Saturday Papers: Obama plea as debt deadline looms - money and other news

Financial Times

* Barack Obama issued an 11th hour appeal to reason in a bid to end the impasse over an increase in US borrowing authority, as new data showed the economy was in even worse shape than previously thought.

* Ruling likely to slash Madoff pay-outs; judge says that the court-appointed trustee cannot pursue third parties for allegedly violating their duties in failing to detect the fraud.

* The S&P 500 fell 0.7% on Friday to 1,292, the Nasdaq lost 0.4% to 2,756 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 12,143.

* International Airlines Group said pre-tax profit rose to €39 million in the six months to 30 June compared with a loss of €419 million for the same period last year.

* Anthony Bolton, the veteran fund manager at Fidelity International, has urged the US to stop Chinese companies from taking shortcuts to listing in New York, after suffering losses on the stocks in his portfolio; he also said he was reducing his exposure to gold.

* British Sky Broadcasting’s pre-tax profits were £987 million, up 28.3% over 2010 after stripping out one-off costs and gains.

* Britain’s biggest banks are braced for another showdown over contentious business lending targets next week when first-half results are expected to show a mixed record of success.

* Shares in Expansys jumped this week after full-year like-for-like revenues at the Aim-traded online store operator rose by 30%.

* Troubled greetings card retailer Clinton Cards has embarked on the biggest shake up of its board in its 43-year history.

* Chevron reported net income of $7.7 billion for the second quarter, up 43% from the same period the year before.

* Mortgage lending and loans to UK businesses fell in June, but the number of mortgage loans approved was the highest it had been in a year, new data on Friday show.