Monday newspaper round-up: Debt, tax rules, Refinitiv, Sirius Mienrals
Debt campaigners have accused the International Monetary Fund of encouraging reckless lending by extending $93bn (£75bn) of loans to 18 financially troubled countries without a debt restructuring programme first. In advance of the IMF’s annual meeting in Washington next week, the Jubilee Debt Campaign (JDC) said the the Fund was breaking its own rules by providing financial support without ensuring that the debt burden was sustainable. – Guardian
Proposed reforms of international tax rules by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will only claw back 5% of profits, and could end up worsening global inequality, analysis by tax campaigners has found. A study by the Tax Justice Network found that the OECD proposals, designed to limit the scope of multinationals to avoid tax, could end up shrinking the tax paid in poorer countries. – Guardian
The head of Blackstone has labelled the £22bn takeover of data business Refinitiv that would make the private equity titan the biggest shareholder in the London Stock Exchange a “big bet” on Britain, days ahead of a deadline for a new attack on the deal from Hong Kong. In a Telegraph interview, Stephen Schwarzman said that the sale of Bloomberg challenger Refinitiv to the LSE is “a good deal for both sides” and rejected any suggestion it favours Blackstone. He said: “Refinitiv is a big bet because we’re taking stock.” - Telegraph
About 300 workers have been let go by Sirius Minerals as the North Yorkshire fertiliser mine developer slashes costs to preserve cash. The future of the company and its ambitious mining project were thrown into doubt last month when its $3.8 billion funding plan failed. Chris Fraser, chief executive of Sirius, told The Times that he hoped to carry out an initial strategic review of the project and alternative funding options by the end of this month. – The Times
The saviour of the British steel industry or over-ambitious, over-borrowed adventurer? Few captains of British industry have so divided opinion in recent times. An extraordinary run of takeovers since he bought the old Mir steelworks in Newport six years ago means that Sanjeev Gupta, 48, controls more than 20 businesses in the metals sector. Operating from 50 locations around the country, he has taken advantage of the financial distress of Tata Steel and the failure of Caparo Industries, both owned by anglophile Indians. – The Times