WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
PACE OF UK GROWTH UNDER THREAT
Britain’s economy is unlikely to grow as fast as before the financial crisis because its most productive sectors have been hardest hit, jeopardising government plans to cut the deficit. A Financial Times analysis of the sectorial performance of the economy before and after the crash highlights how much banks and insurance companies boosted economic growth between 2000 and 2008.
SHELL RESURRECTS ARCTIC DRILLING PLANS
Royal Dutch Shell has resurrected plans to drill in the Arctic off the coast of Alaska and is days from applying for six new exploration licences, according to the company’s executive director for oil and gas production in the Americas. Marvin Odum said the company was preparing to apply for permits to drill up to six wells in the Chukchi Sea following the recent reapplication to drill four wells in the adjacent Beaufort Sea.
CHINA’S HNA PAYS €431M FOR 20PC OF SPANISH HOTELS GROUP
HNA, the acquisitive Chinese airline and logistics group, is paying €431.6m (£380m) to buy a 20 per cent stake in NH Hoteles through a capital-raising exercise by the Spanish group, the companies announced yesterday.
TCHENGUIZ IN LEGAL CHALLENGE OVER SFO RAIDS
Companies linked to Vincent Tchenguiz, the property tycoon, have filed for a judicial review into the Serious Fraud Office raids that were launched alongside his arrest and release without charge along with his brother Robert in March. Tchenguiz Family Trust and its adviser Vincos Limited, chaired by Vincent, served the SFO with a claim alleging the searches were unlawful.
THE TIMES
PORTAS TAKES AIM AT TESCO IN BATTLE FOR SOUL OF TOWNS
The so-called “Queen of Shops” has been called upon by the government to advise it on saving the high street. Mary Portas, who has mentored retailers in a string of television series, said that she had been called upon by the government to come up with suggestions for saving Britain’s ailing town centres.
EMAP CHIEF’S PARTING SHOT AT PRIVATE EQUITY AND RECESSION
The chief executive of Emap has stepped down after three years in the post. David Gilbertson said yesterday that he had quit because the “recession has extended the likely period of private equity ownership for the business”. His decision to leave the struggling business-to-business publisher co-owned by Guardian Media Group and Apax was said to be mutual.
The Daily Telegraph
BANK BOSSES RESIST INVESTOR DEMANDS FOR BONUS REFORMS
Senior bankers are resisting demands for bonus reforms from their own shareholders and are “gaming” the concessions they are making, investors claim. Bank shareholders are pushing for pay reforms that go beyond the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) remuneration code. Among their demands are the end of annual performance measures and a recognition of risk in performance evaluations.
SAVILE ROW NOW TWICE THE PRICE OF A GOOD SUIT
Office rents on London’s exclusive Savile Row are poised to break through the £100 per sq ft mark for the first time since the financial crisis. US hedge fund York Capital Management has paid £97.50 per sq ft for office space at 23 Savile Row.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
DISNEY’S PROFIT SAPPED BY MARS
Walt Disney Co. said that factors ranging from a shortage of box-office hits to the earthquake in Japan cut into its quarterly profit, though the entertainment giant is hoping to benefit from a strong line-up of new films in the current quarter and more spending at its theme parks. Among other challenges, this year’s fiscal second quarter included the box-office dud “Mars Needs Moms”, which cost Disney more than $70m in marketing expenditures, as well as an impairment charge.
IRELAND PINS HOPES ON NEW JOBS
The Irish government announced a plan Tuesday that seeks to create new jobs without deepening the country’s debt crisis, mainly by providing incentives to boost private-sector employment and retraining the unemployed.