Wednesday Papers: HSBC sells US car loans business to Santander - bid news and gossip

Financial Times

* HSBC has announced the sale of a portfolio of US car loans to Santander for about $4bn in cash and assumed debt.

* AIG’s sale of its Taiwan life assurance unit to a Hong Kong-based consortium for $2.15bn was blocked by Taiwanese regulators on Tuesday.

* HawkEye Innovations, which provides ball-tracking systems to tennis tournaments and cricket Tests, is being put up for sale by owner Mark Getty.

* Candover has announced plans to wind itself up by returning the cash from the sale of its remaining portfolio to shareholders.

* Omega Insurance, the Lloyd’s property and casualty insurer, fell into the red in the first half of the year.

* PotashCorp on Tuesday accused BHP Billiton of “highly unethical” behaviour.

* Currency trading has surged to record levels in 2010; according to the Bank for International Settlements, an average $4,000bn is being traded daily, up from $3,300bn in 2007, when the BIS last surveyed the market.

* Sony will on Wednesday unveil a new music and video subscription service to run across a range of its devices.

* Packaging group Bunzl lifts payout as it grows in Europe and South America.

The Daily Telegraph

* America faces a "crisis of leadership" that is damaging the country's recovery, Daniel Loeb, one of Wall Street's leading hedge fund managers, has warned in a scathing attack on President Barack Obama.