WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
MACQUARIE MOVING TO DRAPERS GARDENS
Macquarie has agreed a deal to occupy one of the largest developments in the City of London, raising expectations of a surprise shortage of new office space in the Square Mile. The Australian financial group will move into the majority of the Drapers Gardens scheme near the Bank of England, which is Canary Wharf Group’s only development outside its east London estate.
ELAN PINS HOPES ON MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS DRUG
Kelly Martin, chief executive of Elan, said the Irish drugs group would focus on increasing sales of its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, following the sale of a stake in the business to Johnson & Johnson last month. Tysabri, which accounts for two-thirds of group turnover, saw sales jump 19 per cent in the third quarter, with more than 45,000 patients in Europe and the US taking the drug.
INSURERS CALL FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The insurance industry will today add its voice to calls for more action to halt climate change. The industry says big cuts in emissions by developed countries and funding for developing countries to tackle climate change are needed to avoid a “systemic risk to the global economy”.
RESEARCH NOW GETS £80M CASH OFFER
Research Now, the provider of online consumer panels has received an indicative cash offer at 430p a share from e-Rewards of the US. The offer values the total equity of the Aim-quoted company at £80m. The shares closed up 22.5p at 402.5p. Based in Dallas e-Rewards is the world’s largest “by invitation only” online research panel.
THE TIMES
LAND REGISTRY TO SHED 1,500 JOBS AHEAD OF POSSIBLE SALE
The Land Registry will announce plans today to cut 1,500 jobs and close a quarter of its national offices before a possible sale of the government department to the private sector, The Times has learnt. The Registry will call its 7,700 staff in 20 offices around the country to a meeting today to explain the cuts, which are expected to affect all grades, from administration assistants to more senior civil servants.
PENSION PLANS CONFUSE MILLIONS NEAR RETIREMENT
Proposals to raise the state pension age are causing widespread confusion among millions of people who are approaching retirement. This week business leaders and an influential think-tank proposed raising the state pension age to 70 by 2015.
The Daily Telegraph
MICROSOFT’S BING SIGNS LANDMARK DEALS WITH TWITTER AND FACEBOOK
Microsoft’s Bing signs landmark deals with Twitter and Facebook. It means people using Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, will soon be shown the most recent and popular results, rather than the just the most popular. Qi Lu, Microsoft’s vice president of online services, announced the deals on stage at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco yesterday.
PEERS MAY ESCAPE CENSURE OVER ‘MAIN HOME’ EXPENSES
Peers may escape being censured over questionable expenses claims after House of Lords officials admitted to a loophole in the rules. There is no definition of what should count as a peer’s “main home” despite this being central to claims for thousands of pounds a year in taxpayer-funded allowances, they have disclosed.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
WAL-MART PLEDGES PRICE CUTS
Wal-Mart Stores plans to reduce prices heading into the holiday season in what chief executive Mike Duke promised would be an aggressive return to the high-volume discount retailing formula pioneered by company founder Sam Walton. The world’s largest retailer by revenue also said it plans to open smaller US stores with simpler merchandise assortments as it seeks to penetrate urban markets.
EQUINIX TO BUY RIVAL SWITCH&DATA
Equinix said yesterday it would acquire Switch & Data Facilities for $689 m in cash and stock, a deal uniting rival companies that operate data centers on behalf of other companies.
The deal means the number of data centres Equinix operates world-wideexpands to 79 and increases its presence in key North American markets.