What the other papers say this morning
FINANCIAL TIMES
Hovis forced to turn to EU grain
Hovis, one of the UK’s top-selling breads, is to abandon its pledge to use only British wheat following rain-blighted harvests. Hovis will start using EU grain from this weekend. The move is a blow for UK farmers, who are already reeling from relentless rain in 2012 that cost £1.3bn in agricultural damage and its aftermath.
Hedge funds battle over Herbalife
Two of the biggest names in the hedge fund world locked horns yesterday when Dan Loeb’s Third Point disclosed an eight per cent stake in Herbalife, the direct seller that is under attack from Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square. The contest between the rival billionaires centres on the business model of Herbalife, which Ackman charges is an illegal “pyramid scheme”.
Channel 4 spat with WPP hits ads
A spat between Channel 4 and the UK media buying arm of WPP over proposed ads rates for this year is distorting prices across all broadcast channels as major brands pull their campaigns from Channel 4 and shift to rivals.
THE TIMES
Nigeria becomes piracy hub
The waters around the oil-rich Niger Delta have surpassed the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to become the world’s most dangerous area for shipping. The threat is shifting away from Somalia and towards South-East Asia in one direction and the waters off the Nigerian coast in the other.
China attacked over cotton hoarding
A leading commodities trader has hit out at China over its stockpiling of cotton, saying that it is distorting prices.
The Daily Telegraph
Minister says no more early retirees
The age of early retirement is over, the pensions minister has declared, warning workers in their 30s that he does not know when they will be able to retire. Steve Webb said “the sums” would never add up if people continued to retire in their 50s.
Third Dreamliner glitch in three days
Japan’s All Nippon Airways cancelled a Boeing Dreamliner flight yesterday because of a brake problem, the third glitch to hit the new aircraft in three days.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
American Airlines in crunch talks
American Airlines bondholders this week signed confidentiality agreements so they can weigh whether the airline should merge with rival US Airways Group or emerge from bankruptcy proceedings as an independent company.
China oil firm on cusp of $8bn deal
China Petroleum & Chemical is in talks to buy oil and gas assets from its state-owned parent for $8bn to increase the company’s footprint in global exporation.