PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - May 1

STORES RESIST PLAN FOR OMBUDSMAN

Supermarkets resisted the Competition Commission's plan for an independent ombudsman to police a tighter supermarkets' code of practice, with Lucy Neville-Rolfe, corporate and legal affairs director at Tesco(TSCO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), stating, "Our instinct is to be doubtful about the ombudsman. We want to talk to them to see what can be achieved in other ways." The proposal represented one of four moderate recommendations put forward by the commission following its third enquiry since 2000 into the 120 billion pounds-a-year grocery market. The commission also recommended that local authorities use a "competition test" when assessing planning application to make certain of a larger choice for shoppers. In view of the concerns of supermarket chains over the plans for an ombudsman to police dealings between the grocers and suppliers, it now appears that the commission's plans for an ombudsman to be in place by October may be optimistic.

MEDICINE PRICING DEAL WEEKS AWAY, INDUSTRY FORECASTS

The president of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Nigel Brooksby, has told the Financial Times that he was "optimistic" about reaching a fresh voluntary agreement on medicine pricing with the government. The news comes on the back of the announcement late last year by the Department of Health of its intention to cancel the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation System only two-and-a- half years into its operation. The industry was displeased by the government's demands for a cut of up to ten percent, on top of a seven percent cut in 2005, in the average price of patented medicines. Referring to the "dent in confidence" as a result of the government's decision to unilaterally scrap the pricing contract, Mr Brooksby called for removing "this dark cloud" of a lack of confidence between the government and industry.

AIRLINES TO SEEK DAMAGES OVER T4 DELAYS

Citing the months-long delay in the planned transfer to Terminal 4 at Heathrow, due to the decision of British Airways(BAY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to postpone its own move of long-haul flights from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5, the SkyTeam global airlines alliance is seeking financial compensation from the airports operator, BAA. "We are very unhappy and disappointed at the latest developments at Heathrow," said Giorgio Callegari, chairman of SkyTeam's airport infrastructure group. The news comes as the latest consumer report published on Wednesday by the Association of European Airlines revealed that British Airways had the worst record among European carriers for flight delays and misplaced bags in the first three months of the year.