Thursday newspaper round-up: Zero-hour contracts, The City, Channel 5

1st May 2014 07:21

The number of workers on zero-hours contracts has almost tripled to 1.4m since last year's estimate, according to official data on Wednesday that piled pressure on Vince Cable, the business secretary, to provide more safeguards for workers with no guaranteed minimum hours or pay. More than one in 10 employers are using such contracts, which are most likely to be offered to women, young people and people over 65. - The GuardianThe future of the City of London is under threat after the European Union's highest court threw out a British legal challenge against plans for a financial transaction tax, Boris Johnson has warned. The Mayor of London attacked the "barmy" EU tax and warned that the latest defeat in the EU courts raised "serious questions" over the government's ability to defend the City's financial sector from damaging European regulation. - The Daily TelegraphRichard Desmond is set to complete the sale of Channel 5 to the owner of MTV for up to £450m. The deal, which is expected to be announced by Viacom in New York today or tomorrow, marks the first time that an American broadcaster has bought one Britain's five free-to-air channels. The purchase price, however, falls well short of the ambitious £700m target set by Mr Desmond, who also owns the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers. - The TimesWM Morrison today unveils permanent price cuts on hundreds of products such as sausages, crisps and salmon to help "smart" shoppers with their budgets. The supermarket will cut prices by an average 17% across 1,200 products. Chief executive Dalton Philips said: "Customers have been so smart shopping in five different stores a week to get best value. "They are getting tired of phoney, tit-for-tat price wars. We're going to be cheaper permanently on the products that matter most to them. It's our declaration of independence." - Daily ExpressThe company that advised the government not to raise its flotation price for Royal Mail made £8m from selling its shareholding within a week. The asset management division of Lazard, adviser for the initial public offering, was one of sixteen institutions given priority access to the shares, which Labour said amounted to a "golden ticket". As the price soared, it cashed in its six?million shares, the head of the division told the Commons public accounts committee. - The TimesA 50% slump in profits and a government crackdown on its most lucrative business would not normally be a cause for celebration, but, after the year Ladbrokes has had, it's all relative. Shares in the embattled bookmaker jumped by 9.9p to 153.3p, a rise of almost 7%, as the market breathed a sigh of relief that the group's recent dismal run of luck did not get any worse. - The TimesAB