Thursday's newspaper round-up: Consumer confidence, WPP, Nestle

15th Apr 2010 06:18

Consumer confidence plunged last month at the sharpest rate since the beginning of the recession amid growing uncertainty over the election, reports the Times. Nationwide's index of consumer sentiment slipped to 72, from 81 in February, wiping out all the gains seen since December.The advertising group WPP would consider moving back to Britain if a new government reformed the taxation of overseas profits, its chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell said, according to the FT.The Times adds Sir Martin Sorrell said that WPP would seriously consider returning its headquarters to the UK should the Tories deliver a key tax reversal.Nestle is bringing its Jenny Craig weight-loss plan to the UK, challenging the dominance of market stalwart WeightWatchers, says the Telegraph.Vodafone, O2 and Orange have confirmed that they would offer the Apple iPad to customers in Britain. Yet, those waiting to get their hands on the device were disappointed yesterday as the US company was forced to delay the worldwide launch of the electronic tablet because of overwhelming demand in its home market, writes the Independent. Lehman Brothers may have grounds to sue Goldman Sachs, Barclays and other firms that bought some of the collapsed bank's assets at a $1.2 billion discount, a court-appointed legal examiner said, reports the Times.Essar Energy's own advisers have warned investors about a "a complex structure and a lack of clarity on the flow of funds between the UK unit and its Indian subsidiaries" - ahead of the company's floatation, says the Telegraph.French prosecutors have launched an investigation into possible money laundering by HSBC private banking clients after buying data stolen by a former employee of the bank, according to the Telegraph.Britain's flexible labour market and pay restraint saved the nation from an even sharper rise in unemployment than in fact occurred, according to the latest analysis from the International Monetary Fund, writes the Independent.A quartet of German professors is to preparing to challenge the EU-IMF rescue for Greece at Germany's constitutional court as soon as the mechanism is activated, claiming that it violates the 'no-bail-out' clause of the EU Treaties, says the Telegraph.While the threat of profit- sapping financial reform looms on the horizon for the major investment banks, one of their number, JPMorgan Chase, showed that for now at least the good times are continuing to roll, reports the Independent.Abercrombie & Fitch is paying its chief executive $4m (£2.5m) to compensate him for curbing his use of the company's corporate jet, reports the Independent.Oleg Deripaska, the chief executive of the Russian aluminium giant Rusal, is to pocket an eye-watering $70.3m (£45.5m) bonus for the flotation of the company, despite the worldwide backlash against exorbitant executive pay and the fact that the group's share price is still under water, according to the Independent.UBS shareholders took the unprecedented step of refusing to exonerate former top executives for the risky investment bets that brought the bank to the verge of collapse during the credit crisis, says the Independent.In cautious remarks on Wednesday that belied Wall Street's gathering optimism, Ben Bernanke warned that the US economy continues to face strong headwinds as it attempts to pull out of the worst recession in a generation, reports the Telegraph.