WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
FOREIGN OFFICE PLANS £240M WORTH OF PROPERTY SALES
The Foreign Office has drawn up plans to sell hundreds of embassies and homes worth nearly a quarter of a billion pounds as it increases its presence in fast-growing countries such as China and Brazil. The Foreign Office has hired property agents CBRE and DTZ to review its £2bn property portfolio, which includes some 5,000 properties around the world. Officials describe the sale of £240m of buildings by 2015 as simple “recycling of capital”.
CHINA LENDS MORE THAN $75BN TO LATIN AMERICA
Chinese state banks have lent more than $75bn to Latin America since 2005, and in 2010 gave more than the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and US Ex-Im Bank combined, according to a report which highlights China’s growing financial heft in the region.
CISCO APPEALS APPROVAL OF MICROSOFT-SKYPE DEAL
Cisco Systems is to appeal against the European Union’s regulatory clearance of Microsoft’s takeover of Skype, it has announced, citing concerns that the new entity will dominate video calling to the detriment of the wider market.
GOOGLE AND APPLE LOWER AD COSTS
Google and Apple have both lowered the minimum price for mobile advertising in an attempt to encourage more marketers and application developers to use their technologies, ahead of Facebook and LinkedIn’s expected entries to the market. Mobile advertising is quickly emerging as a battleground between the technology giants as a growing portion of users’ shift to smartphones and tablets over their PCs.
THE TIMES
GLITCH DELAYS PUBLICATION AT KINGFISHER
Uncertainty over the financial health of Kingfisher Airlines has intensified after the debt-saddled Indian airline delayed publication of its quarterly earnings yesterday, citing a “hardware problem”. The company had been due to release its quarterly results for the three months ended December 31 on Tuesday evening but a late board meeting failed to approve the accounts and it was adjourned.
VINCENT TCHENGUIZ TO ASK FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW OVER FRAUD OFFICE ARREST
Vincent Tchenguiz will return to the High Court next week in his continuing fight to seek redress against the Serious Fraud Office after his arrest last March. Tchenguiz will orally apply to the High Court for a judicial review of the SFO’s decision to arrest him.
The Daily Telegraph
PENALTY FOR PAYING OFF STUDENT LOAN EARLY IS LIFTED
Students will not be penalised for repaying university loans early after David Cameron scrapped a Liberal Democrat plan to raise more money from the middle classes. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, had intended to introduce an early repayment penalty which would have cost graduates thousands of pounds if they cleared their debts within 30 years of leaving university.
FED MEMBER: US BANKS MUST BE BROKEN UP FOR STABILITY
The largest US banks remain too big to fail and should be broken up, according to a senior US financial regulator. Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said on Wednesday that the largest American banks still posed a major risk to the US and were “too dangerous to permit”.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
AT&T HUNTS SPECTRUM
The collapse of a $39 billion acquisition isn’t stopping AT&T Inc. from exploring other wireless deals. Barely two months after the phone giant’s offer to buy T-Mobile USA fell apart, AT&T is already studying new deals, including potential transactions with Leap Wireless International, Dish Network Corp or MetroPCS Communications, people familiar with the matter said.
CAMERON SETS APPEAL FOR SCOTS TO REMAIN IN UK
UK Prime Minister David Cameron will appeal to the emotions of Scots today, telling them he will fight against Scottish independence with everything he has in order keep the UK together. The prime minister will tell the Scots that independence would put the “shared home” of the UK under threat.