WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
BREWER’S FINANCE CHIEF TO RETIRE
SABMiller is ushering in a new era after Malcolm Wyman, who has served as chief financial officer for the past decade, announced plans to retire at the annual meeting in July. My Wyman, 64, will be replaced by James Wilson, finance director for European operations. Mr Wilson, 51, has been at SABMiller for just six years but has spent most of his career in the drinks industry.
ICE STEPS UP ATTACK ON DEAL RIVAL
IntercontinentalExchange, the US exchange operator, intensified its campaign to take control of NYSE Euronext’s futures business with a blistering attack on a rival bid by Deutsche Borse and NYSE Euronext, which it characterised as “absurd”, “risky” and full of “empty promises”. ICE teamed up with Nasdaq OMX last month to launch an $11bn cash-and-stock offer for NYSE Euronext, attempting to break up an agreed friendly merger between NYSE and Deutsche Borse.
TOREX RETAIL CHIEFS CHARGED
Three men have been charged with offences in connection with the collapse of Torex Retail, the software company that went into administration almost four years ago. Robert William Loosemore, Mark Gavin Woodbridge, and Nigel David Horn have been charged with offences of conspiracy to defraud.
GARNIER DEFENDS ACTELION MANAGEMENT AGAINST REBELS
Jeane-Pierre Garnier, the senior pharmaceutical executive up for election on Thursday as chairman of Actelion, has launched a vigorous defence of the incumbent management at the Swiss drug company. The company also pledged to mount an appeal over a $557m US legal ruling against it.
THE TIMES
INVESTIGATORS STUDY GOLDMAN SACHS ‘LIES’
Goldman Sachs has been dealt a severe blow on the eve of its annual shareholder meeting after it emerged it is being investigated by the US Justice Department and by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly misleading clients and Congress over its role in the financial crisis. The US Attorney-General Eric Holder is reviewing a report that accused Goldman of misleading clients.
BANKSY TO SELL LATEST WORK IN AID OF TESCO RIOTERS
Banksy, the Bristol-born graffiti artist, has designed a poster to raise funds for the legal costs of alleged rioters arrested during a protest against a new Tesco store. The poster features a lit petrol bomb in a bottle bearing a Tesco Value label.
The Daily Telegraph
AOL REPORTS LOSSES BUT SEES PROGRESS IN DISPLAY ADS
Struggling digital media group AOL has reported pre-tax losses of $11.2m (£6.8m) for the quarter of 2011, although it said display advertising revenue was strong. As the business restructures, it swung to a loss having reported a $78m profit for the same period last year.
RUSSIA ISSUES ARREST WARRANTS FOR TOP BANKER
Russia has issued an international arrest warrant for a top Russian banker who fled to London in March, setting up a possible extradition battle with the UK. The banker, Andrei Borodin, is the former president of the Bank of Moscow and is wanted in Russia for approving an allegedly fraudulent loan in 2009 that benefited Yelena Baturina, the billionaire wife of the then mayor of Moscow.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
DOLLAR’S DROP PUTS ZING IN FOOD PROFITS
Things were looking sour for U.S. food companies this year as commodity costs rose, retailers pushed back on price increases and consumers remained reluctant to spend. Now, food makers are expecting to get a bit of an earnings or revenue boost from favorable foreign exchange rates.
SONY DETAILS HACKER ATTACK
Sony told American lawmakers it found a taunting message left during a recent computer attack, but it still doesn’t know who stole personal information from more than 100 million of its online-gaming accounts. Sony, in a letter to members of Congress released Wednesday, said the hacker or hackers deleted any traces of their attack, which is regarded as one of the biggest data breaches to date.