Deadline looms in Greece February 5, 2012 GREECE’S coalition parties must tell the European Union by today whether they accept the painful terms of a new bailout deal as EU patience wears thin with political dithering in Athens over implementing reforms. Technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos put on a brave face yesterday as he tried to get leaders of the three parties [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES RATING AGENCIES RAISE DOUBTS ON SCOTLAND SECURING TRIPLE A STATUS XtryAn independent Scotland would not be able to count on receiving triple A status, credit rating agencies have told the Financial Times, potentially leading to higher borrowing costs for it if a referencum on independence was successful. The three leading credit rating agencies [...]
Glencore bid talks focus on premium February 5, 2012 MINING group Xstrata could lose out on its merger with commodities giant Glencore if the two companies ignore Xstrata shareholders’ demands to be offered a decent premium, investors warned last night. The deal, revealed last week, could see a combined company worth £50bn with revenues of over £110bn. Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis is tipped [...]
As crunch time nears there’s still a lot left to be decided February 5, 2012 SO as expected, Xstrata’s shareholders are kicking up a fuss over the premium Glencore is offering to pay for the company, barely a year after blocking a similar deal before Glencore’s record listing last May. With current talks rumoured to be moving towards a premium as low as a single digit figure, investors are unlikely [...]
Romney takes Nevada vote February 5, 2012 Republican front-runner Mitt Romney cruised to an easy victory in Nevada over the weekend, crushing his three remaining rivals and taking firm command of the party’s volatile presidential nominating race. With support from a broad cross-section of Republicans, Romney won by a big double-digit margin over former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Representative Ron Paul [...]
Apprentices as valuable as Games: report February 5, 2012 THE UK economy would benefit more from a million extra apprenticeships than from hosting the Olympic Games, according to new research from City & Guilds. The survey – timed for the start of Apprenticeship Week 2012 this week – shows that, if a million more apprenticeships were set up by 2013, the economic benefit would [...]
LONDONERS FACE THE BIG FREEZE February 5, 2012 Londoners came out to play yesterday as the capital woke to a blanket of thick snow. Alexandra Park (above) was a popular spot for sledging, while City tourists at Bankside (right) took the opportunity to brave the cold and see London’s famous landmarks covered in white. The biting weather proved testing for Occupy London protesters [...]
Webster to step down as IHG chairman February 5, 2012 DAVID Webster, the long-standing chairman of Intercontinental Hotels Group, is to stand down after eight years at the helm of the world’s largest hotel group. A source close to Webster said that no date had been set yet for his departure, but that he is likely to leave later this year. The owner of Holiday [...]
Tory MPs rebel over subsidies for wind farms February 5, 2012 NEW Liberal Democrat energy secretary Ed Davey is already under political pressure, after more than 100 Tory MPs called on the government to slash subsidies to wind farms. The 101 Conservative signatories wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron to demand a re-think of the coalition’s energy policy. “In these financially straitened times, we think it [...]
Call for Deutsche Boerse boss to quit after failed merger February 5, 2012 DEUTSCHE Boerse’s chief executive Reto Francioni should step down following the collapse of its $7.4bn (£4.7bn) plan to merge with NYSE Euronext, a member of the German exchange operator’s supervisory board told a newspaper. “The question needs to be asked whether there have to be consequences (for management),” Johannes Witt, a board member representing the [...]