WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
EU TO RULE ON DEUTSCHE BÖRSE AND NYSE MERGER
The NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse tie-up today faces its day of reckoning in Brussels, as European Union commissioners are expected to sign-off a recommendation to block a merger that allegedly stifles competition.
BAA SIGNALS END TO HOPES OVER STANSTED RUNWAY
BAA has signalled it has abandoned its hopes of building a second runway at Stansted airport after its chief executive committed the company to selling 280 homes it owns in the area.
Most of the properties were purchased after 2003, when a government white paper proposed an additional runway at Stansted. They sit either where the runway would have been laid or in areas where noise from the expanded airport would have been untenable.
TREASURY BESET BY EXODUS OF TOP STAFF
George Osborne’s Treasury is grappling with an exodus of personnel as officials fume at low pay levels and high staff turnover, creating real operational difficulties with the Budget just seven seeks away. Two officials have told the FT that the Treasury’s turnover rate is now “higher than McDonald’s’”
TAX CUTS EXPIRY TO SLOW US GROWTH
US economic growth will slow dramatically if tax rises and spending cuts come into effect as planned in 2013, according to new figures from the Congressional Budget Office. The expiry of tax cuts originally passed by president George W. Bush, the end of a two per cent payroll tax holiday and automatic spending cuts agreed last August will reduce growth to just 1.1 per cent in 2013 unless changes are made.
THE TIMES
THOUSANDS OF JOBS TO GO AT NOKIA
Despite Germany’s robust economy, nearly 3,000 people will lose their jobs as Nokia Siemens Networks cuts its workforce there by a third. “We need to make this difficult step in order that the Nokia Siemens network can become an economically lasting enterprise,” said Hermann Rodler, the head of NSN, which aims to save €1bn.
ARGOS PINS REVIVAL HOPES ON INTERNET PIONEER
An American who got his big break selling groceries online will try to lead a revival at Argos. The appointment of John Walden as CEO is set to be announced today. His task will be to invigorate a company that has suffered falling sales and is under pressure from the City to cut the number of its stores. Forty-one per cent of Argos sales were conducted online.
The Daily Telegraph
ITALIANS SMUGGLE CASH INTO SAN MARINO TO BEAT TAX CRACKDOWN
Italians desperate to beat the taxman are smuggling undeclared cash into the tiny republic of San Marino in their underwear and shoes. As the government of prime minister Mario Monti ramps up its war against tax dodgers, Italians are resorting to ever more inventive methods to avoid taxes on their savings.
ENGINEERING DIPLOMA DOWNGRADED IN SNUB TO BUSINESS LEADERS
Engineering giants including JCB, Sony, Siemens and Boeing are set to be disappointed after the Government confirmed plans to downgrade the value of its engineering diploma from five GCSEs to one. Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has confirmed that the engineering diploma will only be worth one GCSE in future, not five as it is currently valued.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
EU OPENS SAMSUNG ANTITRUST PROBE
The European Commission opened a new front in the global patent war between Samsung Electronics and Apple with a formal investigation into whether the South Korean technology giant’s use of wireless patents is breaking European Union antitrust rules. A Samsung spokesman said the company “has not received any formal notice and is unable to discuss the matter at this time.” Apple declined to comment.
CRUISE-LINE OFFICIAL QUESTIONED ABOUT DISASTER
Italian prosecutors yesterday questioned a key official of Costa Crociere, the operator of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia, amid mounting scrutiny of the company’s conduct in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Seventeen people have been confirmed dead.