Wednesday newspaper round-up: Deutsche Bank, UBS, Royal Mail, oil

UBS has reacted to the global financial market turbulence and sharp falls in bank share prices by freezing salaries for its investment bankers until at least mid year. Employees of the Swiss bank’s 5,200 strong investment bank division who had expected increases in pay following a promotion have been told they will have to await a salary review in the second quarter of the year, according to people familiar with the decision. The bank has not yet decided whether staff will then receive back pay. UBS declined to comment. – Financial Times

Banking shares have come under pressure this week as investors express fears that the sector will be badly hit by a global economic downturn. Financial institutions have strengthened their balance sheets since the 2008 financial crisis, but they could be in for a turbulent year if potential flashpoints such as emerging markets or the energy sector produce a cascade of debt defaults. – Guardian

Fears the government could privatise Network Rail have been heightened after a report from an influential thinktank called for its abolition and endorsed closing lines and deregulating fares. The free-market Institute of Economic Affairs said full privatisation of the UK’s railways would improve services and ease the burden on the taxpayer. It claims that strict regulation, price controls on fares and the structure separating train and track have made the railways inefficient, while the industry still cost taxpayers almost £5bn in 2014/15 – equivalent to £180 per household. – Guardian

The founder of easyJet has accused the budget airline of taking a “scattergun” approach to dividends that confuses investors, ratcheting up the pressure on the carrier just days before its annual general meeting. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou wants easyJet, which he set up in 1995, to lift its ordinary dividend from 40pc of post-tax profits to 50pc, and replace special pay-outs with share buybacks. – Telegraph

Neil Woodford, the respected investor, has sold his entire holding in Royal Mail. He announced that he held shares in the privatised firm in August 2014, a few months after he launched his eponymous fund company. He held the stake in his Woodford Equity Income fund. – Telegraph

Oil prices may not recover to more than $50 a barrel and could be set for further steep falls before they approach even that level as Iran and Iraq crank up their production, a leading energy expert has warned. Speaking as crude resumed its descent last night, Dieter Helm, professor of energy policy at the University of Oxford, said that the industry was grappling with a huge and persistent supply glut, which he said was unlikely to clear in the foreseeable future. – The Times