Tuesday newspaper round-up: Italy bank fund, Port Talbot, Goldman Sachs

Sajid Javid, the business secretary, opened up the possibility of a part-nationalisation of Port Talbot steelworks after offering to “co-invest” with a buyer “on commercial terms”. Pressed on what he meant by “co-invest”, Mr Javid told MPs that “there is no option that is off the table”. Later, a government aide said that an equity investment represented a “last resort” for ministers. – Financial Times

Financial services hiring crashed last months as banks stopped spending as weaker economic growth, a lack of big corporate deals, the impending referendum on Britain’s EU membership and the Brussels terrorist attacks all shook confidence, according to recruiter Morgan McKinley. The number of available jobs in the industry dived by 21pc to 7,215 in March, down from 9,135 a year earlier. – Telegraph

The highly anticipated meeting of the world’s largest oil producing nations in Doha this weekend is unlikely to offer a “bullish surprise” for the embattled oil market, and may cause prices to reverse from recent gains, Goldman Sachs has warned. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) are due to meet with non-Opec producers to thrash out a deal to limit oil production in a bid to ease the oversupply which has crippled prices for almost two years. – Telegraph

Goldman Sachs will pay $5.06bn for its role in the 2008 financial crisis, the US Department of Justice said on Monday. The settlement, over the sale of mortgage-backed securities from 2005 to 2007, was first announced in January. “This resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail,” acting associate attorney general Stuart Delery said in a statement. - Guardian

Fans of craft beer could soon face higher bar bills as small, independent brewers face a potentially serious shortage of hops. The hot and dry weather last summer blighted the European hop harvest, andstrong demand for craft beers, many of which use a large amount of hops, is putting small brewers’ profit margins under pressure and forcing them to raise prices. – Guardian

BHP Billiton is facing fresh criticism for its part in Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, amid claims that the firm it hired to investigate the incident suffers from a conflict of interest. The Anglo-Australian miner and its Brazilian partner, Vale, ordered an American law firm to conduct the independent investigation into why a dam had burst at their Samarco iron-ore mine in November, sending a torrent of mud and waste water through nearby villages and killing 19 people. – The Times

Had fate taken a slightly different turn, NBNK could have been one of Britain’s biggest new generation of smaller lenders and a rising candidate for inclusion in the FTSE 100. As it is, the cash shell backed by some of the country’s largest fund managers that had aspirations of becoming a vehicle for consolidating smaller banks is set to be wound up after failing to complete a single investment. – The Times