe’s top competition regulator.

* KPMG is hiring 8,000 new staff across Europe over the next three years, signalling a recovery in the corporate services industry.

* PwC and Ernst & Young are under investigation for weaknesses in their oversight of the handling by JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers of client funds.

* Britain’s six big banks will next week pledge to inject something approaching £1bn into a new venture capital fund designed to help recapitalise financially stretched smaller businesses.

* High-frequency trading firms may be tempted to breathe a sigh of relief after a report by regulators on the causes of May’s “flash crash” showed a large order by a traditional investor was the trigger for the wild market swings.

* Greece unveiled an ambitious draft budget on Monday aiming to slash its budget deficit to 7% of gross domestic product next year.