What the other papers say this morning – 03 December 2013
FINANCIAL TIMES
Osborne under infrastructure pressure
Work on infrastructure projects fell 13 per cent last year, despite the ongoing Crossrail project George Osborne will come under renewed pressure to prove the coalition is delivering its infrastructure promises after a Financial Times analysis showed slow progress on many schemes.
PC sales headed for worst year
PC sales will suffer the “most severe yearly contraction on record” in 2013, falling more than 10 per cent as consumers switch to tablets and smartphones, according to the International Data Corporation PC tracker. Worldwide shipments of PCs are forecast to continue to fall next year, down 3.8 per cent to just above 300m.
Portugal bond swap to test appetite
Portugal will test investor appetite today in a bond swap seen as preparing the way for a full return to the debt market ahead of the country’s planned exit from its €78bn bailout programme in June.
THE TIMES
Closing the digital divide with Europe
Britain has overtaken much of Europe in the race for the fastest broadband and is closing in on the US and Japan. Seventy per cent of UK households and firms now have access to superfast broadband.
New pension rules may leave deficits
Pension funds could be given as long as 20 years to get to grips with their ballooning deficits, it was claimed yesterday.
The Daily Telegraph
Turner Prize 2013: Prouvost triumphs
The London-based French artist Laure Prouvost takes the £25,000 Turner prize for her video installation Wantee, which was inspired by a cup of tea.
Derivative markets upgrade UK
Credit default swaps are “pricing” British bonds as if they were top-notch triple-A quality debt securities.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Rating sag for cable-TV business news
Viewership is weak at business-focused cable TV channels in part reflecting the way individual investors have ceded stock trading to large institutional investors.
Lagardere to stand trial in EADS case
French media company Lagardere and German car maker Daimler are set to face trial on charges of alleged insider trading of shares in EADS in 2006.