HEADLINES IN BRIEF: NEW FOOD CRISIS, MICROSOFT HEARS HARD NEWS OF FIRST LOSS, LLOYDS DEAL ROBS TAXPAYER AND SOMEONE HAS STOLEN HASSELHOFF
FINANCIAL TIMES
WORLD BRACED FOR NEW FOOD CRISIS
By Jack Farchy in London and Gregory Meyer in New York
The world is facing a new food crisis as the worst US drought in more than 50 years pushes agricultural commodity prices to record highs. Corn and soyabean prices surged to record highs on Thursday, surpassing the peaks of the 2007-08 crisis that sparked food riots in more than 30 countries. Wheat prices are not yet at record levels but have rallied more than 50 per cent in five weeks, exceeding prices reached in the wake of Russia’s 2010 export ban.
GUARDIAN
RECORD CEREAL PRICES STOKE FEARS OF GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS
By Josephine Moulds
Record cereal prices are prompting fears of escalating food costs around the world and drawing comparisons with the 2007-08 crisis, when food riots broke out across the globe. While the UK is drowning in rain, the US has suffered one of the worst droughts in more than half a century, withering the country's corn crop. The US is crucial to global food markets as the world's largest exporter of corn, soya beans and wheat, accounting for one in every three tonnes of the grains traded on the global market.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
MICROSOFT REPORTS FIRST EVER LOSS AS PUBLIC COMPANY
Microsoft has suffered its first quarterly loss in 26 years following an accounting adjustment to reflect a weak online ad business. Microsoft's fortunes are tied to the October release of Windows 8, the most extreme redesign of the company's flagship operating system since 1995. The software company had warned that it was taking a $6.2bn (£3.9bn) charge because its 2007 purchase of online ad service aQuantive hasn't yielded the returns envisioned by management, AP reports.
DAILY EXPRESS
LLOYDS BANK SELL-OFF ‘ROBS THE TAXPAYER’
By David Shand
A DEAL to offload 632 Lloyds branches to the Co-op for up to £750million came under fire yesterday for short-changing the UK taxpayer. The price tag is much less than the original expectation of £1.5billion, although the size of the business being transferred has been reduced from £64billion to £24billion. Customer assets and liabilities have also been matched, leaving no funding gap.
FINANCIAL TIMES
COALITION CLASH OVER GREEN ENERGY
By George Parker and Pilita Clark
George Osborne is blocking a new subsidy regime for renewable energy, as he fights a coalition battle with the Liberal Democrats to ensure gas remains central to Britain’s future power needs. The chancellor fears overgenerous support for wind power and other renewable sources will deter investment in gas-fired power stations, which he believes offer businesses and consumers the prospect of lower bills in future.
DAILY MAIL
HALFORDS BOSS DAVID WILD QUITS AS PROFITS AT THE RETAILER TUMBLE
By Rupert Steiner
Halfords boss David Wild was told to get on his bike after posting another profit warning following a string of problems that saw the firm’s value halve since 2010. The bicycles and car parts retailer said the time was right for a change at the top and Wild, a former Tesco veteran, was axed with immediate effect.
THE SCOTSMAN
SPORTS DIRECT STAFF CASH IN AS IT DEFIES THE GLOOM WITH SALES AND PROFIT SURGE
By Scott Reid
The sun shone on Sports Direct yesterday as Britain’s biggest sporting clothes and goods retailer recorded a strong rise in full-year profits, triggering windfalls for hundreds of staff. The firm, with almost 400 UK stores, posted underlying profits of £240.5 million for the 53 weeks to 29 April, a rise of almost 12 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Sales jumped 13 per cent to £1.84 billion.
CITY AM
BORDER STRIKE SCHEDULED FOR OLYMPICS EVE
By Marion Dakers
HOME Office workers have said they will strike next Thursday, on the eve of the Olympics, unless the government agrees to talk over pay and job cuts. Staff at the Border Agency, passport services and the Criminal Records Bureau are due to walk out on 26 July, the Public and Commercial Services union confirmed yesterday, in a move the CBI said “beggars belief”.
WWW.BBC.CO.UK
YAHOO'S NEW BOSS MARISSA MAYER COULD SEE PAY TOP $70M
Technology firm Yahoo has revealed the remuneration package it has offered to new chief executive Marissa Mayer could top $70m (£45m). Ms Mayer's basic salary will be $1m a year, but shares and share options, along with other potential rewards, could make it far more lucrative.
…..AND FINALLY ……
THE METRO
DAVID HASSELHOFF CUT-OUTS STOLEN IN SPREE OF THEFTS OUTSIDE US STORES
The giant boards have been taken from outside the convenience stores in recent weeks, and now only 20 remain from roughly 570 stores in New England and Florida, the company's brand strategy expert Kate Ngo said
