WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
OSBORNE BATTLE OVER WELFARE CUT
Plans by the chancellor to take £10bn a year, or almost £1 in £20, out of the welfare budget are being openly resisted by the department for work and pensions in the first sign of government infighting over the coming spending round. George Osborne made clear in last week’s Budget that further welfare savings were crucial if other departments were to be spared even deeper cuts after 2015.
WORLD BANK SELECTION A ‘HYPOCRISY TEST’
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian finance minister seeking to become the first non-American to lead the World Bank, has warned rich nations that the selection process will test their “level of hypocrisy”.
BALFOUR BEATTY WARNS OF JOB LOSSES
Balfour Beatty, the UK’s biggest construction company, has warned 12,000 staff in the UK they could lose their jobs as a result of the downturn in the building industry. With new infrastructure projects expected to fall sharply after the Olympics in London this year, the FTSE 250 company, which employs 50,000 people worldwide, said it was conducting a consultation process.
THE TIMES
INDIANS HEAD QUEUE FOR MARRIOTT
An Indian property investor has been selected as the preferred bidder for 42 Marriott hotels in the UK after offering almost £750m. Blue Mountain Real Estate Advisors is understood to have won a period of exclusivity to collect funding for a deal.
SAMSUNG BACKS GREEN EXPERIMENT
Britain’s flagging efforts to clean up its dirty power stations have received a boost after Samsung took a 15 per cent stake in an experimental project in South Yorkshire.
The Daily Telegraph
TORY DONORS COULD STOP GIVING TO PARTY
Major Conservative donors are threatening to close their cheque books following the cash-for-access scandal because they are uncomfortable about the negative publicity.
VAUXHALL FACTORY FUTURE STILL UNCLEAR
Uncertainty still hangs over Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port factory despite hopes that a board meeting of General Motors’ European arm on Wednesday would lead to a decision over the plant’s future. A spokeswoman said no decisions had yet been taken.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
REGULATOR CLOSES OLYMPIC PROBE
Japanese securities regulators ended their probe of Olympus, bringing the inquiry into one of the country’s biggest corporate scandals closer to completion. Investigations by police and prosecutors continue, however.
BERTELSMANN CONSIDERS GOING PUBLIC
Bertelsmann AG, in a startling about-face, said it was considering an initial public offering as part of a broader strategic repositioning of the German media group.