What the other papers say this morning
FINANCIAL TIMES
Noble Foods hit by eggs surplus
Noble Foods, Britain’s largest egg producer by volume, reported a 22 per cent slide in pre-tax profits last year, providing further evidence of the squeeze on the egg industry.
BP in talks to sell off refinery
BP has held talks to sell its Texas City refinery to Marathon Petroleum Corp, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest stage of a big asset disposal plan to cover the costs of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. While it is unclear if a deal will be reached, one person familiar with the matter said BP and Marathon have been in talks for months. A sale could raise up to $2.5bn, a second person said.
Lakeland hit by Olympic slump
The Olympic Games were nothing but a “waste of time” for retailers, said cookware group Lakeland, the inventor of the yellow plastic “banana guard” and the electric cupcake maker. Shopping centres forced retailers into opening longer in August, which only “increased cost for no benefit,” said finance director Bob Granger.
THE TIMES
Lenovo buys Indiana cloud firm
A small software company from Indiana has been snapped up by Lenovo as part of its plans to expand into cloud computing.
Phones 4U tycoon buys into Mayfair
The billionaire co-founder of the Phones 4U chain has splashed out £81m on a house that once belonged to Prince Jefri, the playboy brother of the Sultan of Brunei. John Caudwell is thought to have snapped up the property after it was marketed quietly for £90m.
The Daily Telegraph
Norway investigate oil leak
Norwegian authorities said yesterday they have opened an investigation into a “substantial” oil and gas leak on a production platform operated by BP off the coast of Norway.
IP Group pumps £0.5m into webcams
IP Group, which commercialises intellectual property from universities, is backing a spin-out which has developed technology that can use a webcam to monitor patients’ vital signs.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Fed officials weigh in on bond buys
A top Federal Reserve official expressed strong support for the central bank’s latest efforts to invigorate the recovery, saying it can do more if necessary.
More billionaires join giving pledge
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have persuaded 11 more of their billionaire peers to join their Giving Pledge campaign, and promise to give away half of their wealth, including tech luminaries Gordon Moore and Reed Hastings.