What the other papers say this morning – 04 March 2014
FINANCIAL TIMES
Nine private equity heads share $2.5bn
The nine founders of the four big listed US private equity companies took home more than $2.5bn between them last year, with Apollo Global Management’s Leon Black alone receiving $546m. The dividend income, investment profits and other compensation shared by the founders of Apollo, Blackstone, Carlyle and KKR – at least double last year’s payouts – reflect the rising market value of their companies in a market boosted by the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies.
Kickstarter crowdfunding passes 1bn
Kickstarter – one of the world’s largest crowdfunding platforms – has passed $1bn in pledges. The website – which enables users to part-fund entrepreneurial projects in exchange for benefits in kind – hit the milestone just hours after The Square, a film it helped to finance, missed out on an Oscar for best documentary feature. Kickstarter said it raised the second $500m of its $1bn total in the past 12 months, having been launched in 2009.
Penn gives up ad role in Microsoft
Mark Penn, a former adviser to Bill Clinton, former US president, who had led Microsoft’s aggressive marketing campaign against archrival Google, is to give up his responsibilities for advertising in the first overhaul of the software maker’s senior ranks by new chief executive Satya Nadella.
THE TIMES
Hiscox buys gateway to Asian markets
Hiscox has dipped its toe into the runaway growth markets of Asia by snapping up a local online retail insurer for $55m in cash. Hiscox, which operates on the Lloyd’s of London insurance market and sells direct to consumers in Britain, said yesterday that it had bought DirectAsia.
Cyber attacks hit financial services
Almost half the world’s financial services businesses have fallen victim to economic crime, including theft and cyber fraud, during the past two years, according to PwC’s latest biennial Global Economic Crime Survey.
The Daily Telegraph
Pension savers fear raid on tax breaks
Research shows heightened fear over a raid on the tax breaks afforded to pension savers. Just one in 10 older workers trusts the government to preserve a rule that allows savers to withdraw 25 per cent of their pension tax-free at the point of retirement, a study for The Telegraph has found.
Johnson: no quick return to parliament
Boris Johnson has ruled out standing for Parliament in the run-up to next year’s general election and denied that George Osborne has attempted to convince him to return to Westminster. Johnson said that he has no plans to stand ahead of the 2015 election.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Morgan Stanley looks to sell Ragú
Unilever has hired Morgan Stanley to help sell its Ragú pasta-sauce brand for around $2bn, as the consumer-goods giant continues to pare down its food business. The timing of any potential deal was unclear, as were the entities Unilever might approach as buyers.
Automakers post weak February sales
Winter storms chilled US auto demand in February as overall sales were flat on big gains at Fiat Chrysler and Nissan. Single-digit percentage declines at General Motors, Ford, Toyota and others kept sales at 1.19m cars and light trucks.