Friday newspaper round-up: Google, Alan Johnson, BSkyB...

21st Jan 2011 06:37

Larry Page sent shockwaves throughout corporate America last night by replacing Eric Schmidt as chief executive of Google and seizing back control of the company he co-founded in 1998.Mr Schmidt, who was hired by Mr Page and Sergey Brin to help to build Google's corporate infrastructure as it grew into a multi-billion dollar powerhouse, will become executive chairman. He will focus on external activities, such as deals, partnerships and government outreach. He will also remain an adviser to the co-founders, the Times reports.Ed Miliband was forced into a hasty reshuffle of his top team yesterday after Alan Johnson abruptly quit frontline politics to cope with turmoil in his private life. Scotland Yard confirmed last night that a police protection officer ? understood to be Paul Rice, Mr Johnson's former bodyguard ? was facing disciplinary proceedings amid allegations that he had an affair with Mr Johnson's wife, Laura. The Labour leader elevated Ed Balls to Shadow Chancellor after the pair held a lengthy late-night conversation in which they squared their differences over the deficit, the Times reports.Rival media owners have told Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, that it would be unacceptable for him to allow News Corp to accelerate its proposed purchase of British Sky Broadcasting by divesting Sky News. On Thursday night, Mr Hunt received a letter from Slaughter and May, the solicitors representing BT, the Guardian Media Group, Daily Mail and General Trust, Trinity Mirror and the Telegraph Media Group, the FT reports.Executives at Royal Bank of Scotland and officials at the Treasury are examining ways in which the part-nationalised bank could secure an early exit from the costly Asset Protection Scheme - an insurance structure designed to provide a government backstop for an original portfolio of £280bn ($445bn) of bad or risky assets. Two people involved in the discussions said it was likely that the bank would leave the scheme by the end of this year, the FT reports.Carolyn McCall's six-month honeymoon at easyJet came to an abrupt end yesterday as a trading update sent the shares into freefall, prompting Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to deliver a stinging rebuke to the new chief executive. What was expected to be a run-of-the-mill Stock Exchange statement covering the Christmas trading period sent the shares tumbling 16%. The day ended with the airline's founder and largest shareholder reprising his attacks of recent months on the management's strategy.Sir Stelios ridiculed Ms McCall for partly blaming £31m of unscheduled losses on "severe weather" and openly queried her recent decision to buy more aircraft, the Times reports.Société Générale fears China has lost control over its red-hot economy and risks lurching from boom to bust over the next year, with major ramifications for the rest of the world. The French bank has told clients to hedge against the danger of a blow-off spike in Chinese growth over coming months that will push commodity prices much higher, followed by a sudden reversal as China slams on the brakes, the Telegraph reports.The world's largest publisher of video games is adding to the woes of the UK industry by shutting down one of its studios. Yesterday's announcement came a few weeks after its chief executive attacked the Government for scrapping planned tax relief for the sector, warning that it could drive software companies abroad. Activision Blizzard, whose releases include Call Of Duty: Black Ops, which grossed $1bn (£626m), decided this week to shut Bizarre Creations, its Liverpool-based subsidiary which employs about 200 staff, the Independent reports. Music piracy is having a devastating effect on new artists, with younger music fans continuing to spurn legal sales channels in favour of illegal sites. Global sales of debut albums have fallen by 77% since 2003 and contributed only $11m (£7m) to Top 50 music chart revenue compared with $48m eight years ago, according to industry statistics. New artists accounted for only 10% of Top 50 revenue globally last year compared with 27% in 2003, the Times reports.Stamp duty on house purchases should be replaced by an annual property tax to improve conditions in the housing market and the economy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said yesterday. The Paris-based think-tank said that hefty stamp duty faced by homebuyers in Britain dampened housing transactions and so limited worker mobility, which it said was one of the key factors for a healthy economy, the Times reports.Cyber-thieves have stolen as much as €30m in carbon allowances from the European Union's emissions trading system, authorities said, as exchanges across Europe halted trading on Thursday. Exchanges including ICE Futures Europe, Nasdaq OMX Commodities Europe and London-based LCH.Clearnet stopped trading of emissions contracts, which are central to the bloc's fight against global warming, the FT reports.