Tuesday newspaper round-up: EU reform plan, VW, BP, BHP Billiton

Saudi Arabia has decided to tap international bond markets for the first time, in a sign of the damage lower oil prices are inflicting on its public finances. Saudi officials say the kingdom could increase debt levels to as much as 50% of gross domestic product within five years, up from a forecasted 6.7 per cent this year and 17.3 per cent in 2016. – Financial Times

After months of apologies, Volkswagen has a solution to appease angry US motorists caught up in its emissions scandal: gift cards. Under the headline “We’re Working to Make Things Right”, Volkswagen on Monday launched a webpage where VW owners can enter their vehicle identification numbers and learn whether they qualify to receive up to $1,000 to compensate them for their unwitting role in one of the worst car scandals in history. – Guardian

European politicians have promised “full and speedier” measures to stem the tide of cheap Chinese imports blamed for bringing Britain’s steel industry to its knees. The pledge came as Europe’s largest steelmakers called for immediate action to save an industry that has shed 85,000 jobs across the continent since 2008. – Guardian

Half of the oil from BP's Gulf of Mexico spill may still be on the sea floor, a study has suggested, as a chemical used in the clean-up operation may not have helped get rid of the slick. After the 650m litre spill from the Deepwater Horizon, the chemical dispersant Corexit 9500 was applied via airplane on the slick to help it dissipate and aid natural microbes in the water to eat the oil faster. The affected area appeared to be getting cleaner, but scientists and government officials didn't monitor the microbes and chemicals, said University of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye. – Telegraph

The biggest banks in the world need to raise almost half a billion euros to add to their capital buffers over the next seven years in the latest bid to end the ‘too big to fail’ problem whereby giant lenders are bailed out by governments if they collapse. Officials at the Financial Stability Board, a group of international regulatorsled by the Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney, hope that this will mean banks are less likely to collapse in the way that Lehman Brothers did, sending shockwaves through the world economy. – Telegraph

BHP Billiton faces a $1 billion clean-up operation after what looks likely to be the worst industrial disaster to involve a British company in a generation. The collapse of two tailings dams at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil led to a nearby village being swamped by a 20-metre wave of muddy waste. Two people have been confirmed dead, with another 25 unaccounted for, 13 of them workers. The provincial governor said that there was little hope of finding them alive. – The Times

The government is giving start-up technology companies an unfair advantage by allowing them to take a more relaxed approach to the rules than established players, according to the outgoing boss of Whitbread. In an attack on Airbnb, Andy Harrison claimed that both the government and new industry players could be doing more to ensure a level playing field in complying with the law, including on the paying of tax. – The Times