PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - May 14

The Financial Times

TURNER LEADS RACE TO HEAD FINANCIAL WATCHDOG

Former head of the CBI and chair of the Pensions Commission, Adair Turner, looks set to take on the mantle of chairman of the Financial Services Authority.

Incumbent Sir Callum McCarthy will step down in September and Lord Turner's Whitehall skills and background at Merrill Lynch and Standard Chartered position him as a frontrunner for the post. Lord Turner, already chairman of the committee on climate change, would not comment on Tuesday, while a spokesman for the Treasury said 'a final decision has not yet been taken.'

NOTES LET SLIP FEARS OF COLLAPSE IN HOUSE PRICES

The rocky housing market faced further upheaval on Tuesday as housing minister Caroline Flint unwittingly presented briefing notes to Downing Street reporters. Captured on camera, the document suggested that a best-case scenario for the market would involve a five-to-10 percent fall in prices over the rest of 2008, with no indication of 'how bad it will get.' Tuesday also saw the Home Builder's Federation call for emergency measures including the temporary abolition of stamp duty to support buyers, while the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that mortgage lending figures are at a 30year low.