WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
BP PROPOSES FOURTH PIPELINE ROUTE TO BRING AZERBAIJAN GAS TO EUROPE
BP is planning a pipeline stretching 1,300 km across three countries to bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. The scheme is a new entrant in the highly charged competition to construct a supply route to the Caspian basin and reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.
FSA CONSIDERS MASHKEVICH BID TO JOIN ENRC BOARD
The UK Listing Authority is considering an application by Alexander Mashkevich, the billionaire co-founder of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp, to join the ENRC board, people close to the company said. A board seat for Mashkevich, who has publicly defended the FTSE 100 Kazakh mining company, could precede his drive for the chairmanship and would mark a new beginning for the embattled company.
CHINA THE REAL THING FOR BUSINESS RATHER THAN US, SAYS COKE CHIEF
Coca-Cola now sees the US as a less friendly business environment than China, its chief executive has revealed, citing political gridlock and an antiquated tax structure as reasons its home market has become less competitive. “It’s like a well managed company, China,” Muhtar Kent, Coke’s chief executive, told the Financial Times.
BANKER TO STAND TRIAL ACCUSED OF F1 BRIBES
A German banker is set to stand trial next month over charges that he received $33m in bribes from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and a family trust in connection with the sale of a stake in the motor racing series. Gerhard Gribkowsky, the former chief risk officer at BayernLB, will stand trial in Munich.
THE TIMES
HALCROW STAFF SET FOR £124M WINDFALL AFTER ENGINEER FALLS TO AMERICAN RIVAL
One of the grand names of British civil engineering has fallen to an American takeover. Halcrow, which played a central part in the war effort between 1939 and 1945, is being bought by its Denver-based rival CH2M Hill. The takeover could generate windfalls of tens of thousands of pounds each for the consultant engineer’s staff.
UK PLC FIRES THE STARTING GUN IN THE RACE TO REBUILD LIBYA
Britain is gearing up for a postwar reconstruction bonanza in Libya by organising an invitation-only conference today to outflank potential rivals from France and Italy. UK Trade and Investment aims to broker deals between British investors and Libya’s National Transitional Council.
The Daily Telegraph
SERGEI MAGNITSKY’S MOTHER DEMANDS RUSSIAN MURDER PROBE
Russia has come under fresh pressure to investigate the high-profile prison death of Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer who uncovered the biggest tax fraud in Russian history.
In a complaint lodged with prosecutors, the late man’s mother has alleged he was illegally arrested, tortured and murdered in a Moscow prison in November 2009. Magnitsky was working for UK-based investment fund Hermitage at the time of his death.
GULF KEYSTONE AND EXCALIBUR IRAQ LEGAL BATTLE HOTS UP
New court documents have shed fresh light on Gulf Keystone Petroleum’s links with Excalibur, the obscure company that claims it is owed 30 per cent of the £1.2bn explorer’s Iraq oil wealth.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INVESTIGATED
US authorities are investigating whether Motorola Solutions paid bribes to win business in Europe, people familiar with the matter said. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission officials have asked the company – which makes two-way radios and systems for police, fire and other public-safety organisations – for information over the past two years about transactions in seven European countries,
DELOITTE & TOUCHE SUED OVER TAYLOR BEAN COLLAPSE
The trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp filed a lawsuit yesterday against Deloitte & Touche, saying the firm’s “grossly negligent audits” contributed to the mortgage lender’s collapse. The trustee’s lawsuit seek a total of at least $7.6bn in damages.