TODAY’S HEADLINES IN BRIEF: IMF Warning To UK. Government Plans Massive Investment In Infrastructure & Whole Village For Sale For £759,000
DAILY TELEGRAPH
CHRISTINE LAGARDE TELLS BRITAIN TO STEP UP RECOVERY PLAN
By Philip Aldrick, Economics editor
The Bank of England should cut interest rates, print more money and ease the regulatory pressure on banks as part of a radical set of measures to return Britain to recovery, the International Monetary Fund has urged. In an unusually alarmist annual assessment of the UK, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said that "growth is too slow and unemployment too high, and policies to bolster demand before low growth becomes entrenched are needed".
FINANCIAL TIMES
CLEGG SOUNDS NEW ECONOMIC TONE
By George Parker and Chris Giles
The ruling UK coalition is preparing a “massive” increase in state-backed investment in housing and infrastructure, as Nick Clegg signalled a shift from lurid warnings by ministers about the debt crisis to a fresh emphasis on growth. In an interview with the Financial Times, the deputy prime minister sounded a new tone on economic policy, when he said the government’s “absolute priority” was to use the government’s strong balance sheet to inject credit into the economy.
GUARDIAN
MARKS & SPENCER BLAMES WEAK ECONOMY FOR LOWER SALES TARGETS
By Zoe Wood
Marks & Spencer boss Marc Bolland has been forced to slash sales growth targets and store opening plans after tough high street conditions hit profits. Bolland had set out a three-year plan to boost UK group sales by up to £2.5bn but on Tuesday, just one year into the programme, he slashed the top target by 30%, blaming the economic malaise. "Realism has prevailed," he said. "People don't like targets you can't reach."
CITY AM
HIGHER PUBLIC SPENDING PUSHES UP UK BORROWING
By Tim Wallace
Government borrowing jumped in April as spending increased unexpectedly, official figures showed yesterday, although the takeover of the Royal Mail pension fund’s assets skewed the data in the month. The Office for National Statistics officially recorded a budget surplus of £16.5bn in April, compared with a deficit of £16.9bn in March and £9.06bn in April 2011. However, when the £28bn shift of Royal Mail pension assets is removed from the calculation it reveals an £11.5bn deficit, including a £12.4bn deficit in the current budget.
SCOTSMAN
TESCO BOSS TURNS DOWN BONUS
The head of the supermarket giant, Tesco, took responsibility for the organisation’s dismal UK trading today by spurning his annual bonus worth £372,000. Philip Clarke, who receives an annual salary of £1.1 million, was in line to pick up 13.54 per cent of the maximum possible payout but said he decided earlier this year that he would not be accepting an award. He said: “I wasn’t satisfied with the performance in the UK and I won’t take the bonus. I’m confident that we’re tackling the right issues and building a better Tesco for customers, colleagues, shareholders.”
THE SUN
BRMM BRUM BOOMING CAR INDUSTRY DEFIES SLUMP
Exclusive
By Steve Hawkes, Business Editor
Brummie supplier Sertec is showing the road to recovery — by opening a car parts factory in China. Boss Grant Adams revealed the family-run company is taking on the fastest growing country in the world. Sertec will open a factory near Shanghai to supply Jaguar Land Rover — but also other car makers serving the Chinese market.
DAILY MAIL
THOUSANDS HAND BACK THEIR VILLA KEYS AS SPAIN'S ECONOMY TEETERS
By Dan Hyde and Lauren Thompson
Dennis and Christina Powell have always loved Spain. Over the years they had gone there on holiday many times. They love its people, culture and climate so much that in 1999, after retirement, they decided to buy a three-bedroom apartment in Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca. It cost them £36,000. For nine years they escaped the British winter and headed off to their Spanish retreat in the sun.
DAILY EXPRESS
PIN SCAM RINGS UP £1.5 M IN LOSSES
By Esther Shaw
Consumers are being warned to watch out for a new phone scam where fraudsters dupe people into revealing their Pin numbers. More than £1.5 million has been lost to this crime, with £750,000 stolen in the first four months of 2012, the same amount stolen through the whole of 2011, according to the Payments Council. Account holders are called by someone claiming to be from their bank and told a debit or credit card needs collecting following fraud on their account.
…AND FINALLY ….
WWW.BBC.CO.UK
The American village used to portray District 12 in the film version of The Hunger Games is going up for sale. The run-down, coal-mining area is an abandoned textile mill from the 1920s called Henry River Mill Village in North Carolina. The auction house says it will be sold for at least $1.2 million (£759,000) in July. District 12 is home to the heroes of the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark and Gale Hawthorne. It is being sold by its owner, 83-year-old Wade Shepherd, who said he had become overwhelmed when the property turned into a hot spot for Hunger Games fans coming to see the Everdeens' shanty home and the Mellark family bakery.
