Do non-cash impairment charges matter? What if they run into the billions of pounds? After all, they all they can be dismissed as one-offs. Yet they do matter. Analysts at Deutsche Bank estimate Tesco could unveil a 15% - or 3bn pounds - writedown on the value of its propert assets. The value of poperty assets should play a big part in what grocers do next.A little bit of history might help. After having added a vast amount of new s`pace over the last couple of decades the three major grocers - Tesco, Morrison and Sainsbury - are now losing market share to the discounters. A 13% return on the money invested in such sites is nice. However, an 8% return looks much less so. But the return on the initial cost to buy and build should not be the key factor when deciding whether to close stores - something the big three have barely engaged in thus far. What matters is the value of the cash flows those properties are expected to generate. Nonetheless, even if the writedowns continue, don´t expect a wave of closings, writes the Financial Times´ Lex column.A full placing of the government´s stake in Lloyds would be attractive, but it would have to navigate so many obstacles that it remains to be seen if it will ever go ahead. Should the lender return to its past practice of handing out half of all profits to shaeholders then on current estimates the stock is trading on a forward yield of 5.6% and 7.5% for 2016 and 2017, respectively. Hence, the next government would find little trouble offloading the shares.Indeed, it is believed that Lloyds already began preparing a prospectus for a share sale last year. However, should Labour come to power it is not yet known how it would go about privatising the bank. The rise of the challenger banks also means the competitive landscape has changed drastically since Lloyds was rescued in 2008. The fallout from the mis-selling scandals and the regulator´s investigation into personal accounts and lending to small businesses are also unknowns. Nonetheless, investors should hold onto the shares. Why? because "an eventual share sale, if it ever takes place, will be on attractive giveaway terms, but plenty of obstacles loom before then," writes The Times´s Tempus.