WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
INVESTOR IRE OVER SIG CHIEF’S PAY
Investec Asset Management has hit out at the board of SIG for ignoring investor outcry about the amount its chief executive is being paid. Investec, which owns 3.3 per cent of the Sheffield-based insulation and plasterboard maker, has written a letter to SIG to protest against a 15 per cent pay rise awarded to Chris Davies, its chief executive.
THERE IS NO PLAN B, INSISTS TREASURY
The Treasury has insisted it is not drawing up a “Plan B” to prop up the economy if the recovery falters in 2011, despite suggestions from Britain’s top civil servant that stimulus measures should be put on standby.The proposal, in a private memo by Sir Gus O’Donnell, the cabinet secretary, was revealed in Monday’s Financial Times. It caused irritation in the Treasury, which says its austerity plan is working.
GOLDMAN’S ASIAN DILEMMA AS REGION HEAD PRESSES TO STAY IN US
Goldman Sachs is seeking an executive to run its day-to-day operations in Asia even as the bank struggles to find a new role in its New York headquarters for the region’s chairman, Michael Evans. The months-long uncertainty over Mr Evans’ next position underscores the sense of flux within Goldman.
FURTHER SETBACK FOR NOKIA AS E7 IS DELAYED
Nokia has warned that another of its new range of smartphones will be delayed, highlighting the difficulties facing the Finnish group as it struggles to regain lost ground in the fast-growing smartphone market. The world’s biggest mobile maker said its E7 device would not hit the market until early 2011, after being due to launch before the end of this year.
THE TIMES
WORLDWIDE AIRLINES ON A DESCENDING PATH
The merger of British Airways and Iberia will do little to stave off falling profits in the airline industry, analysts predicted yesterday. Combined profits for all European airlines are forecast to fall to $100m (£63m) next year, from the $400m expected this year.
SOARING REPOSSESSIONS, STAGNANT SALES: IT’S DOOM ON THE HOME FRONT
The housing market is likely to remain in an extremely gloomy state for “many years to come” as banks continue to restrict lending and a shaky economy deters buyers, Britain’s biggest lending body has warned. The number of households falling into arrears will rise to 180,000 in 2011 according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
The Daily Telegraph
YAHOO! TO CUT 560 JOBS
Yahoo!, the US technology giant, is set to cut about four per cent of its workforce as the company continues to streamline operations in the face of sluggish revenues. Yahoo! has struggled to stanch a migration of users and advertising dollars to Facebook. Carol Bartz, chief executive since January last year, is leading a job cull which cut around 560 positions.
US JUDGE THROWS OUT FRAUD CASE AGAINST BAUGUR’S JON ASGEIR JOHANNESSON
A New York judge has thrown out a legal case against London-based Viking raider Jon Asgeir Johannesson, which claimed he was the architect of a $2bn (£1.2bn) fraud. The court decided the case should not be tried in the US, as most of the key players are Icelanders and it revolves around the collapse of Icelandic banks.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
PAULSON-LED GROUP WEIGHS ALTERNATE LEHMAN BANKRUPTCY PLAN
A group of investors including hedge-fund manager Paulson & Co. are weighing a competing reorganization plan for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. that would provide a better recovery to creditors of the original Lehman parent company while offering a smaller payout to some creditors of Lehman subsidiaries, according to a person familiar with the investors’ thinking.
PFIZER’S NEW CEO SHUFFLES TEAM
New Pfizer Inc. CEO Ian Read shuffled his executive team yesterday, installing associates he’s worked closely with at the pharmaceutical giant while keeping key leaders in their posts. The moves come just a week after Read succeeded Jeffrey Kindler, who retired unexpectedly.