What the other papers say this morning
FINANCIAL TIMES
TALKTALK CUTS WORKFORCE BY 13 PER CENT
Broadband provider TalkTalk is cutting its workforce by almost 13 per cent as part of efforts to improve profitability. Dido Harding, chief executive, announced yesterday that the company was cutting 580 jobs from its 4,500-strong UK workforce. The staff cuts, which are likely to be achieved through compulsory redundancies by 30 April, is the first manifestation of Harding’s cost-cutting drive.
STANLEY HO GOES PUBLIC TO SOOTHE FEUD TALK
Macao gambling tycoon Stanley Ho has made a rare television appearance in a bid to defuse speculation about a family feud over his business empire. Ho, who is 89 and in poor health, said he did not intend to reverse the transfer of a controlling stake in his company to his third wife and five of his children.
TNK-BP INVESTORS REASSURED ON ROSNEFT
Igor Sechin, Russia’s powerful energy tsar, has moved to quell a backlash by BP’s Russian billionaire partners in TNK-BP over the UK oil group’s proposed alliance with state oil company Rosneft, saying it is not a blow to the existing venture. Sechin, who also chairs Rosneft and serves as Russia’s deputy prime minister, struck a conciliatory tone and described the issue as a “misunderstanding”.
BOSCH SET TO EXPAND WORKFORCE
Bosch, Germany’s largest privately held industrial group by sales, said that it would add 16,500 jobs this year, highlighting how the country’s dynamic industrial recovery is starting to filter down to the job market. Franz Fehrenbach, chief executive, said the firm would increase the size of its global workforce by six per cent.
THE TIMES
EQUITABLE PAYOUT WILL LEAVE 100,000 EMPTY-HANDED
Almost a million Equitable Life policyholders will receive compensation worth less than a quarter of their losses after the Treasury published new details on its payout scheme. As it released the findings of a commission set up to allocate compensation worth a total of £1.5bn, the Treasury also said yesterday that 100,000 policyholders would receive nothing.
WESTERN JOBS CRISIS NEEDS HI-TECH SOLUTION
Western industrial jobs outsourced to Asia will not return, one of India’s most prominent businessmen has said. The Indian steel magnate Naveen Jindal argued that the United States and Europe must retrain its workforce rapidly to take on high-tech jobs if it is to deal with the spectre of unemployment.
The Daily Telegraph
SHELL CLAIMS NIGERIA SPILL PAY OUTS WOULD ENCOURAGE TERRORISM
Royal Dutch Shell has been forced to defend its record on oil spills and human rights in Nigeria in the face of a barrage of criticism before a panel of Dutch politicians. At a hearing in The Hague, Shell was bombarded with accusations from Amnesty International and other pressure groups.
FIRMS PLAN TO WORK STAFF HARDER
Businesses plan to make staff work harder over the next year rather than taking on new employees, research by the Bank of England suggests. The majority of factories and offices could raise output by up to five per cent using existing staff, the poll of 370 companies by the Bank’s regional agents found. Fewer than 10 per cent of the businesses said they had no spare capacity.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TURKEY CALLS FOR TIME OUT IN MONETARY MOVES
Turkey’s economy minister said the country’s central bank should wait before making further changes to monetary policy, the government’s first public sign of concern over the bank’s unorthodox strategy of cutting interest rates amid booming demand. “We don’t want an uncertain environment in Turkey,” deputy prime minister for the economy Ali Babacan told reporters yesterday.
GERMAN BOND AUCTION FLOPS
Germany failed to attract enough bids at its first ultralong bund auction in six months, catching investors somewhat offguard, as the bund line was considered overvalued despite its recent cheapening against Eurozone peers. By contrast, in a separate tender, Italy sold €8bn (£6.88bn) of six-month treasury bills yesterday.