What the other papers say this morning – 22 January 2014
FINANCIAL TIMES
Bicycle-Sharing firm in bankruptcy
The Canadian company that runs the popular bike-sharing schemes in New York, London and Sydney has gone bankrupt, after two US cities withheld Ca$5.6m (£3m) in payments amid widespread software glitches. Yesterday Denis Coderre, mayor of the city Montreal, which owns the Public Bicycle-Sharing Company, said the business was seeking bankruptcy protection as it could no longer meet its financial obligations.
P2P lenders bankroll new homes
Peer-to-peer lenders are taking 21st-century finance back to the roots of the earliest building societies by bankrolling the development of new homes. Wellesley & Co, an alternative lender founded by four former City bankers including Graham Wellesley – a descendant of the Duke of Wellington also known as Viscount Dangan – is aiming to channel funding from retail investors to the UK’s small residential property developers.
Cash piles grow at tech companies
By the middle of last year, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few tech winners had left just six companies – Apple, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Oracle and Qualcomm – with more than a quarter of the $1.5 trillion held by US non-financial corporations, according to rating agency Moody’s. Apple alone was sitting on close to 10 per cent of corporate America’s cash.
THE TIMES
Embattled BlackBerry thrown lifeline
The Pentagon has handed BlackBerry a much-needed lifeline and restored confidence in the company after it confirmed that 98 per cent of smartphones and tablets to be hooked up to a high-security network will be manufactured by the ailing Canadian phonemaker.
Hedge fund fees lowest for a decade
Fees for investors in newly launched hedge funds have fallen to their lowest level for more than a decade as new entrants to the market rush to attract capital into their funds. Traditional lucrative fee structures have waned, according to figures from Hedge Fund Research.
The Daily Telegraph
Dow Jones chief executive leaves
Dow Jones chief executive Lex Fenwick is leaving News Corp and will be replaced by Will Lewis as interim chief executive. In a statement yesterday, News Corp said it had plans to review the strategy for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and operator of Dow Jones Newswires.
Lenovo considering $2.5bn IBM deal
Lenovo is in talks to buy part of IBM’s server business. The company, which is headquartered in Beijing, has now revived discussions to buy IBM’s low-end computer server business which could result in a deal worth up to $2.5bn (£1.5bn).
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Scots likely to vote for UK union
Most Scots will vote to keep the 308-year union with the rest of the UK in a referendum to be held in September, and only clear evidence that they would be financially better off is likely to produce a majority in favour of independence, according to an opinion poll published yesterday.
Amazon considering Pay-TV service
Amazon has approached big entertainment companies about licensing their television channels for a new online pay-TV service it is considering launching, in what would mark a significant expansion of its online video efforts.