Tuesday newspaper round-up: Carney, MPC, HSBC, stamp collecting

Mark Carney faces a bruising encounter on Tuesday morning in his first appearance before MPs since the vote to quit the European Union. The governor of the Bank of England is expected to be taken to task over his suggestion before the poll that interest rates could rise if Britain decided to leave, before flatly contradicting his suggestion only days after the result. - The Times

External members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee have raised concerns about recruiting the best brains amid concerns that the job can hinder the careers of economists. In a survey with Anthony Habgood, chairman of the Bank’s court of directors, independent members of the MPC raised concerns about “maintaining the quality and motivation of their individual staff”, minutes show. - The Times

A fundamental relationship between bonds and equities has broken down as the pressure for returns intensifies in an ever-expanding world of negative interest rates. An insatiable thirst for income has driven both US bond yields and equity prices — two areas that traditionally move in opposite directions — into record territory. - Financial Times

Leading investors in Burberry were last night questioning a dramatic boardroom reshuffle which will see Christopher Bailey step back from his role as chief executive to be replaced by the boss of French fashion brand Celine. Though pleased that designer Mr Bailey will hand control of the FTSE 100 retailer’s financial future to Marco Gobbetti, shareholders questioned the incumbent’s new title of president in addition to his existing role of chief creative officer, with one top five investor saying the decision to hand Mr Bailey the role “looked very odd”. - Telegraph

Deutsche Börse has been forced to delay the closing date of a vote on its merger with the London Stock Exchange by two weeks because of a “technical barrier” that precluded funds from voting on the deal. The problem appeared to have come to light over the weekend and apparently was missed by all the advisers on the merger. There are 12 investment banks and other financial advisers working on the deal, not counting law firms and accountants. Total fees could approach a quarter of a billion pounds. - The Times

The US government decided not to pursue criminal charges against HSBC for allowing terrorists and drug dealers to launder millions of dollars after George Osborne and the UK banking regulator intervened to warn that prosecuting Britain’s biggest bank could lead to a “global financial disaster”. A congressional report published letters and emails from Osborne and Financial Services Authority (FSA) officials to their US counterparts warning that launching criminal action against HSBC in 2012 could have sparked a “financial calamity”. - Guardian

Europe’s largest industrial combine has vowed to press ahead with investment in Britain despite the vote to leave the EU, backing away deftly from earlier suggestions that Brexit would cause a painful freeze on new activities. Joe Kaeser, the chief executive of Siemens, said the German engineering and technology giant remains fully committed to the UK whatever happens, but called on Theresa May to clarify Britain's post-Brexit trade vision as soon as possible and tell the world what kind of country it will become. - Telegraph

Twelve energy providers have pulled fixed-rate tariffs and replaced them with more expensive deals since 23 June, in signs that the pound’s fall in the wake of the Brexit vote could push up household bills. Comparison website uSwitch found a dozen dual-fuel deals had been replaced since the referendum, with new offers costing up to £105 a year more for the average customer. - Guardian

American investment banks are refusing to sign up to a Treasury campaign to push more women into senior roles in the City. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citi and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are among American banks declining to sign up to a UK charter that requires financial institutions to link bosses’ bonuses to gender diversity targets. - The Times

Stamps have become an unlikely safe-haven investment against choppy markets, outperforming shares, property and gold, according to antique specialists. An index of the 250 most valuable British stamps, compiled by collectibles dealer Stanley Gibbons, returned 1.2pc in the 12 months to June, beating the FTSE 100, which lost 11pc during the same period. A separate list of the 30 rarest stamps returned 0.5pc over the past year. - Telegraph

The fragile state of Italian banks in the fraught post-Brexit financial climate has been highlighted by the International Monetary Fund, in a stark warning that the eurozone’s third biggest economy will have suffered for almost two decades before it starts to recover the ground lost since the 2008 financial crash. Italian banks suffered fresh heavy losses on Monday as the European Union insisted that Matteo Renzi’s centre-left government abide by state-aid rules that limit Rome’s scope to provide help to banks burdened by the non-performing loans (NPLs) caused by economic stagnation. - Guardian

The American financial watchdog is understood to be investigating Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla Motors, for a possible securities law breach after it failed to disclose to markets a fatal crash in May. The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining whether the accident on May 7 in Florida, which killed Joshua Brown, 40, who was driving a Tesla Model S car similar to the one above in autopilot mode, was “material” to Tesla’s stock price. - WSJ

The private equity firm founded by Guy Hands is thought to be in talks to sell the Odeon cinema business to a US chain that is backed by billionaire Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man. Terra Firma is believed to be in late-stage negotiations to sell Odeon & UCI to American group AMC Entertainment in a deal worth about £1bn. - Telegraph