What the other papers say this morning
FINANCIAL TIMES
GMG ends talks to sell Trader stake
Guardian Media Group has called off talks with interested buyers over the sale of its half stake in the car classifieds company Trader Media Group following a failure to agree a price. Apax, its joint venture partner in Trader Media, was interested in buying out the 50.1 per cent owned by GMG in a deal that would have netted the publisher of the Guardian and the Observer around £300m in cash. Apax’s offer for the stake valued Trader at around £1.2bn including net debt of £600m, significantly less than GMG had hoped for
Cuts cause General Dynamics loss
General Dynamics yesterday became the first big US military contractor to take a significant writedown for declining US defence spending when it announced a $2.13bn (£1.3bn) fourth-quarter loss at the start of its “reset year”.
Chinese fund and Schmidt bank unite
Raine, a boutique merchant bank backed by Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has struck a deal with a Chinese state-owned fund to work together on media, sport and entertainment acquisitions.
THE TIMES
Jobs warned rival to stop poaching workers from Apple
Steve Jobs threatened a patent lawsuit against Palm, the maker of phone handsets, unless it agreed to stop hiring Apple’s employees, according to court documents revealed this week.
Dreamliner inquiry lands at Eaton
An aerospace factory in Hampshire has been drawn into a Japanese investigation over a fuel leak that caused an emergency on one of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners.
The Daily Telegraph
Ladbrokes homes in on €30m Betdaq
Ladbrokes chief executive Richard Glynn is on the verge of making his first acquisition since taking the reins at the bookmaker three years ago with the purchase of betting exchange Betdaq for about €30m (£25m).
Tea cartel formed to boost profits
The price of a cup of tea could rise after the world’s biggest producers agreed to join forces to boost profits, a Sri Lankan minister has announced.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Goldman opposes independent chair
Goldman Sachs is trying to block a shareholder proposal for an independent chairman from appearing on the proxy ballot, following an effort last year against a similar proposal that saw the company name a lead outside director.
Judge approves Kodak loan
A judge has approved a financing deal worth $843.7m (£533m) for Kodak, which the company says should help it emerge from bankruptcy protection midyear.