News digest 22 February 2011
It’s a quieter day on the domestic front,
so much so the government tries to squeeze out plans to privatise
everything under the radar and instead of running the country it
looks to break strikes that have not even been called. There’s more
MoD cuts, the census is challenged, financial worries for ordinary
people, a banker tears into bonuses while there’s a big error at
Halifax, trouble on the roads, but not the buses and a not so easy
lunch in the air, Carlsberg goes down badly while Diageo gets some
Turkish delight…
Privatise everything -
Cameron’s (fat) cat has been let out of the bag as the article in
yesterday’s Telegraph is dissected by many of the papers. The
Morning Star (p1)
says the plan paves the way for a sell off of all state assets to
private companies. The Guardian (p8) reports on David
Kirby – the newly appointed head of Downing Street’s policy
development department – who says radical reform of public services
will need to be extended through the whole public sector,
effectively arguing the power of the market should rule while the
Indie (p13) looks at
how more privatisation could work in practice. The (Mirror p6) also quotes Kirby saying
that the plans will create a ‘bleeding edge’ as the cuts bite while
the FT (p2) highlights Cameron’s
call saying he does not want state owned monopolies, does that mean
he wants private monopolies? I think we should be told…
Anti-strike plan – And as
unions start to mobilise thousands of members the government has
upped the rhetoric and many papers report on plans to break any
national strike that may be called by unions. The scaremongering is
covered in the Mail (p10)
and Indie (p12) the
latter quoting the TUC’s Brendan Barber: "Instead of
'war-gaming' how best to break strikes, [the] government should
concentrate on reaching agreement on how best to move forward on
key issues such as pensions and public service
reform."
More MoD cuts – Jets and jobs
at risk as ministry tries to plug £1 billion shortfall while
defence secretary Liam Fox says he will name and shame defence
companies that fail to deliver military projects on time (Times p14, Guardian p11, Telegraph p4, FT p2).
Arm sales defended – And
Cameron defends taking along arms companies on his tour of the
Middle East, not really the best timing with current events in the
region (Times p1,
Indie p6, Guardian p1).
Census challenge – And quite
a few papers cover the upcoming census with the overall costs
challenged, although councils will benefit from every person
identified. There are the usual concerns about the cost and also
about how many questions must be answered and privacy implications,
the overall cost is expected to be £482 million and will provide
work for 35,000 field staff and researchers/analysts everywhere
(Express p7, Mail p2, Times p13, Indie p14, Telegraph p10, Morning Star p4).
Financial gloom – And a poll
of the public in the Telegraph (p2) says 40 per cent
of people expect their finances to worsen this year while the
Sun (p40) also says 25 per
cent of shoppers have switched to own brand labels to cope with the
downturn…
Banker tears into bonuses –
And finally a top banker denounces bonuses, unfortunately it’s the
French head of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Khan who may throw
his hat into the ring for the French presidency. The Telegraph (b5) reports DSK
denouncing bonuses saying it is ‘scandalous’ that bankers are
enjoying bonuses rivalling that of the pre-crash era, no argument
from me there…
Halifix – £500 million bill
after interest rate blunder by Halifax over capped rates, parent
Lloyds Banking Group will report its annual results on Friday
(Mirror p50, Sun p40, Express p2, Mail p66, Times p31, Indie p33, Guardian p25, Telegraph b1, FT p1).
Assetco asks – And the
FT (p20) reports that the company
that owns London’s fire engines is to ask shareholders for £8
million to pay off debts as it became embroiled in a dispute over
unattended vehicles that now needed repairs (Morning Star p4).
No Helphire – Car crash
claims firm - which provides cars and handles cases for
blameless drivers - has slashed its workforce by 51 per cent over
past three years as profits dipped to £3.6 million for the second
half of 2010 (Mirror
p50).
Petrol price rising – Fear
that with oil price at two year high drivers could be forced off
the roads (Express p5,
Guardian p24).
Bus crime at six year low –
Safety on London buses best for six years as levels drop by 30 per
cent (Guardian p10).
Network Rail admits failings
– Company admits safety errors that led to the deaths of seven
people at the Potters Bar rail crash. The company could face a fine
of over £100,000 (Express
p7, Times p13, Indie p14, Guardian p9, Telegraph p10, FT p4).
Network Rail reorganisation –
And the rail company also plans a management shake up (Telegraph b5).
BMWi – And the car company
joins the ‘i’ bandwagon, this time it will be a new electric and
hybrid vehicle series to be built at a new €400 million factory on
Leipzig (FT p23).
BAA blunder – Off to the
skies and the airport operator’s chief executive Colin Matthews
said BAA should have been more prepared for snow; the firm is
doubling its fleet of snow clearance vehicles to more than 100
(Indie p36).
Not so easyLunch – Airline
apologises over food mix up on flights to Israel where the choice
for its customers was either a ham or bacon sandwich (Sun p20).
Carlsberg goes down badly – A
different type of lunch and probably the worst set of results for a
while as the Danish brewer sees fourth quarter profits fall by 21
per cent as the group is hit by a tax rise in Russia, although the
brand has become the largest sold in UK off-licences and
supermarkets (Mail p69,
Times p36, FT p22).
Diageo deal – And finally the
drinks giant signs £1.3 billion deal to buy Turkish drinks firm Mei
Icki the largest producer of Turkey’s national tipple raki
(Mirror p50, Sun p40, Express p45, Mail p66, Times p39, Indie p34, Guardian p, Telegraph b5, FT p20).
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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