In today’s newspapers: Barclays Boss bonus is deferred, business misunderstood and is paying enough tax, James Murdoch may have to leave company and $100bn for Facebook
FINANCIAL TIMES
BARCLAYS CHIEF TO DEFER PART OF BONUS
By Daniel Schäfer and Kate Burgess in London
Bob Diamond has promised higher dividends and pledged to forgo parts of his bonus for 2011 until Barclays has improved profitability, in a last-minute bid by the bank’s chief executive to fend off an investor rebellion over his pay package.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
BIG BUSINESS MUST 'FIGHT BACK' AGAINST TAX-DODGING 'MYTH' SAYS CBI
By James Hurley
Businesses must "fight back" against the perception that aggressive tax dodging is standard practice among the UK's largest companies, the CBI has said. It said public anger over tax avoidance and evasion stems from "misunderstanding" of the complexities of the tax system. John Cridland, the CBI's director general, said: "Business is paying its fair share of tax – we are much misunderstood. "
DAILY TELEGRAPH
JAMES MURDOCH 'COULD LEAVE NEWS CORP TO SAVE HIMSELF FROM FBI PROBE'
By Katherine Rushton
News Corporation could be forced to sever all ties with James Murdoch in order to save him from harsher punishments under US law, a leading corporate crime lawyer has warned. Mr Murdoch is facing renewed pressure in the US following the arrest of The Sun's royal editor over alleged payments to public officials. According to US lawyers, Mr Murdoch could have his personal assets seized and could be jailed if Mr Larcombe or any other member of News International's staff is found guilty of bribing police of government officials outside the US.
GUARDIAN
AQUASCUTUM TO CLOSE CORBY FACTORY WITH LOSS OF 115 JOBS
Josephine Moulds
Trenchcoat-maker Aquascutum is shutting down its factory in Corby with the loss of 115 jobs, after falling into administration earlier this week. The move prompted a furious response from the GMB trade union which is considering mounting a legal challenge to the redundancies.
GUARDIAN
IMF CHIEF CHRISTINE LAGARDE IN LAST-DITCH STRUGGLE TO RAISE FUNDS
Larry Elliott in Washington
There are fresh fears that the International Monetary Fund is short of emergency cash. Christine Lagarde is struggling to raise funds. The IMF’s managing director was lobbying hard for Britain and other developed nations that have yet to pledge money to build a bigger firewall to provide more than $400bn (£250bn) in fresh resources.
THE SUN
GREEDY BANKERS DRIVE ME POTTY
By Steve Hawkes, Business Editor
Ceramics manufacturer Emma Bridgewater said it was simply “not true” that banks were lending out cash to small companies. She said firms can’t even get an overdraft, despite banks’ claims that there’s no demand for money from the business community.
DAILY MAIL
Facebook to float on stock market on 17 May
By Rob Waugh
Facebook is to go public on May 17th, according to multiple sources. The world's biggest social network is expected to seek a $100billion valuation, the most anticipated stock offering from Silicon Valley since Google went public in 2004.
DAILY EXPRESS
GLAXO BID FOR US PARTNER IS REBUFFED
By Phillip Waller
Drugs group GlaxoSmithKline yesterday kicked off a £1.6billion takeover battle for the US company Human Genome Sciences only to see its offer rejected. Glaxo offered £8.10 per share for the company, which does gene research to develop new drugs, but the group rejected the bid as inadequate.
THE SCOTSMAN
NOKIA RINGS UP MASSIVE LOSSES AS SALES FREEFALL
By Scott Reid
The clock continued to tick down for Nokia racked up a massive quarterly loss, a slump in turnover and its sales chief was leaving. The Finnish group reported a net loss of €929 million (£760m) in the first quarter. The loss compared with a net profit of €344m a year earlier, while revenues fell by 30 per cent to €7.4 billion.
WWW.BBC.CO.UK
OFT WARNS OVER 'MISLEADING' BUSINESS NAMES
A regulator has warned businesses to avoid using "misleading or undesirable" trading names. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can rule against names that mislead customers about commercial status. It is particularly concerned about firms that imply they are charities or government agencies.
