Monday newspaper round-up: Russia, Rolls Royce, Ladbrokes

3rd Mar 2014 07:30

Europe's two biggest states were on the brink of armed conflict last night after Russia tightened its grip by surrounding Ukrainian military bases and President Putin defended the invasion as "an appropriate response". Ukraine warned that it was "on the brink of disaster" as it put its military on high alert on a day of increasing tensions. - The TimesRolls-Royce is facing a new corruption inquiry over allegations that it paid bribes to win lucrative contracts to supply Hawk trainer jet engines to an aircraft manufacturer owned by the Indian government. According to officials, Indian defence minister A. K. Antony called in detectives from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which handles high-profile cases, after allegations of bribes were made in an anonymous letter. - The TelegraphChris Bell, the former Chief Executive of Ladbrokes, is planning to bring an Israeli gaming marketing company to the London market with a $100m (£60m) capitalisation. Mr Bell, who stood down from the bookmaker in 2010 after a 20-year career, is chairman of XL Media. - The TelegraphResearch to be released today shows that the take-up of industrial space rose by 24% to 94.2m sq ft last year and is expected to grow even further this year. Lambert Smith Hampton said that the "economic recovery, an improving manufacturing sector and the drive by retailers and the e-commerce industry to improve supply chains" was boosting demand. - The Times The surging housing market has broadened out beyond London and the south-east, with prices up in more than half the country for the first time in 10 years, according to data from property researchers Hometrack. In England and Wales, prices rose for 51% of postcodes in February, the highest proportion since July 2004, researchers said. This pushed average prices up 0.7%- the biggest monthly rise since April 2007. - The GuardianBusiness leaders are today calling on the Chancellor to use his upcoming Budget to prioritise measures to boost investment and export trade in order to rebalance the economy. In a wide-ranging submission ahead of George Osborne's March 19th speech, the CBI also proposes bringing in an energy package to encourage investment in generation, amid fears that the lights could go out if new capacity is not created. - The ScotsmanAB