WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
US CORPORATES SHY TO OFFER GUIDANCE
US companies are more uncertain about the future than at any point since the financial crisis, with just one in five of the country’s biggest corporations making any predictions as they published fourth-quarter results.
TRANSOCEAN WILL NOT PROPOSE A DIVIDEND
Shares in Transocean, the owner of the drilling rig at the centre of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, fell more than six per cent on Monday, the biggest drop in two months, after the company said it did not plan to propose a dividend at its upcoming annual shareholder meeting.
WALMART RAISES STAKE IN YIHAODIAN
Walmart is taking a 51 per cent stake in Yihaodian, a leading Chinese ecommerce website, in a significant move by the US retailer to boost its online presence in China. Walmart did not disclose financial details for the partnership with Yihaodian, one of the fastest-growing companies in China. But it already held a minority stake in the business.
URS AGREES TO BUY FLINT ENERGY
Engineering consultancy URS Corporation has agreed to buy Flint Energy Services, the Canadian oilfield services provider, for C$1.25bn (US$1.25bn) in cash as it pushes to consolidate the fragmented $450bn sector. Buying Flint will increase URS’s exposure to America’s hydrocarbon industry.
THE TIMES
HIGH COURT TO SERVE CLAIM ON DEFENDANT VIA FACEBOOK
A judge has given the go-ahead for a claim to be served via Facebook in what is thought to be the first case of its kind in the English High Court. Mr Justice Teare approved the use of the social networking site after difficulties locating one of the parties in a commercial claim.
BIDDERS SHORT ON EXPERIENCE HEAD EDINBURGH AIRPORT QUEUE
The £500m auction of Edinburgh airport has entered its final stages after a shortlist of bidders was drawn up yesterday. It is understood some have been told already they are through to the next round, having submitted indicative offers last Monday.
The Daily Telegraph
NO BLACKLISTING COSTLY DRUGS, TRUSTS TOLD
Health authorities are to be prevented from blacklisting expensive branded drugs under government plans to stop “postcode prescribing”. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has produced a “best practice guide” which states that medicines should be “automatically incorporated” on lists of available drugs within 90 days of approval.
RUPERT MURDOCH SHOULD TAKE BACK NEWS OF THE WORLD STAFF
Rupert Murdoch has a “moral duty” to employ former News of the World journalists on his new Sun on Sunday title, according to the former chief reporter at the defunct tabloid.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TOP BANKS IN EU RUSH FOR SAFETY
Top European banks, responding to new regulations and wary of lending, are stashing increasingly large sums of money at central banks around the world in a collective flight to safety. The eight giant European banks that have disclosed their annual results in recent weeks reported holding a total of about $816bn in cash and deposits at central banks as of 31 December.
FORD PREDICTS MODERATE SALES GAINS IN CHINA
Ford expects China’s vehicle sales to rise “about five per cent” in 2012, the auto maker’s regional head said, forecasting a second year of relatively moderate growth for the world’s largest car market.