What the other papers say this morning – 04 December 2013
FINANCIAL TIMES
IBM legal challenge to India tax claim
IBM has launched a legal challenge over an estimated $800m tax demand from India’s revenue department – becoming the latest major western multinational to find itself ensnared in a payment dispute in Asia’s third-largest economy. The company’s move follow a series of recent high profile tax rows involving global companies, including British telecom group Vodafone and Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell.
Strong US sales drive up Detroit Three
All three of the big US car-makers – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler – achieved domestic sales beyond analysts’ most bullish expectations last month, as falling fuel prices, cheap finance and improved model ranges helped them to seize market share.
Warning from Greek far-left party
Alexis Tsipras, Greece’s far-left opposition leader, said the Greek government will no longer have a mandate to run the country if his Syriza party finishes first in May’s European parliament election. He predicted that national elections would be held before the end of next year.
Mr Tsipras, who has vowed to scrap the country’s €172bn bailout agreement with international lenders, said anger in Greece has grown since last year’s national election when Syriza twice came close to becoming the country’s biggest party in parliament.
THE TIMES
Detroit declared bankrupt
US judge approves city’s plans to declare itself bust with $18bn in debts in ruling that paves way for swingeing pension cuts for retirees. The biggest municipal bankruptcy in American history has been given the go-ahead after a federal judge ruled that Detroit can declare itself bust.
Chinese telecom “spies” all-clear
Britain’s national security adviser will give the all-clear next week to a Chinese telecoms firm that has been blocked by the American and Australian governments on national security grounds.
The Daily Telegraph
Reports on dubious activities up
City traders are informing on each other’s dubious dealings almost twice as often as they were two years ago. Traders and brokers sent 1,035 suspicious transaction reports to the City watchdog in the year to 31 August, up from 739 in 2012 and 544 the year before that.
Albemarle&Bond lender appoints PwC
Cash-strapped pawn broker Albermarle & Bond was put up for sale at start of week with £50.1m of debts. Lenders to the chain have hired PwC to advise on options. The company has lost 80 per cent of its value since the start of the year.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Investor to Abercrombie: replace CEO
An activist investor is intensifying its campaign against Abercrombie & Fitch, saying the teen retailer should look for a new CEO and that a sale of the company could be its best option. Engaged Capital said in a letter that it should start searching for a successor to CEO Michael Jeffries. His contract is due to expire on 1 February.
Microsoft Sells $8bn of Debt
Microsoft Corp. sold $8bn of debt in the largest combined dollar- and euro-denominated investment-grade corporate bond deal in more than a decade according to Dealogic.