WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
EARNINGS FORECASTS TAKE A BULLISH TURN
Analysts last week upgraded more companies’ earnings forecasts globally than they downgraded for the first time since May last year. After 41 weeks of consecutive downgrades, net earnings per share revisions for next year turned positive powered by a surge in upgrades of Japanese companies and industrial groups, according to data compiled by Citigroup.
HSBC TO SCALE BACK ON ASIAN RETAIL ARMS
HSBC is set to scale back its Asian operations with the potential sale or closure of seven retail businesses in countries from Pakistan to New Zealand. The bank has already sold or closed its retail banking operations in Japan and Thailand as part of a broader strategic overhaul.
WHISTLEBLOWERS DRAWN BY PAYOUTS
Whistleblowers are rushing to US regulators with audio recordings and internal documents to take advantage of a new program that can make reporting wrongdoing lucrative. Lawyers say many of the whistleblowers allege accounting fraud and foreign bribery at financial and industrial companies.
CARBON PLEA REJECTED
Brussels has rejected the aerospace industry’s call for airlines to be suspended from the EU’s carbon emmissions trading scheme because of fears over a trade global war.
THE TIMES
OLYMPICS FAIL TO RAISE BAR FOR STRATFORD
The forthcoming Olympic Games have failed to make any positive impact on house prices in Stratford, where values have instead underperformed the rest of London during the past four years as purchasers continue to plump for prime residential areas, according to Hometrack.
NEW YORK TOP COMPETITIVE CITY
The Big Apple’s ability to bounce back from economic hardship has helped it to fight off London to claim top slot as the world’s most competitive city.
New York, London and Singapore topped the charts in a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The Daily Telegraph
BRANSON HIKES COST OF CREDIT FOR VIRGIN MONEY CARD CUSTOMERS
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money, which recently bought Northern Rock, has increased interest rates on its credit cards by almost 50 per cent in the latest blow to consumers already hit by rising mortgage rates.
VIJAY MALLYA’S KINGFISHER AIRLINE CANCELS MORE FLIGHTS
Kingfisher, the low-cost Indian airline controlled by the brewing billionaire Vijay Mallya, has been forced to cancel dozens of flights after staff began unofficial industrial action claiming they had not been paid. The carrier issued a statement blaming “employee agitation on delayed salaries”.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
LARRY KING TO HOST SHOW ON NEW INTERNET TV NETWORK
Former CNN talk-show host Larry King is reprising his old role in a new format with the launch of an internet television network backed by Mexican telecom billionaire Carlos Slim. Ora.TV will stream shows to computers, tablets, phones and other devices.
LIQUOR GIANTS SAVOUR RISING SCOTCH DEMAND
Europe’s liquor giants are jostling to tap into a growing thirst around the world for Scotch whisky. Producers such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard are ramping up capacity across Scotland to meet rising demand from countries like Asia, Africa and Latin America.