News digest 14 March 2011
It’s a sombre start to the day’s digest as
the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan leads all papers. On the
domestic front Clegg claims he has a soul, and the NHS is safe in
his hands, Labour outlines an alternative, research shows overpaid
bosses don’t deliver as RBS dishes out more lolly to senior staff,
food and drink exports are up, there’s no agreement on a drinks
code and Kraft’s boss refuses to come to the table, again.
Devastation – An earthquake
of magnitude 9.0 and the subsequent tsunami that hit Japan last
Friday dominate the headlines. In minutes whole swathes of the
country have changed beyond recognition. Tens of thousands of
people are missing, there are two million homes without power,
380,000 people in emergency shelters and tens of thousands more
missing. The government has pumped some £60 billion into the
economy to support the stock market, the cost of repairing damaged
infrastructure is expected to be at least £6 billion and another £9
billion on buildings. The immediate danger is now the fear of a
nuclear meltdown, while Japanese nuclear authorities are exercising
cautious optimism a number of explosions have seen the exclusion
zone widened (Mirror p1-7,
Sun p1-9, Express p4-7, Mail p1-10, Times p1/4-9, Indie p1-9, Guardian p1-8, Telegraph p1-6, FT p1/8-10, Morning Star p1/7).
Clegg’s pledge: “We will not privatise
the NHS” – The main domestic news over the weekend was the
Lib Dem spring conference in Sheffield with a pledge from Clegg on
the NHS, we all know how much you can trust his pledges. As 5,000
people lined up outside to demonstrate against the coalition and
its cuts’ agenda many of the papers report that health secretary
Andrew Lansley is saying that his health reforms are now ‘under
review’ while Nick Clegg appeals to his party saying he has not
lost his soul, I presume that means he’s just sold it… (Mirror p8, Sun p2, Express p17, Mail p12, Times p15, Indie p12, Guardian p12, Telegraph p9, FT p2, Morning Star p2)
AV event cancelled – And a
row between Clegg and Miliband sees a Yes to AV event cancelled
after the rival parties could not agree on speakers, all this as
the polls switched for the first time with 34 per cent in favour
and now 37 per cent against, although for most people the poll is
under the radar even if it is just seven weeks away (Guardian p13, FT p2, Morning Star p5).
Labour’s alternative – And
Miliband and Balls are to call on the government to cut VAT on fuel
to help support ordinary people while also calling for a tax on
bankers’ bonuses to boost jobs and the construction sector
especially as the Times
(p42) says there will be a shortage of 750,000 homes by 2025
(Mirror p14, Sun p2, Telegraph p16).
The Tory tonic – And a few
papers trail Osborne’s budget next week with the Express (p1) talking of fuel tax
cuts and a flat rate pension, while the Sun (p2) and Express (p25) say long term
unemployed will be forced to do compulsory unpaid work or lose
benefits, the Mirror (p9)
and FT (p2) trail the more ominous
plans to exempt small businesses from so called red-tape which
could even see plans to end maternity leave, how nice…
Slashing school staff – The
Guardian (p16) reports
that schools are looking to make a fifth of their staff redundant
in anticipation of huge budget cuts as the number of senior
teachers seeking advice on how to dismiss colleagues has hit a peak
last set in the late 1990s according to the Association of School
and College Leaders.
Fraudulent firms – And the
Guardian (p26) reports
that the treasury may be missing up to £16 billion in unpaid taxes
as almost 500,000 companies disappeared last year without paying
tax or filing accounts, equivalent to almost a quarter of the tax
that is believed to be avoided each year.
Overpaid bosses don’t deliver
– And the Times (p41)
reports on a report from pay specialists Inbucon which states that
extra high salaries do not necessarily lead to greater returns for
investors. Thierry Falque-Pierrotin, the chief executive of Kesa
Electricals - owners of Comet – has the prestigious honour of being
the most overpaid boss in the FTSE 250, other overpaid bosses
include Mike Lawrie, head of Misys, Tony Buckingham of Heritage Oil
and Martin Morgan of the Daily Mail & General Trust.
In the money – And government
backed bank RBS announces that it pays its most senior 300
directors an average of £1 million as it reveals more details about
its bonuses (Telegraph
b3, Morning Star
p5).
Rate rise risk – And
accountancy firm BDO warns that any rise in interest rates will
choke of the UK’s fragile recovery (Indie p36).
Exports up – But there is
good news for exporters. The Guardian reports that there has
been a 70 per cent rise in arms exports from the UK over the past
four years while the Indie (p37) notes that exports
of food and drink (excluding alcohol) have now hit £10 billion…
No half measures – But
leading health organisations have snubbed government plans for a
new drinks code or ‘responsibility deal’ saying that health
secretary Lansley has allowed the drinks industry to drive the
agenda rather than health providers (Times p13, Guardian p14, Morning Star p4).
Britvic goes global –
Supplier of Robinsons and Tango looks to expand its international
reach via franchises operations (FT p21).
Will she or won’t she? – She
won’t. And a year after the Cadbury takeover Kraft chief Irene
Rosenfeld said she will again refuse to answer MPs questions ahead
of a business select committee meeting tomorrow instead she will
send three middle-ranking managers (Mail p22/63, Indie p38). The Times (p37) quotes Unite’s
Jennie Formby: “We have a two-year guarantee that there
will be no manufacturing job losses, but none of us is daft enough
to think that nothing is going to happen after
that.”
Have a mojo? – Not the 1970s
chewy sweet, Hague hits back at his detractors saying he still has
his mojo (Sun p2, Express p2, Mail p12).
Droning on – And BAE and
Dassault have signed a joint deal to build a self piloting drone
for surveillance purposes (Telegraph b3).
Getting on? - Is there less
turbulence ahead, new BA boss Keith Williams indicates possible
fresh start under his new leadership (Guardian p26).
Fill up your trolley for
flights – And finally some good news from the Express (p56) for easyJet customers
that shop at Sainsbury’s. The airline is the latest company to join
the Nectar loyalty scheme which will allow points to be exchanged
for flights to 550 destinations, no mention of whether buying beef
puts you in cattle class and champagne at the front…
Edited by Mik Sabiers
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