WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
FIRSTGREATWESTERN BACK ON TRACK
A rail franchise that became notorious for large numbers of train cancellations and poor punctuality has shown sufficient improvement to be released from an intensive monitoring regime imposed by the Department for Transport. Lord Adonis, transport secretary, yesterday told the House of Lords that FirstGreatWestern had met the standards required of it and that the “remedial period” when its efforts to improve were under special supervision would end.
WATCHDOG SET FOR PENSION BATTLE
Britain’s pensions regulator is braced for a battle with BT over its retirement plan, the country’s biggest private sector pension scheme, which could add billions of pounds to a shortfall in savings for tens of thousands of employees and pensioners.
CARPHONE CHANNELS THOUGHTS TO TV
Carphone Warehouse’s telecommunications business is examining the case for becoming a television operator after buying the UK assets of Tiscali, the Italian telecoms company.
Charles Dunstone, chief executive, said Carphone was studying whether its Talk Talk phone and broadband business should expand Tiscali’s TV service.
Q-CELLS WARNS OF BIG SECOND-QUARTER LOSS
Q-Cells, the world’s largest manufacturer of solar cells, yesterday scrapped its full-year sales outlook because of the tough market environment and warned that it was likely to post a big second-quarter loss. Shares in the German solar company plunged by 11 per cent after it said an anticipated seasonal upturn in solar demand had “broadly not materialised.” Q-Cells has been hit by falling solar prices and waning demand.
THE TIMES
MILIBAND PROMISES MORE GREEN JOBS BUT VESTAS WIND TURBINE PLANT IS CLOSING
One of Britain’s biggest employers in the green energy industry is to cease production within hours of a government announcement today pledging as many as 400,000 green jobs by 2015. Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, will claim that Britain will become a world leader in low-carbon technology and manufacturing.
BRITAIN MAY GO BACK ON ITS PROMISE NOT TO BUY ‘PERMITS TO POLLUTE’ FROM POOR NATIONS
Britain’s plan to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by more than a third by 2022 could be achieved by buying “permits to pollute” from poor countries rather than genuine reductions in domestic emissions, according to documents seen by The Times.
The Daily telegraph
FRANCE’S SPECIAL BOND’ RAISES DOUBTS OVER AAA RATING
Fitch Ratings is paying close attention to French plans for a “special national bond” to raise up to €80bn for projects outside the normal budget. While there is no immediate threat to France’s elite ‘AAA’ rating, the agency said concerns may mount if the country fails to map out a clear path towards fiscal discipline over the next year or so.
SILVIO BERLUSCONI NEWSPAPER: ITALY BETTER THAN BRITAIN
Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by Silvio Berlusconi’s family, has launched an extraordinary attack on Britain, claiming Italy is now better than the UK at “everything”. The attack appeared to be pay-back for the British press writing about the sleaze and scandal that has engulfed the Italian government.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
BACKERS AREN’T BUYERS FOR ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY PALM OIL
European consumer groups and nongovernmental organisations have said they want environmentally friendly palm oil. Malaysian producers of palm oil that have made the switch are discovering that it is still a hard sell. The price premium for palm oil certified as produced through sustainable plantation practices has been shrinking since the first eco-friendly palm oil was shipped to European markets last November.
SUN ANTICIPATES MISSING WALL STREET’S EXPECTATIONS
Sun Microsystems yesterday projected a wider fiscal-fourth-quarter loss and lower revenue than Wall Street had been expecting, in what may be its last quarterly report as an independent company.