Sunday newspaper round-up: Bank Rate, State pensions, Baghdad

Over the longer-term, say five to ten years, it would be reasonable to expect borrowing costs to rise back to their pre-recesssion levels, of about 5%, but "it's probably quite a long way down the road" outgoing Bank of England Deputy Charlie Bean told Sky News in an interview. That comes after Governor Carney recently asked investors to focus on the big picture, namely that rates were likely to stabilise at approximately 2.5% in three years' time, instead of the historically normal level of 5%. As for bets that the first hike in Bank Rate would take take place near the turn of the year, Bean branded such expectations as "reasonable". The economy is now far more resilient than when he arrived at the Old Lady on Threadneedle Street, he added, according to The Guardian. Ahead of another meeting between shareholders and its board investors in Sports Direct are bracing for another drop in the share price. At issue is whether founder Mike Ashley is allowed to increase his still considerable stake in the outfit, which now stands at 58%. The Board is planning to award the 3,000 top employees 25m options, should profit targets be hit. Following the previous two occassions, in 2012 and last April, on which similar schemes were shot down Ashley then proceeded to sell down his holdings. However, the Board has yet to reveal just how many of said options would go to Ashley, who is still the Executive Deputy Chairman, The Guardian reports.The Liberal Democrats have vowed to enshrine the 'triple lock' for state pensions into law if it participates again in a coalition government. The measures essentially guarantee that retirees are eligible for an annual increase in their pensions of at least 2.5%. According to pensions minister Steve Webb that is important as private pensions are increasingly not being linked to inflation. It would also ensure that new state pensions remain above the means test, encouraging saving for retirement. In parallel Webb has proposed to cut tax relief on pension contributions to 25%, potentially raising £2bn a year. While that would mean higher rate taxpayers take a hit when saving into their pensions it would represent a boost for millions of basic rate taxpayers, The Mail on Sunday says. Even as Iraqi government forces make an attempt to retake Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, and the US and Iran seek to buttress Baghdad's defenses, the fact is that Iraq has already all but fallen apart. The Kurds have seized Kirkuk, the epicentre of the north's oil industry and the President of the Kurdistan regional government has hinted the region could secede. As for the Sunni Muslim areas of the country, he believes they too should have autonomy, although that would leave the oil rich south In Tehran's sphere of influence, if not domination, according to The Sunday Times. Sometimes it's best to just do away with the old. Anglo American is putting the finishing touches on the auction of a clutch of under-performing assets, including some of its South African platinum operations. Although it is not yet clear who the interested parties might be the transaction may raise up to $4bn. The mines which have been earmarked for disposal are the firm's oldest and deepest, located in the impoverished region of Rustenberg. The nickel business and copper mines in Chile have also been singled out for disposal, The Sunday Times reports.A smear campaign possibly instigated by Vivian Shi, GlaxoSmithKline's former head of government relations in Shanghai, may lie at the root of that country's investigation into alleged corrupt practices by the British pharmaceutical giant. The firm's own inquiry into the matter led to the incarceration of its own investigator by Beijing and was soon followed by government action. While it has emerged that the firm's board was aware as far back as January 2013 of those accusations as recently as yesterday Glaxo said that "no specific evidence" had been found to substantiate the claims, The Sunday Times wrote.Policy is failing to lean against the wind of financial imbalances. That, and ultra-low interest rates, are in danger of making the global economy permanentaly unstable, according to the Bank for International Settlements. On Sunday, what some call the central bank of central banks warned that policy-makers, including those at the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve, might keep policy loose for too long, which would have potentially damaging consequences, The Sunday Telegraph reported. Rick Gonzalez, the boss of AbbVie, will fly into London this week. His purpose is to canvass investors in drug maker Shire regarding interest in a revised take-over bid. That would mark the fourth such attempt. The last £27bn offer valued Shire at £46.11 a share and bankers think the offer may now be increased to over £50. Besides the well publicised benefits of tax inversion for AbbVie shareholders Gonzalez will argue that a combination of both firms would deliver other benefits, such as a larger platform to distribute its treatments for rare diseases, The Sunday Times says. AB