What the other papers say this morning – 01 November 2013
FINANCIAL TIMES
Microsoft urged to spin Xbox business
Microsoft’s next chief executive should consider spinning off consumer businesses including search advertising and the Xbox games console, according to the private investment vehicle of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Mr Allen, who started the company with Bill Gates in 1975 and still holds a $2bn stake, is “intrigued and interested” by forthcoming changes, said Paul Ghaffari, who manages the tech investor’s $15bn fortune.
Hollande defends football tax
President Francois Hollande showed no mercy for France’s top football clubs yesterday, refusing to let them off paying his 75 per cent income tax bracket on salaries above €1m. The clubs had protested that the “unfair and discriminatory” levy threatened “the death of French football”, cancelling all games over the last weekend of November in protest.
Approval for US President Obama sinks amid setbacks
Barack Obama’s standing with voters is falling, according to an opinion poll, with his approval rating dropping into negative territory for the first time in his presidency amid the troubled rollout of his healthcare law and budget clashes with Congress. The same trends that have sent the approval rating of Republicans in Washington to record lows are now hurting Obama.
THE TIMES
Britons raise a glass to a cut in duty
Beer sales volumes rose at their highest rate this century in the third quarter on the back of the heatwave and the cut in duty in the last Budget. According to the British Beer & Pub Association, volumes fizzed 5.2 per cent higher to 103m pints in the July to September period, the highest quarter-on-quarter increase since 1999.
Inventor puts lid on bike injuries
A British inventor who suffered a horrific bike accident will today attempt to persuade investors to pour money into a folding cycling helmet that he hopes will reduce the number of collisions on the roads.
The Daily Telegraph
British billionaire pays $10 million to avert legal claim on his Monet
Hedge fund manager Alan Howard bought $43m painting “in good faith”, but pays additional $10m to victims of Marcos regime to forfeit any potential legal claim over its ownership.
HIV vaccine on the horizon
A vaccine to prevent HIV could be on the horizon after a major breakthrough in understanding the structure of disease, a new study reveals.
Scientists have determined the first atomic level structure of HIV’s ‘envelope’ protein, which they say is of great value for medical science. The findings provide the most detailed picture yet of the Aids-causing virus’s complex envelope.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Bombardier profit falls 21 per cent
Bombardier said yesterday its third-quarter profit fell 21 per cent, adding it was disappointed by low order intake and overall market conditions in its aerospace division.
Developing economies outpace West in attracting investment
Developing economies claimed an increased share of international investments made by businesses in the first half of 2013, while the UK surpassed the US and China to become the single-largest recipient of foreign direct investment, according to the UN.