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WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING(City A.M. (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Lenovo completes Motorola purchase Chinese technology group Lenovo completed the $2.91bn purchase of smartphone maker Motorola Mobility from Google yesterday, creating the world's third-biggest maker of smartphones. Lenovo and Google announced they had finalised the deal, which was initially floated nine months ago. Given the prickly state of US-China relations, and the complexity of the deal, which had to be approved by authorities in the US, China, EU, Brazil and Mexico, as well as by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, many analysts believed that Lenovo's target for closing the deal by the end of 2014 was too optimistic. New 'metro' mayor for Manchester George Osborne is to announce plans for a new mayor of Greater Manchester and a package of additional powers for the metropolitan region as the Conservatives and Labour compete to devolve more powers to the regions. The deal for Greater Manchester, which the Treasury is finalising today, comes amid a renewal of devolutionary fervour in the wake of the hotly contested referendum on Scottish independence. The chancellor is seeking to create a "northern powerhouse" to raise the growth rate of the north and build the Conservatives' support base beyond its southern heartlands. Over 18 years, the north has grown at an average nominal growth of 3.9 per cent a year, when the whole UK was averaging more than 4.4 per cent. Rio set to write off $2.5bn on mine Rio Tinto looks set to take a $2.5bn writedown on its huge but troubled copper project in Mongolia. Construction of the $5bn (£3.1bn) Oyu Tolgoi mine has become ensnared in a tax dispute with the government. The mine has the potential to transform an economy that is on a par with Angola or Swaziland in national income per head. The International Monetary Fund says that it will be responsible for a third of the country's GDP growth by the time it is operational. Rio had flagged at its half-year results in August that it may have to write down the value of the project if the delays continued. Its value has shrunk from $9.9bn to $7.4bn during the past year. Uprising sweeps through Burkina Faso The fate of one of Africa's longest-serving leaders hung in the balance last night as a popular uprising swept Burkina Faso and black smoke billowed from the parliament building. President Blaise Campaore, who seized power in a coup in 1987, became the target of one of the few popular insurrections in the history of sub-Saharan Africa. The trigger for the unrest was Campaore's attempt to rewrite the constitution to allow himself to seek re-election next year. As the vote was due to take place, thousands of people stormed parliament. They set the building ablaze, looted government offices and burst inside the headquarters of state television in the capital, Ouagadougou. Live Nation on track for record year Live Nation Entertainment said third-quarter profit rose sharply as the industry outlook remains "robust". The concert promoter also said it is on track for "another record year". For the quarter ended 30 September, the company said net income attributable to common shareholders was $105.2m. McDonald's plans US structure change McDonald's is eliminating layers of management and creating a new organisational structure in the US as it seeks to better respond to consumer tastes amid falling sales and profits. The fastfood giant has acknowledged that some customers are leaving due to service problems. (c) 2014 City A.M. |