What the other papers say this morning – 16 May 2014
FINANCIAL TIMES
Fox to create TV production group
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has reached a preliminary deal with Apollo Global Management to create one of the world’s largest television production businesses. The agreement would see Fox’s Shine Group enter into a joint venture with two TV production businesses controlled by Apollo – Core Media, the maker of American Idol, and Endemol, the company behind Big Brother. The combined entity could be valued at over $2bn.
Deutsche calls time on casino gamble
Deutsche Bank has agreed to sell its Las Vegas casino resort, The Cosmopolitan, to private equity group Blackstone for $1.73bn, seeking to draw a line under a painful loss-making gamble. Germany’s biggest bank never intended to be in the casino business. It obtained the unfinished property in January 2008 when developer Ian Eichner defaulted on a construction loan of more than $700m.
US banks aim to cut brokers’ pay
Executives at Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Wells Fargo, which employ about 50,000 financial advisers between them, say a wave of mergers is about to force brokers’ pay down. “This is going to happen,” said one. “There are fewer places for people to go.” As with traders’ bonuses, banks have been pushed to act by depressed revenues and emboldened by industry consolidation.
THE TIMES
Trinity given lift by online advertisers
Revenues at Trinity Mirror have fallen slightly this year, despite a 49 per cent rise in online sales. The group said that ad revenues dropped by seven per cent in the 17 weeks to 27 April in spite of the increase in online advertising, while subscription revenues were down by a per cent. Overall, revenues fell three per cent.
Pieces fall into place for Merlin
The attractions operator, which made its stock market debut in November, reported a 12 per cent jump in like-for-like sales in the first 18 weeks of the year, with total revenues up 16.5 per cent ignoring currency fluctuations.
The Daily Telegraph
Lloyds uncertain over Scot split vote
Lloyds Banking Group has warned that the consequences of Scottish independence are largely unknown, saying the bank has no plan for what would happen if the Scottish people vote to secede. Chairman Lord Blackwell said there are “clearly some uncertainties” over the vote.
GM recalls a further 3m cars
General Motors has announced a new round of recalls, totaling nearly 3m vehicles worldwide, as the US car maker works to speed up its response to safety issues. GM said that five recalls affected 2.99m vehicles, with most of them – 2.71m – in the US.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Credit Suisse nears $2.5bn settlement
Credit Suisse is expected to pay almost $2.5bn to settle a probe into how the firm allegedly helped Americans evade taxes, including roughly $700m to US regulators and approximately $1.7bn to the Justice Department, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Google antitrust EU deal challenged
A group of European digital companies and politicians has taken aim at Google’s landmark settlement deal with European antitrust cops, hoping to reopen a battle the internet giant thought it laid to rest. The Open Internet Project has launched a campaign to stop the deal.