WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
JLR IN 50 PER CENT BOOST TO SPENDING
Jaguar Land Rover is to boost its spending on products by 50 per cent from about £1bn to £1.5bn as the UK’s largest premium carmaker prepares to launch the most important vehicle since Tata Motors bought the group from Ford Motor three years ago.
CHI-X TAKEOVER PLAN IN JEOPARDY
A plan to create the largest share trading platform in Europe is in jeopardy as several shareholders in Chi-X Europe are now exploring a sale of their platform to new buyers, following the referral of its takeover by BATS Global Markets to UK antitrust authorities, according to sources.
COLLATERAL DEMAND RISES FOR INTERBANK LENDING
Interbank lending using European government bonds as collateral has reached record levels, in spite of worries about Greek debt default and the future of the Eurozone. By contrast, lending between banks without the backing of collateral has ground to a near standstill for any loans of more than a week’s duration, as fears of bank insolvency rise due to continuing uncertainty over Greece.
BARSKY CALLS FOR CHANGE AT TNK-BP
TNK-BP’s chief executive in waiting has warned that BP’s Russian oil venture must install independent management or risk undermining its ambitious international growth plans. Maxim Barsky, who had been due to take over from Mikhail Fridman, one of the Russian shareholders, as chief executive in January, said the company’s wider focus meant that TNK-BP – which is equally owned by BP and Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), a group of Russian billionaires – needed a different type of corporate structure.
THE TIMES
DOVER EYES ASIA AS IT FIGHTS FOR PRIVATISATION
The Port of Dover has revealed ambitious plans to expand into the Asian port market – if it can persuade the government to privatise it. The Dover executive also believes that, if released from public ownership, it can expand into regional airports and rail. The future of Dover is back on the agenda at the Department for Transport this week after the suspension by Philip Hammond, the Secretary of State, of any plans for privatisation of the so-called trust ports.
UNILEVER PROMISES ‘A REAL JOB FROM DAY ONE’ TO ENTICE GRADUATES
Unilever hopes that the promise of a real job from the outset will prove more attractive than an investment bank’s pay package in luring top MBA graduates.
The Daily Telegraph
ZYNGA WARNS OF THE DANGERS OF GETTING RICH
Zynga has taken the highly unusual step of warning that plans for a multi-billion dollar flotation of the online gaming company could sour relations among its employees as some suddenly find themselves much richer than others. The disclosure came in the ‘Risk Factors’ section of the prospectus for a potential $20bn (£12bn) stock market listing that it filed with regulators at the end of last week.
TAX-FREE ISAS TO FUND SOCIAL PROJECTS
Tax-free Isas will be offered to millions of Britons in return for funding a £200m fund to tackle the root causes of social problems among the poorest in society. The programme will see taxpayers, rather than the state, fund social projects. Investors will get a £200 increase to their tax-free savings.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EUROPE
NESTLÉ HOLDS TALKS TO BUY BIG CHINESE CANDY MAKER
Nestlé is in talks to buy Chinese candy maker Hsu Fu Chi International, according to a person familiar with the matter, in what would be one of the biggest foreign takeovers of a Chinese company. The talks between Nestlé and Hsu Fu are at a delicate stage and still have a number of hurdles to cross, the person said.
SPAIN PICKS BANKS TO COORDINATE LOTERIAS IPO
Spain’s Finance Ministry has picked four investment banks to coordinate the blockbuster privatisation of Spain’s lottery company, Sociedad Estatal de Loterías y Apuestas del Estado SA, people familiar with the situation said. The banks are JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs Group UBS and Credit Suisse Group.