WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
MOD UNDER FIRE ON £20BN PROPERTY ESTATE
The Ministry of Defence has failed to make the most efficient use of its £20bn property estate and should consider selling more land to help reduce costs in the current economic climate, a report by the National Audit Office will say on Friday. The department raised £3.4bn from the sale of surplus property between 1998 and 2008, the report acknowledges.
IMF WARNS OF CONTAGION THREAT TO US
The US economy has rebounded faster than expected but faces the threat of contagion from sovereign debt problems in Europe, the International Monetary Fund has warned. In an advance summary of its annual health check of the US economy, the IMF said: “While still modest by historical standards, the recovery has proved stronger than we had earlier expected, owing much to the authorities’ strong and effective macroeconomic response.”
RIO TINTO CONFIRMS MONGOLIAN MINE INTEREST
Rio Tinto has ended months of speculation by confirming plans to swap its shares in Ivanhoe Mines for a direct stake in Mongolia’s Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project, which is 66 per cent owned by the Canadian miner. Rio owns an indirect interest in Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits, through its 29.6 per cent stake in Ivanhoe.
late OBR changes shrank job loss figure
The Office for Budget Responsibility made last-minute changes to its Budget forecasts that had the effect of reducing the impact of the emergency Budget on public sector job losses.
THE TIMES
DIRECTOR SAYS BBC IS COMMITTED TO RADIO 6 MUSIC AND DIGITAL CONTENT
The BBC says it will not renew its attempts to close 6 Music and has pledged instead to put the radio station “at the heart” of its digital portfolio. On the day that the Government set out a timetable for the switchover to digital radio — but did not set a specific date — Tim Davie the BBC’s director of audio and music, confirmed that the corporation was committed to the alternative music station in the long term.
LAKELAND PROFITS FROM JAM TODAY
Politicians can no longer offer jam tomorrow, so people are making their own. Lakeland, the kitchenware business, has sold half a million jam jars already this year — and the preserving season has only just begun.
The Daily Telegraph
IMF TELLS EUROPE TO INJECT MORE STIMULUS
The International Monetary Fund has called on the European Central Bank to prepare fresh emergency action to stabilise debt markets, throwing its weight behind calls for renewed monetary stimulus to offset budget cuts.
The ECB has so far purchased €59bn of Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, and Irish bonds.
CONRAD BLACK SEEKS BAIL AFTER FAVOURABLE US COURT RULING
Conrad Black, the former media magnate, is seeking bail after the US Supreme Court overturned part of the $6.1m (£4m) fraud conviction that saw him sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison in 2007. Lord Black has served his sentence to date at Coleman Federal Correctional Centre in Florida. The US Appeals Court will decide if the conviction is quashed.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
BURKLE, IN TESTIMONY, OBJECTS TO BARNES & NOBLE POISON PILL
Billionaire investor Ronald Burkle said the poison-pill plan that Barnes & Noble Inc. enacted to stop him from taking a larger share in the company has imposed draconian restrictions on his ability to wage a potential proxy fight against the Riggio family which controls the bookseller.
BLOCKBUSTER CEO KEEPS PAY PACKAGE
Blockbuster’s chief executive, head of a company so strapped for cash it skipped a scheduled debt payment last week, will retain his previous salary and is in line for a bigger bonus. James Keyes’s new employment agreement, announced in a federal filing on Wednesday, will pay him a salary of at least $750,000 a year. The new agreement also looks to pay him a bigger bonus.