WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
THE SUNDAYS
The Sunday Telegraph
NIKE BOSS MARK PARKER DEMANDS NEW RULES ON VALUING BUSINESS
The global chief executive of Nike, one of the most powerful retail brands in the world, has said that companies will have to find more sophisticated ways of judging value and impact on the environment if they are to resist being pushed around by short-term investors seeking a quick profit
EMI SELLS “HOME OF THE STONES”
EMI hs sold its iconic Olympic Sound Studios as it seeks to reduce the size of its £2.6bn debt mountain. The studio, where the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin recorded some of their most famous tracks, has been sold for around £3.5m to a businessman who is considering a number of options for the site including opening a cinema.
THE SUNDAY TIMES
STANLEY FINK JOINS TRADING SUPERGROUP MAREX FINANCIAL
A BOARD of City heavyweights including Stanley Fink, the “godfather of hedge funds”, has been recruited to turn the commodities firm Marex Financial into a global powerhouse.
JRJ Group, the investment firm started by Jeremy Isaacs, previously European head of Lehman Brothers, and Roger Nagioff, another former Lehman executive, bought a 74 per cent stake in Marex in December.
ADVERTISING SURGE SPARKS NEW HOPE FOR AILING ITV
THE picture is improving at ITV, which will report this week that advertising income is on track to leap by 18 per cent in April. The bounce-back will surprise some shareholders, who have a gloomy long-term view of the broadcaster
TODAY
FINANCIAL TIMES
BT RESPONSIBLE FOR OWN £8.8BN PENSIONS “GAP”
BT’s £8.8bn pension deficit is almost entirely of its own making because it failed to make adequate contributions and took big risks with its investment strategy, according to documents submitted by its rivals to Ofcom, the regulator. The documents, to be made public today, form part of a consultation process by the telecoms watchdog on whether to allow BT to include some of the cost of reducing its pension deficit in the wholesale charges it levies on rivals.
CATERPILLAR MOVES TO CUT LINKS WITH IRAN
Caterpillar, the US building equipment group, is bowing to a lobbyists’ “name and shame” campaign, with plans to sever trading links with Iran.
The Daily Telegraph
AGGREKO SIGNS £30M DEAL TO POWER 2010 WORLD CUP STADIUMS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Aggreko has won a £30m contract to provide power for the football World Cup in South Africa. Aggreko will supply broadcasting power in all 10 World Cup stadium venues Over the weekend the company signed the contract to provide temporary power and temperature control for broadcast and technical services for the tournament.
POMEGREAT SINGS £3M A YEAR DEAL TO BUY POMEGRANATE JUICE FROM AFGHANISTAN
A British drinks firm has become the first international buyer of Afghan pomegranate juice under a drive to wean farmers off the opium trade. Adam Pritchard, Pomegreat chief executive, said he has been waiting for a factory in Afghanistan to become available for four or five years.
THE TIMES
AVIVA TELLS CHAIRMEN TO JUSTIFY EXECUTIVE PAY
The chairmen of every large listed company in Britain have been warned to justify executive pay packets this year or risk a “no” vote at their annual meetings. Aviva Investors, the fund managers that own about 1.5 per cent of every company quoted on the FTSE All-share index, has written to 800 chairmen amid growing concern that companies are not showing enough restraint over the remuneration of their key people.
DO A DOUBLE TAKE ON TAKEOVERS, WARNS BUFFETT
Companies issuing shares to make acquisitions should hire a second team of investment bankers to make the case against doing the deal, says Warren Buffett. He lamented the failure of acquiring companies to appreciate their own stock.