What the other papers say this morning – 23 October 2013
FINANCIAL TIMES
Ebay buys same-day courier service
Ebay is acquiring a same-day courier service based in London and overhauling its own website as it seeks to compete against Amazon and Walmart and give itself a social media edge.
The Californian ecommerce group is buying Shutl, a four-year-old start-up with operations in the US and the UK, in order to take more control of product deliveries. “There’s no doubt consumer expectations (regarding shipping) are going up. What might have been acceptable five years ago is not acceptable today,” said Devin Wenig, Ebay president. In other announcements Ebay launched social media features that let shoppers follow “curated” product collections
Germany keeps veto right on VW
Germany will retain its veto powers at Volkswagen after defeating Brussels’ latest legal assault on a law that has protected the carmaker from takeovers for the past five decades.
The EU court of justice yesterday dismissed the European Commission suit against the so called “Volkswagen Law”.
Greek lead in fish slips through net
As if years of economic and financial turmoil were not enough, Greece has lost its crown as the world’s biggest producer of sea bass and bream to Turkey. A squeeze on bank financing and reduced demand among Mediterranean consumers, the leading buyers of the white fish, have hit Greece’s sea bass and bream industry, one of its most important agricultural exports.
THE TIMES
Gender equality goes to pot
The distance between the amount that men and women save for retirement has never been wider. The number of women who are preparing adequately for old age has fallen to a record low, Scottish Widows found in its latest annual assessment of the retirement market, to be published today.
Peugeot set to remain French
Even if the Peugeot family loses control of the firm under a Chinese rescue, the carmaker will remain French, according to Arnaud Montebourg, the industry minister. “PSA will remain a French company,” the self-styled protector of the made in france label said yesterday.
The Daily Telegraph
Candy eyes deal for barracks
International investors including luxury property developer Christian Candy have approached the Ministry of Defence (MoD) about the purchase of Hyde Park barracks, the historic home of the Queen’s Household Cavalry regiments, in a deal that could raise more than £600m for the government. Monaco-based Mr Candy, who jointly developed London’s most expensive real-estate project to date at One Hyde Park with his brother, Nick, confirmed to The Telegraph that his company, CPC Group, has contacted the government with regards to possibly developing the Knightsbridge site. The MoD insisted no decisions had yet been taken.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Underwriters to lend Twitter $1bn
The banks underwriting Twitter’s upcoming initial public offering have officially agreed to lend it as much as $1bn (£615.8m) over the next five years, according to a new filing with regulators.
Talks to resume on Turkey’s EU bid
Turkey’s long-stalled accession talks with the European Union will formally resume next month, EU ministers agreed yesterday, the first new round to be opened in years. Talks had been due to resume in June but were postponed in the midst of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s harsh crackdown on protesters.