WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
ALARM WAS RAISED ON LEHMAN
Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Reserve officials were warned by a leading Wall Street rival that Lehman Brothers was incorrectly calculating a key measure of its financial health months before its collapse in 2008, people familiar with the matter say. Former Merrill Lynch officials said they contacted regulators about the way Lehman measured its liquidity position for competitive reasons.
SIEMENS PLANS TO CUT 4,200 JOBS
Siemens, Europe’s biggest engineering conglomerate, yesterday unveiled plans to cut 4,200 jobs worldwide at its information technology unit and to invest in the business before spinning it off in the autumn. In December, Siemens complete a two-year programme to reduce administrative and sales costs that cut the group’s workforce by about 17,000.
LOVEFILM TO OFFER MOVIE RENTALS DIRECT TO TV SETS
Lovefilm, which rents DVDs through the post, will bring its Internet library of films direct to the television set through new deals with Sony and Samsung. Audiences are increasingly looking to the internet to deliver their films and television programmes, with a number of new video on-demand services launching in the UK in recent months following the success of BBC’s iPlayer.
EADS LIKELY TO SCALE BACK US STRATEGY
EADS, the European aerospace and defence conglomerate, is likely to have to scale back its US strategy after pulling out of a multibillion-dollar military tanker competition earlier this month, its chief executive said. Louis Gallois said previous plans – to boost revenues from its US subsidiary to about $10bn by 2020 – would probably be reduced after the company reviewed its outlook.
THE TIMES
GW EXPECTS APPROVAL FOR MS DRUG DERIVED FROM CANNABIS
GW Pharmaceuticals, which makes drugs derived from cannabis, is due to have its first medicine on the market within months. The British biotech company announced that regulators said that there were no quality, safety or efficacy issues with Sativex, its drug to treat spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS). Full approval is expected within three months.
FRANCE TÉLÉCOM FACES LEGAL ACTION OVER SUICIDE
A spate of suicides at France Télécom has left the company facing legal action after a prosecutor opened a manslaughter investigation in connection with the death of a technician in eastern France. The move has increased the pressure on the embattled company, where 44 people have taken their own lives.
The Daily Telegraph
UNION BEHIND BA STRIKE RECEIVES £18M FROM TAXPAYERS IN “MONEY-LAUNDERING” DEAL WITH LABOUR
Unite, and the two unions that formed it, received the public money under two little-known funds to improve management and training. It has been the biggest beneficiary of one of the schemes, the Union Modernisation Fund, and received a sixth of all the money given out under the Union Learning Fund.
BARCLAYCARD AXES 350 JOBS IN SCOTLAND
The credit card firm said it will press ahead with moving its loan operations run by Barclays Partner Finance in Glasgow to other parts of the UK. It is expected it will close by this summer, with most of the work done there being transferred to Barclaycard’s secured loans business in Cardiff.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
CARREFOUR FILLS KEY EUROPE POST
French retail giant Carrefour Thursday said it has named Vicente Trius, a Wal-Mart Stores. executive, to head its European operations outside of France. The appointment of Mr. Trius, a Spanish national who has headed Wal-Mart’s Latin American operations since last year, fills the last remaining position on Carrefour Chief Executive Lars Olofsson’s six-member executive board.
BENETTON REVAMPS MANAGEMENT
The Benetton family has tapped new managers to run its namesake apparel maker, underscoring the clan’s long-running battle to bring the company up to speed with fast-fashion chains. Benetton Group, best known for its colorful knitwear, named Franco Furnò and Biagio Chiarolanza on Thursday to jointly run the company.