WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
CHINA TO ALTER TAXES IN ATTEMPT TO CUT WEALTH GAP
China is to lift the exemption threshold for personal income tax payments in an effort to redistribute the spoils of rapid growth and reduce a widening wealth gap. The level at which Chinese citizens must pay income tax will be raised from Rmb2,000 ($305) a month to Rmb3,000, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.
NEW HSBC CHIEF PLANS RADICAL SHAKE-UP
HSBC’s new chief executive is preparing a radical shake-up of the normally staid bank, slashing costs and reallocating capital in an effort to boost profitability and also resuscitate its flagging US operation. Stuart Gulliver has told associates he is determined to overhaul the culture of a group that has sometimes been run as a loosely connected federation of local fiefdoms.
NAMA TO STEP UP SALES OF PROPERTY IN UK
Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency, the “bad bank” set up to take over the toxic property loans of the country’s banks, intends to aggressively step up sales of property backed by bad Irish debt in the UK.
RWE IN WARNING ON PLANT STOPPAGES
RWE is the only one of Germany’s four nuclear companies to make good on its threat to file a suit against the government’s moratorium. Hans Hirt, head of corporate governance at Hermes, said: “We see a danger that this confrontation will expose RWE to significant acceptance and reputation risks in its important sales market Germany”. The meeting came a day after RWE’s main shareholders spoke out in an internal meeting against Mr Grossmann’s strategy of retaining nuclear power.
the guardian
JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI FORCES TOYOTA TO CUT PRODUCTION AT UK PLANT
Toyota has put one of its UK factories on short-time working after a shortage of car parts following the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Toyota will close Burnaston factory in Derbyshire for two days each week in May. Workers also agreed to limit production to half a shift on the other three days.
RAJARATNAM IS DAMNED BY HIS OWN WORDS, TRIAL TOLD
Alleged insider dealer Raj Rajaratnam was damned “in his own words”, a prosecutor told jurors at the start of closing arguments in the hedge-fund manager’s trial. Assistant US attorney Reed Brodsky said government wiretaps of Rajaratnam’s phone calls provided “devastating evidence of the defendant’s crimes”.
The Daily Telegraph
PLAYBOY PLAYMATE DESTINY DAVIS STANDS BY HER MAN’S $250,000 BAIL
Chad Elie, the Las Vegas businessman who married a former Playboy playmate the day after being arrested in a US online gambling bust, has been released on $250,000 (£152,000) bail after pleading not guilty to all charges. The 31-year old was arrested in Nevada last Friday in a US crackdown against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.
REBUILDING JAPAN: COUNTRY FIGHTS TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON…BY TURNING THEM OFF
The man from Tokyo Electric Power Company slumped wearily into a chair and reached for a cup of coffee. Since the earthquake struck on March 11, he has been living on just a few hours of sleep a day. Tepco, the villain of Japan’s nuclear crisis, is fighting battles on all fronts.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BOEING TO FIGHT ORDER TO MOVE 787
The National Labor Relations Board Wednesday said aircraft maker Boeing Co. violated federal labor law by building a second production line for its 787 Dreamliner at a non-union factory in South Carolina, siding with union workers in Washington state who charged the decision was retaliation for their past strikes.
RAILROADS RIDING STRONG VOLUME GAINS
Two of the North America’s largest railroads steamed ahead in the first quarter, hauling more coal, automobiles and industrial chemicals despite winter-related slowdowns. Union Pacific yesterday posted a 24 per cent rise in first-quarter earnings, citing higher volumes across all its key markets. A day earlier, rival CSX reported a 30 per cent gain in its first-quarter profit.