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Vince Cable said he would not "rule out intervention" in Pfizer's 63bn pound bid for Astra Zeneca as he warned that the "future of the UK is a knowledge economy not a tax haven". The Business Secretary told the House of Commons that just as both AstraZeneca and Pfizer were "motivated by hard-headed commercial considerations" the government would be "motivated by hard-headed considerations of the national interest." - The Daily TelegraphAstraZeneca suggested that it had 10 new medicines in its development pipeline with the potential to generate more than $1bn of annual revenue each. Such bullish figures imply that the City has been spectacularly undervaluing AstraZeneca's potential. Industry followers are far from convinced. In a research note, Jefferies described the figures as "overly optimistic and an obvious bid-defence tactic". Savvas Neophytou of Panmure Gordon said: "The management has some convincing to do as most analysts remain sceptical on the achievability of these targets." - The TimesCarphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail are on the cusp of agreeing a near £4bn in merger to create a powerful UK retailer with 1,300 stores. A statement on the tie-up is expected around May 15th, when Dixons is due to publish a full-year trading update. Based on last night's closing prices, Carphone Warehouse has a market capitalisation of £1.9bn and Dixons Retail £1.8bn, implying the value of a combined group would be £3.7bn. - The Daily TelegraphThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has raised Britain's growth forecast to a hefty 3.2% this year, but warned that soaring house prices were one of the biggest risks that could blow the recovery off course. The think-tank said UK growth was likely to remain strong thanks to business investment and private consumption. "As a result, the unemployment rate is set to fall further and wage growth to pick up," it said. But it also said more needed to be done to temper growing house prices, suggesting one option could be to scale back the government's Help to Buy scheme, which provides guarantees for higher-risk mortgages in an attempt to help first-time buyers get onto the ladder. - The Daily MailRoyal Mail is running the risk of alienating its Chairman after it headed off a potential clash with the government by ruling out a pay rise for its Chief Executive, Moya Greene. Less than 24 hours after The Times revealed that any rise in Ms Greene's £1.2m package would put it at odds with Vince Cable, the business secretary, Royal Mail abandoned any idea of increasing her base pay or her performance-related bonus for this financial year. - The Times The Chinese internet giant Alibaba is set to float in what is expected to be one of the largest technology debuts in American stock market history. In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission after Wall Street had closed last night, the ecommerce and payments company, which covers almost 80% of all online business conducted in China, the world's second-largest economy, said that it wanted to raise $1bn. That figure is expected to jump dramatically once Alibaba has gauged interest from investors. - The TimesAB