WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
OSBORNE WEIGHS 50P TAX RATE CUT
George Osborne is considering announcing a cut in the 50p top rate of income tax to 45p in his Budget next week, after the Liberal Democrats showed willingness to drop their resistance in return for a clampdown on tax avoidance by wealthy people.
THOMAS COOK TURNS DOWN £400M PLAN
The chairman of Thomas Cook has rejected a proposal by a group led by two leisure industry veterans and backed by some shareholders of the travel operator to inject £400m into the company. Frank Meysman dismissed the plan after representatives of the group met the Thomas Cook chairman two weeks ago, according to a person with knowledge of the talks.
STANCHART BANKER HELD IN CHINA
A Standard Chartered banker has been detained by police in China as part of an investigation into a wealthy client who allegedly stole money from a state-owned bank. StanChart said the bank itself was not under investigation.
FINNAIR AGREES NEED FOR CHANGES
Finnair accepted the need for greater transparency yesterday after Finland’s government demanded wholesale changes to the airline’s board because of the belated disclosure of executive bonuses. The Helsinki government has a 55.8 per cent stake in Finnair.
THE TIMES
JOBS FOR LIFE AXED FOR THE POLICE
Police face an end to their job-for-life culture under plans published yesterday to overhaul their pay, conditions and terms of employment.
THE FRAUD SUSPECT, HEIRESS AND BANKERS GET IN LINE FOR A SLICE OF COLLAPSED BROKER
A former banker at the centre of a huge fraud investigation emerged yesterday as the biggest individual British loser from the collapse of MF Global. David Mills, who was arrested in 2010 in connection with a suspected fraud at HBOS, appeared on a list of thousands of creditors to MF, the broking group that collapsed last year.
The Daily Telegraph
MOVING CRUISE LINER MAY COST €100M
Refloating the stricken Costa Concordia cruise liner will cost “far beyond” €100m (£83m), according to a dredging and maritime services company bidding for the task.
AGREEMENT ON SOLVENCY II INSURANCE RULES MOVES A STEP CLOSER
European politicians have moved closer to an agreement on a key part of Solvency II – controversial new capital rules set to govern the insurance industry from 2014. Peter Skinner, a Labour MEP, said measures agreed today could shield insurers from the impact of market fluctuations and provide added protection to policyholders.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
PAYPAL TO LAUNCH CREDIT-CARD READER FOR SMARTPHONES
EBay’s PayPal electronic-payments service is further tapping into the bricks-and-mortar retail industry by releasing a credit-card reader that small merchants can use on smartphones.
AMR CHIEF’S RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK
American Airlines parent AMR fears that an extended stay in bankruptcy-court protection heightens the risk of being taken over or broken up, chief executive Tom Horton said in an interview. “Any of those things could happen,”said Mr. Horton. The CEO didn’t rule out a deal once the company emerges from bankruptcy.