WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 8, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HOLLYWOOD TOP GUNS TAKE SHOT AT REVIVING DEBT-RIDDEN MGM Tony and Sir Ridley Scott have emerged as surprise contenders to steer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer back to solvency after submitting a restructuring plan to the Hollywood studio’s lenders. The brothers, who between them are responsible for Alien, Top Gun and Gladiator, have expressed interest in running [...]
BP to take $500m Mexican hit April 8, 2010 BP will face costs of about $500m (£327m) in lost production and direct construction costs following the group’s decision to shut down 50 per cent of the wells feeding its Thunder Horse oil and gas platform. The group has had to postpone production at the platform, after problems such as inferior welding on subsea pipelines [...]
Rio workers to appeal China trial April 8, 2010 Rio Tinto’s China iron ore head Stern Hu, an Australian citizen, has decided not to appeal his 10-year sentence for accepting bribes and stealing commercial secrets, his lawyer said yesterday. However, his three Chinese colleagues will challenge the 29 March verdict, which put them behind bars for between seven and 14 years for accepting bribes. [...]
BlueCrest to move its HQ to Guernsey April 8, 2010 BLUECREST Capital Management, which recently said it would open an office in Geneva, is continuing to move out of the UK by re-locating its headquarters to Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Michael Platt, the founder of the blue chip hedge fund, told investors in a letter that regulation was a factor in his decision to [...]
Former Citigroup directors rueful over their role in crisis April 8, 2010 Charles Prince and Robert Rubin, often blamed for bringing down Citigroup, expressed deep regrets for Wall Street’s meltdown in 2008 but did not take responsibility for the firm’s massive losses and the eventual taxpayer bailout at a hearing yesterday. “I can only say that I am deeply sorry that our management — starting with me [...]
KRAFT BACKS CADBURY CAFES April 8, 2010 KRAFT is backing a plan to open a chain of Cadbury-branded cafés, in a bid to cash in on Britain’s café culture. The chain will go head to head with the likes of Starbucks, but will play on the brand’s British heritage by serving cream teas. US parent Kraft is expected to license the Cadbury [...]
Petrol prices hit new high April 8, 2010 THE price of petrol raced to an all-time high yesterday as the improving global economy, rising fuel duty and the weakening pound conspired to sting drivers. They hit an eye-watering 119.9p a litre – topping the previous record of 119.7 reached in July 2008 – in what has been called a “dark day for motorists”. [...]
Easter delivers record March sales boost for US retailers April 8, 2010 Top US retail chains yesterday posted record rises in monthly same-store sales in March, helped by an early Easter holiday and an improving job market, in the strongest sign yet of revived consumer demand. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 9.1 per cent in March, the largest monthly jump since Thomson Reuters [...]
Digital Bill attracts a wave of criticism April 8, 2010 LABOUR and the Tories were both on the back foot yesterday as a wave of criticism overshadowed the passing of the Digital Economy Bill. The controversial bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons, making it a formality that it will be passed into law. But businesses and the public slammed the decision, [...]
New piracy law is not a magic bullet April 8, 2010 THE thud of the Digital Britain bill hitting the statute books yesterday drowned out a collective sigh from the music industry. They shouldn’t be so relieved. Legislating to punish pirates will do nothing to address the massive challenges that record labels face in a digital age. Forcing internet service providers like TalkTalk to disconnect customers [...]