WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
THE SUNDAYS
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
INDEPENDENT BEGS A MONTH TO SORT OUT DEBT
Independent News & Media (INM) is close to a standstill pact with its bondholders which would give the company a month’s breathing space to reorganise its debt. The future of the owner of The Independent newspaper has been in serious doubt after the group failed to reach an agreement with bondholders over a €200m (£178m) bond.
LONDON EYE TO GET £12.5M MAKEOVER
The London Eye is to receive a £12.5m makeover ahead of the Olympic Games in 2012 as the capital’s tourism market continues to buck the economic slowdown. Merlin Entertainments, the group backed by The Blackstone Group, is to kick off the investment programme this year.
THE SUNDAY TIMES
EDF HIRES BANK FOR £4BN SELL-OFF
France’s EDF Energy has appointed Deutsche Bank to auction the biggest electricity distribution network in Britain. The sale is part of an aggressive plan by the state-owned group to ease the debt taken on during its £12.5bn purchase last year of nuclear monopoly British Energy. The distribution network is the largest in Britain, transmitting power to 18m homes in east and southeast England.
BRANSON: LET ME INVEST IN RAILWAYS
Sir Richard Branson is urging ministers to hand the private sector a greater role in the railways by giving entrepreneurs freedom to invest in new trains, stations and track. The Virgin boss said the tightness of the public purse means that without private money, the network risks stagnation.
TODAY
FINANCIAL TIMES
FRANCE CLAIMS LEAD ON RECOVERY
France is four months ahead of other European countries in its economic recovery plan, according to the minister in charge of the €26bn (£23bn) fiscal stimulus announced by President Nicolas Sarkozy in December. Patrick Devedjian, minister for economic recovery, said France had managed to speed ahead because its centralised system allowed the government to mobilise resources more quickly.
UK EMPLOYERS SNUB WAGE FREEZES
A substantial proportion of employers are continuing to pay increases of 3 or 4 per cent in spite of the growing number of wage freezes, according to research by Incomes Data Services. The latest figures from IDS’s pay databank show the median pay settlement fell to 3 per cent in the three months to the end of March.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
MANHATTAN PROJECT ON THE CARDS FOR GLG’S NOAM GOTTESMAN
Noam Gottesman, founder, chairman and co-chief executive of Mayfair-based hedge fund GLG, is heading to New York in July to build the fund’s American assets under management.. Unlike some, the financier’s departure is not connected with tax increases at the Budget.
SPOTIFY PLANS DATA SHARE WITH MUSIC LABELS
The Swedish online music streaming service that has a million users in Britain, is considering sharing data about their listening habits with record labels to provide targeted promotions and services to consumers. A Spotify user who had showed a keen interest in Lily Allen, could begin to receive text alerts or promotional literature about upcoming gigs and album releases.
THE TIMES
SHELL TO FACE SHAREHOLDER ANGER AT AGM
Shareholders in Royal Dutch Shell have increased the pressure on the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas group to reconsider its pay policy as a second institutional investor promised to vote against the directors’ remuneration report at tomorrow’s annual meeting. Co-operative Asset Management is the latest to voice its disapproval of Shell’s decision to hand share awards to directors who missed key performance targets.
E&Y LAWYER GUILTY OF FRAUD
A former partner at Ernst & Young in New York has been found guilty of insider trading after passing on to a friend information about proposed multibillion-dollar buyouts. James Gansman was a lawyer in E&Y’s transactions division, which advised companies during M&A.