WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
ANADARKO SOUNDS OUT BRAZILIAN BUYERS
Anadarko Petroleum has asked advisers to sound out potential buyers for a collection of its Brazilian oil assets in a deal that could be worth up to $5bn, in the latest attempt by oil and gas explorers in the region to attract investment. The US independent oil and gas explorer has instructed bankers including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Scotia Waterous to find buyers for a portfolio of oilfields, which could be valued at $3bn-$5bn.
NESTLE SUPRISES WITH CFO CHOICE
Nestlé, the world’s biggest food group by sales, surprised markets yesterday by opting for a relatively unknown outsider to take charge of its finances.
Wan Ling Martello, a Walmart executive vice-president, will replace Jim Singh, 65, as chief financial officer of the Swiss-based group from April 1.
VIRGIN IN CLOUD OFFER TO FIRMS
Virgin Media is launching its first cloud-based services to business customers as part of a drive to double revenues from its enterprise division in the next five years. Virgin said it would “shake up” the cloud computing market with easy-to-use technology and clear advice. The cloud itself is in effect a service that can provide IT systems such as storage, software and processing from a remote place over a network.
GOOGLE PLANS EAST LONDON TECH CITY BASE
Google is to open a “launchpad” for technology entrepreneurs in a multimillion-pound boost for the government’s “East London Tech City” scheme. The investment in David Cameron’s growth initiative comes after Twitter’s decision to locate a new office in Dublin raised fresh questions over hopes that US technology groups can help stimulate the UK economy.
THE TIEMS
SALMOND WINS BUSINESS LEADERS’ SUPPORT OVER CORPORATION TAX
Alex Salmond received a boost to his campaign for Scotland to win control over corporation tax yesterday when several business figures agreed that a lower tax rate north of the Border would stimulate the Scottish economy. But distillers criticised his wish to also control excise duty as impractical, potentially damaging to the whisky industry and probably illegal under EU law.
FELIXSTOWE OPENS ITS DOORS TO THE NEW GENERATION OF GIANTS
Britain’s pre-eminent port will open a new deepwater terminal today capable of receiving the world’s biggest vessels and increasing trade through Felixstowe by 50 per cent. “The opening of these berths is essential,” said David Gledhill, the chief executive of Hutchison Ports UK, the owner.
The Daily Telegraph
MARKS AND SPENCER HIT WITH £1M ASBESTOS FINE
Marks and Spencer has been hit with a £1m fine for failing to protect customers, staff and workers from potential exposure to asbestos during refurbishment at one of its stores. The long-running case centred on a major refurbishment of its Reading store in 2006.
OLYMPIC GAMES TO POSE A TOUGH CHALLENGE FOR LOGISTICS FIRMS
London’s catering industry faces almost four months of disruption next summer and has little time to plan, one of the country’s leading distributors has warned. Reynolds Catering Supplies, which supplies fresh produce to chains such as Pret a Manger, Pizza Express and Carluccios, said a lack of guidance about road closures during the the Olympics was making planning ahead difficult.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NOKIA’S TROUBLES HIT SUPPLIER
Market struggles at Nokia Corp. have had ripple effects among the company’s major suppliers that could reshape the global supply chain for smartphones. The emerging crisis among suppliers is one more sign of how the continued consumer shift from feature phones to smartphones is upending more mature tech-industry players and remaking the landscape beyond device makers.
SEC EYES RATINGS FROM S&P
US securities regulators are zeroing in on the use by Standard & Poor’s of fictitious “dummy” assets when it assigned a triple-A credit rating to a $1.6bn mortgage-bond deal that imploded during the financial crisis, according to a person familiar with the matter. S&P’s parent company, has received a so-called Wells notice from the SEC.