PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - Oct 11

Financial Times Headlines POLITICAL BACKLASH OVER BA DEAL COLLAPSE - GOLDMAN'S 'MUPPET HUNT' DRAWS A BLANK - PUBLIC TO TAKE 51 PCT IN DIRECT LINE IPO - IMF SOUNDS ALARM OVER JAPANESE BANKS - BRANDS FEAR PITFALLS OF AMAZON CATWALK - DOWNING ST CAUGHT IN BAE/EADS CROSSFIRE - CAMERON VOWS TO UNLOCK BRITAIN'S POTENTIAL - APPLE RETREAT SPURS SWITCH OUT OF TECHS - Overview POLITICAL BACKLASH OVER BA DEAL COLLAPSE

Attempts to create a European giant to rival Boeingof the U.S. collapsed on Wednesday, amid investor anger at thehandling of a multibillion-euro merger.

GOLDMAN'S 'MUPPET HUNT' DRAWS A BLANK

Goldman Sachs has told its board of directors that aninternal investigation found little substance to allegationsthat bankers refer to clients as "muppets".

PUBLIC TO TAKE 51 PCT IN DIRECT LINE IPO

Retail shareholders are to invest a greater sum in DirectLine's initial public offering than any other UKflotation in at least the past five years.

IMF SOUNDS ALARM OVER JAPANESE BANKS

The huge and rising government bond holdings of Japanesebanks leave them vulnerable, the International Monetary Fund haswarned.

BRANDS FEAR PITFALLS OF AMAZON CATWALK

Big fashion brands are fretting over whether to offer theirwares on Amazon as its move into clothing forces themto make a decision.

DOWNING ST CAUGHT IN BAE/EADS CROSSFIRE

Downing St was caught in the crossfire from the collapse ofthe BAE-EADS talks as MPs questioned why thegovernment were keen to back the deal.

CAMERON VOWS TO UNLOCK BRITAIN'S POTENTIAL

British Prime Minister David Cameron warned voters to bracefor "painful decisions" on the economy on Wednesday but offeredlittle new to alter a grim growth outlook.

APPLE RETREAT SPURS SWITCH OUT OF TECHS

A drop in shares of Apple in recent weeks hasdriven a rotation out of technology shares and reinforced thestanding of financials as the best performing sector.

($1 = 0.6242 British pounds)

(Reporting by Stephen Mangan; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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Keywords: PRESS DIGEST FINANCIAL TIMES OCT 11