Wednesday paper round-up: EADS, Barclays, Google

10th Mar 2010 06:34

Lord Mandelson has tried to head off a transatlantic trade war by expressing concern at Washington's handling of a $35bn Pentagon procurement project that could spark European retaliation.At the centre of the row are allegations made by EADS that the Pentagon has skewed the terms of a competitive tender to favour Boeing. EADS, the owner of Airbus, and its American partner Northrop Grumman said on Monday night that they were pulling out of the race to build air refuelling tankers for the US Air Force, the Times reports.Barclays is looking at buying a large US retail bank as it tries to rebalance its business away from a booming investment banking franchise. According to people briefed on the plan, Antony Jenkins, the new head of Barclays' retail banking activities, is preparing a strategy paper that will go to the board in the next two to three months, the FT reports.Fitch Ratings has delivered a serious blow to the credibility of the Government's budget plans, warning that Britain risks a loss of investor confidence and erosion of its AAA rating unless it maps out clear austerity measures. Brian Coulton, the agency's head of sovereign ratings, said the UK has seen "the most rapid rise in the ratio of public debt to GDP of any AAA-rated country" and is courting fate with its leisurely plan to halve the deficit by the middle of the decade, the Telegraph reports.Germany and France are stepping up the pressure for urgent action by the European Union to regulate speculation in sovereign debt markets, in the wake of the Greek debt crisis. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, called on Tuesday for the "fastest possible" adoption of new rules to clamp down on the most speculative elements of derivatives trading, including so-called naked transactions, which do not hedge the value of real assets, the FT reports.Google, the internet giant, is believed to be testing a new technology which will allow consumers to search programme listings on their own television sets. The new product, which utilises parts of Google's Android mobile operating system, also lets users find and watch YouTube video clips on their televisions. The system, details of which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is currently on trial in a small number of homes belonging to Google employees and their families. The exact trial size not currently known, the Telegraph reports.Merlin Entertainments, the private equity-owned operator of attraction parks, held the door open to a potential flotation later this year as it revealed that it was on track for another record performance in 2010. The operator of the London Eye and Alton Towers withdrew plans for a £2bn initial public offering (IPO) last month after potential investors were spooked by the volatility of the equity markets, the Independent reports.Meanwhile, Ferrous Resources, the emerging Brazilian iron ore producer, has revived plans for a London flotation that could be worth $3bn-$4bn. The company could come to market as early as May, according to people familiar with its planning, the FT reports.City law firms are preparing to raise millions of pounds from external investors as the British legal market braces for its own version of Big Bang. At least 20 firms are planning to raise outside funding under rules that will allow non-lawyers to own a stake in legal practices for the first time, accountants advising the firms told The Times. Three of these firms are planning to raise a war chest for acquisitions of more than £20m, either through an initial public offering or from private equity investors.Ark Therapeutics, the AIM-listed pharmaceuticals group, said yesterday that it would consider offers for the company after its potential brain cancer treatment, Cerepro, was rejected by European regulators. The European Medicines Agency's oncology advisory group refused to reverse a decision it made last December, when it said that the drug did not sufficiently demonstrate that patients gained any clinical benefit after using Cerepro, the Independent reports.New York state is to examine the amount of taxes paid by Wall Street bankers as it tries to narrow its ballooning $9.2bn budget deficit in an attempt to fend off financial collapse. The state -America's third-largest by population - is considering a raft of drastic measures similar to those enacted by California to stay afloat. The measures, such as enforced, unpaid holidays for state workers and issuing IOU's, are being discussed alongside targeting the state's most lucrative asset: New York's financial centre, the Telegraph reports.Shore Capital, the London-based stockbroking house, is moving its head office to Guernsey in a bid to save tax and find a more benign home for its internationally expanding business. Shore, which is currently headquartered in the West End of London, will move at the end of the month as part of a revamp designed to demerge a German property fund it rescued last year, the Times reports.A company director who tricked thousands of people out of their savings by promising them a fivefold return on their investment was convicted yesterday of a £34m Ponzi fraud. Kevin Foster was remanded in custody to await sentence next month after being found guilty of 14 counts of theft and deception. Harrow Crown Court in London had been told that he had attracted investments in his KF Concept firm through roadshows at hotels and conference centres, where he promised high returns on gambling and network marketing schemes, the Times reports.