WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
NORWEGIAN CARRIER AIMS HIGH WITH 222 AIRCRAFT ORDERS
Norwegian Air Shuttle plans to buy 222 new aircraft worth $21.1bn from Boeing and Airbus in a move that heralds its ambition to become one of Europe’s leading low-cost airlines. Boeing secured its largest ever European deal through a firm order by the Oslo-based airline for 122 737 narrow-body aircraft, worth $11.4bn at list prices.
MEGAUPLOAD FOUNDER DENIED BAIL
Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, the file-sharing website shut down last week in one of the largest criminal copyright cases brought by US authorities, will remain in a New Zealand jail after his request for bail was refused. In a 20-page written ruling, a judge in Auckland said there was significant risk that Mr Dotcom, a German national, would flee the country.
THE SUNNY SIDE OF GLOBAL WARMING FOR UK
A dire vision of violent storms, fatal floods and shriveled crops is often predicted in reports on global warming. But a gentler world of blueberry farms, shoals of plaice and fewer wintry deaths may also emerge as a result of the changing climate, according to a UK government study published today.
EGYPTIANS URGE CIVILIAN RULE A YEAR ON FROM REVOLT
The first commemoration of Egypt’s revolution became a massive politicised protest against the power of the armed forces that continue to lord. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched into central Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicentre of last year’s 18-day revolt, demanding an immediate end to military rule and shouting slogans against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
THE TIMES
TELL US TO PAY MORE TAX AND WE WILL, SAYS BILLIONAIRE
A billionaire co-founder of one of the world’s biggest private equity funds has challenged governments to set higher tax rates after backing Mitt Romney over the low rate that the Republican candidate paid on his earnings. David Rubenstein, the managing director of Carlyle Group, said the private equity industry would “happily” pay more taxes but it was up to governments to enforce the level.
CITY SLICKER TURNS ITS SIGHTS ON GRAND OLD MAN OF STOCKBROKING
Cenkos Securities wants to merge with Panmure Gordon, its blue-blooded rival broker. Cenkos, now run by the corporate financier Jimmy Durkin, has bypassed Panmure’s management and directly approached QInvest, its biggest shareholder, with a proposal for a nil-premium all-share merger.
The Daily Telegraph
O2 SHARED MOBILE NUMBERS WITH WEBSITES
O2 has apologised for an error that shared users’ mobile phone numbers with the websites they visited. An experiment set up by Lewis Peckover, a 28-year-old web systems administrator, called attention to the problem last night. Peckover showed that O2 was providing websites with the mobile number of users who visited.
CHANNEL 4 SET TO REPORT DEFICIT FOR 2012
The broadcaster will increase its spending on UK programmes from around £360m in 2010 to nearly £450m, partly funded from a £50m surplus generated in 2010 and by reallocating money which would have been spent on acquisitions from overseas. Instead, the remainder of the funding injection will come from Channel 4 reserves, leaving the broadcaster in deficit.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
SANDISK PROFIT FALLS 42 PER CENT
A day after electronics giant Apple reported record iPhone sales, SanDisk provided soft guidance that suggests the rest of the mobile industry isn’t doing as well. SanDisk – which makes flash memory for smartphones, tablets and other devices – forecast first-quarter revenue of $1.3bn to $1.35bn, below the $1.46bn expected by analysts.
XEROX FOURTH QUARTER PROFIT RISES
Xerox met its fourth quarter profit target with help from its services operation, but the company indicated economic weakness, particularly in Europe, will weigh on its business this year. Xerox continues to win contracts to outsource business’ technology and back-office functions. But its traditional printer-and-copier business is struggling to show growth, and weakness in the economy looms as a threat.