Wednesday newspaper round-up: BP, Ocado, Easyjet

21st Jul 2010 06:37

Tony Hayward is to step down as BP's chief executive within the next ten weeks as the company seeks to draw a line under its disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.Sources close to BP, which is battling to restore its reputation and stave off a takeover, told The Times that there was a growing expectation that Mr Hayward, 53, would announce his departure in late August or September. Assuming the ruptured Macondo well has been permanently sealed by then, his exit is expected before October 1. It could be linked to an announcement on a new strategy being crafted for the group, dubbed Future BP, the Times reports.Meanwhile, BP shares enjoyed relative stability on Monday after the US government concluded that seepage near its damaged Gulf of Mexico oil well posed no threat. Small amounts of oil and gas were detected near the well at the weekend. However, retired Coast Guard Amiral Thad Allen said on Monday evening that the seepage was "inconsequential" and that pressure inside the well was slowly rising, a positive sign that BP would not need to reopen it and discharge more oil, the Telegraph reports.BP has also announced plans to raise an estimated $8.7bn from asset sales, bringing the embattled oil group close to its initial target of raising $10bn from disposals to help pay for the cost of its huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the cash will come from a $7bn deal with Apache, the US independent oil and gas company, which is buying onshore gas assets in the US, Canada and Egypt, the FT reports.The owners of Ocado have been forced to slash its share price by 20% to get its ambitious flotation away. The online grocer's advisers, led by Goldman Sachs, repriced the offer at the eleventh hour last night in the face of wilting investor appetite, cutting Ocado's potential value from £1.1 bin to £720m if the shares are priced at 180p. The price range, which had been set at between 200p and 275p, was cut last night to between 180p and 200p, the Times reports.EasyJet founder Sir Stelios HajiIoannou has raised hostilities with the budget airline to a new level by threatening to withdraw its right to use the brand. Lawyers for easyGroup, Sir Stelios's private holding company, which owns the "easy" brand and licences it, have written to easyJet threatening to withdraw its permission to use the name unless the company improves its performance by October 17, the Times reports.BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defence company, is expected to announce an order from India for Hawk trainer aircraft worth around £500m in the coming weeks. Negotiations for the contract for between 50 and 60 aircraft are well advanced, and an announcement could come in the next fortnight. BAE declined to comment on the expected deal, other than to say it was "confident that the company will get a contract soon," the Telegraph reports.The aviation industry showed clear signs of recovery from recession with another slew of orders at the biennial Farnborough International Air Show in Hampshire yesterday.The British no-frills carrier Flybe joined the list of major buyers as it placed a $1.3bn (£853m) order for 35 Embraer 175 aircraft from the Brazilian maker. Boeing said it had agreed its second big order this week to supply Air Lease Corporation (ALC) with 54 next-generation Boeing 737-800s, the Independent reports.Unite has lost the "moral authority" to represent the views of its members, British Airways claimed yesterday, after cabin crew rejected what the airline had described as its final offer of a new pay deal. The union, which represents 90 per cent of BA's 12,000 cabin crew, said 67 per cent of its members had rejected the offer. Unite said yesterday it would now meet cabin crew representatives to discuss the next step, the Independent reports.George Osborne and Vince Cable will spell out next week the dangers of a double-dip recession caused by a drying up of bank lending to Britain's hard-pressed small and medium-sized businesses. A green paper, to be rushed out by the chancellor and business secretary before next week's parliamentary recess, will acknowledge the scale of the lending rationing crisis, which could "abort" the fragile recovery, the Guardian reports.Fears spread yesterday that the quality and security of banknotes worldwide could have been compromised after De La Rue said it had been producing sub-standard paper for central banks and other printers. Shares in De La Rue, whose specialist paper is used in the production of banknotes for 150 countries, fell to a 2½-year low after it said that it had discovered quality and production irregularities, the Times reports.Solid demand for the latest iPhone and iPad tablet computer enabled Apple to report surprisingly robust sales and earnings on Tuesday.The results dispelled fears that the launch of the new products would lead to a bumpy ride for investors. Apple reported revenues of $15.7bn (£10.3bn) for its latest quarter, a jump of 61 per cent and well ahead of the $14.74bn that most analysts had expected. Net income rose 78 per cent to $3.25bn, the FT reports.