What the other papers say this morning
FINANCIAL TIMES
Investors in line for record payouts
US companies are set to return a record amount of cash to investors this quarter even as earnings growth slows and questions are raised about whether corporations can expand their profits in coming months.
EU banks face ringfence on trading assets
Europe’s big banks could be forced to ringfence trading assets under a plan emerging as the consensus recommendation of an EU-wide review of the structure of banking. With a month to go until the Liikanen review is due to be completed, people close to the project said a clear majority was emerging in favour of a combination of the US and UK approach to structural reform of banks – taking elements of both the Volcker and Vickers rules.
Jaguar Land Rover union seeks UK pledge
Jaguar Land Rover’s trade union wants the carmaker to guarantee equal pay terms for all workers and offer a “legally binding” pledge to keep all three of its UK plants open, the Financial Times has learnt.
THE TIMES
St James’s in line for a £450m royal facelift
The Crown Estate has unveiled detailed plans to redevelop a large tract of London’s historic St James’s area in the latest proposed transformation for the capital.
Hope dries up for US ranchers
The severe drought that has afflicted large parts of the United States is expected to send beef prices soaring after a dramatic cattle cull this year.
The Daily Telegraph
Boris Johnson defies Cameron to hold rival inquiry on airport capacity
Boris Johnson will defy David Cameron by holding a rival inquiry into the future of aviation capacity which will specifically exclude a third runway at Heathrow.
Ark Royal to be sold for scrap
The former flagship of the Royal Navy is to be sold off to scrap merchants ending two years of uncertainly over her future, it will be announced in parliament today.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
BP near $7bn deal to sell Gulf Fields
BP is close to a deal to sell some of its Gulf of Mexico offshore oil fields for around $7bn to Plains Exploration & Production, people familiar with the matter said, as it continues to divest itself of assets.
Box office turns in tepid performance
Hollywood suffered its lowest-grossing weekend so far this year, with no major movie openings, feeble performances from the minor films that did open and tepid holdovers from the previous weekend.