StockMarketWire.com - A brief summary of Thursday's main business headlines... Extensive comment on QE, Shell bid for Cove, Peacocks rescue, RBS, Centrica, Hays.

FINANCIAL TIMES

Germany fights eurozone firewall moves - Berlin confident in €500bn European Stability Mechanism

Obama and Romney unveil rival tax plans - Proposals show strong support for reform

SFO admits Tchenguiz case errors - Apology to UK property tycoon over Kaupthing investigation

HP printer business facing challenges - Position as the company’s cash cow threatened

Doubt cast on ‘faster than light’ finding

Schneider Electric in downbeat forecast

France Telecom to cut dividend

Dublin to sell up to €3bn in state assets

Shell offers £1bn for Cove Energy

US prime money funds raise eurozone exposure - Managers remain vigilant about bank risk

PMI data show eurozone closer to recession - Private sector economic activity back in contraction territory

Record sterling oil price sparks fears - Crude’s rally in European currencies will hit economic growth

RBS bonus cuts offset by big salary increases

Israel eyes break-up of conglomerates

Russian link in $150m fraud claim

Olympus is litmus test on governance

Lex Column: US company profits: tax and bend - Shareholders hate tax – but constantly adapting to distortions is annoying too

BNP Paribas: diet dilemma - Deleveraging ticks the capital box, but it needs capital to support growth

Wilmar: greasing investors palms - Palm oil producer reported a 21% profit rise but disappointed investors

France Telecom: dialling out - Severe caution on 2012 outlook could leave investors confused

Cove Energy: shelling out for gas - The oil and gas exploration sector is back in the spotlight after Shell’s £1bn takeover

Accor: room for improvement? - The hotel chain will almost double its annual pay-out: can it keep up the pace?

THE TIMES

Peugeot and GM look at European tie-up

Workers pay heavy price for Peacocks rescue

Pressure forces RBS to slash bonus pool

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Tchenguiz case could collapse after SFO admits to evidence mistakes

Obama slashes tax rate

Spain asks for easier deficit reduction targets

RBS freezes senior staff pay amid '£1bn loss'

Centrica takes an expensive dip in the North Sea

UK housing market heading for 'lost decade'

Bank of England considered even more QE - Pound dives on fears Bank of England will print more money

50p tax rate is 'failing to boost revenues’

Hewlett-Packard profits halve after PC demand slumps

Shell makes £992m bid for Cove Energy

Edinburgh Woollen Mill saves Peacocks jobs

BAA calls for Heathrow runway rethink

Millennium & Copthorne posts strong results

Hays profits rise despite eurozone debt crisis

Questor: Croda meets challenges and retains winning formula - Hold

THE INDEPENDENT

New RBS bonus storm

Osborne revives divisive plan to let bosses 'hire and fire at will'

Further monetary stimulus back on the menu

Back-to-work tsar's business has faced nine official investigations

Tchenguiz brothers win judicial review of SFO raids

£2.5bn profit forecast for energy giant

Three Cove executives to share £40m windfall after Shell takeover

Edinburgh Woollen Mill buys Peacocks

'Extreme challenges' force Co-op to axe hundreds of jobs

Hays cuts dividend

THE GUARDIAN

Germany at odds with IMF's Lagarde over bailout fund

BAA loss as debt payments mount

Oil hits sterling record on Iran fears

Stelios takes easyJet battle to AGM

Bank of England split 7-2 on QE3

Buyer found for Peacocks

Cove Energy bosses face windfall

RBS prepares to pay out £400m in bonuses despite expected £2bn loss

Smartphones could access 4G broadband this year

Banks should speed up PPI compensation, says Which?

Hays records £3m loss in UK

Suspected $150m rogue trade investigated

DAILY EXPRESS

3,000 jobs go as Peacocks sold to rival

Barratt moves back into black

Prince launches green energy venture

Bank payouts on rise

BAA in a space race

Smartphones lift T-Mobile

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