Tuesday newspaper round-up: Microsoft/Skype, Greece, renewables

10th May 2011 06:09

Microsoft is in advanced discussions about purchasing Skype, the internet telephone company, a person close to the company said, in what would be one of the US technology company's largest deals as it seeks to revitalise its business. A deal between the two companies could be announced as early as Tuesday, according to the person familiar with the talks, the Financial Times reports.Investors in Greek debt may have to write-off 50% of their loans "or more" if financial stability is to be restored to the beleaguered country, a leading rating agency warned. Standard & Poors cut Greece's credit rating from BB- to B, dragging its debt further into junk territory to reflect its more gloomy views. Greece hit back at the downgrade, angrily denying any imminent restructuring., the Telegraph reports.Uncertainty over the Government's energy policy risks creating an "investment hiatus" that will stall Britain's renewable sector, according to a survey by KPMG. Three quarters of companies said they would have invested more in Britain over the past three years if regulation was clearer and more consistent, according to the Times.The UK faces a "stable, albeit slow" rate of expansion over the next six months, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the "club" for the world's leading advanced economies. The outlook will come as a disappointment for ministers, both because of their previous boasts about OECD backing for their policies and because the reality of lower growth will push government borrowing higher, according to the Independent.Similarly, Britain's faces weaker economic growth than expected but must stick to George Osborne's deficit-busting plans, business leaders warn today. The recovery from recession will be 'modest, patchy, difficult and rather bumpy', according to the CBI's report - but growth would be even weaker under Labour's plans to cut the deficit more slowly, according to the Daily Mail.Utility bills are set to hit a record this year after the owner of British Gas signalled that another rise was imminent, only months after the latest round of price increases. Analysts predicted that energy suppliers, some of whom have already begun to withdraw their cheapest tariffs, would increase bills by about 10% by the end of the year. Centrica said that another rise was likely because wholesale gas costs had increased 25% since it announced a price rise in November, the Times reports.Interest rates may have to be held at 1% or below for up to five years as the risk of deflation and a significant period of low growth threaten the economy, former Bank of England maverick David Blanchflower warned yesterday. The former monetary policy committee (MPC) member told a 1,300-strong audience in Edinburgh that the current high rate of inflation, which stands at 4%, is only a temporary phenomenon and will drop "dramatically quickly soon", the Scotsman reports.