The Special Report:
*Sultan is on top of the world – A former customs officer goes on a buying spree, recent acquisitions include, the QE2 and its berths at Tilbury and Southampton, Barney’s (US department store), 2 buildings in Park Avenue and a stake in Standard Chartered (STAN).
The Agenda Column:
*The Rock (NRK) is rapidly becoming a millstone.
*Eastern promise – Do you hear that creaking noise? That’s the sound of the business world shifting on its axis, and the balance of economic power moving slowly but inexorably to the East.
*Indian summer - Capita (CPI), the outsourcing specialist, has seen its shares have a decent run, partly in expectation of a strong trading statement which will be issued tomorrow. But the market is also waking up to the opportunities from its growing Indian outsourcing business. This operation picked up Capita’s biggest single contract from the Prudential (PRU) last week.
Business Focus:
*The Gathering Storm – Just how bad is the credit crisis? And how bad could it get?
The Andrew Davidson Interview:
*Marius Kloppers, BHP’s (BLT) new boss.
Feature:
*Debenhams (DEB) boss defies the critics.
Feature:
*The man behind the nuclear shift, Dr Patrick Moore.
Feature:
*Report attacks Heathrow expansion.
Feature:
*Banking on a coup by text message - Mobile groups have already scored a big hit with money transactions in the developing world and are increasingly looking at ways to tap into new revenue streams in the West.
The Inside the City Column:
*Looking for value? Head for Aberdeen (Asset Management (ADN)) – Investors who can see beyond the short-term should jump in.
*Hogg Robinson (HRG) – A punt strictly for the brave.
The Director’s Deals Column:
*Next’s (NXT) finance director, David Keens, has topped up his holding in the retailer to 145,963-shares.
Further news:
*Allan Leighton to step down as chairman of BHS.
*GKN (GKN) fights for Airbus wing.
*Big Brother boss set for £15-million haul.
*NatWest trio given time to pay off debts.
*Knight Frank pays £1-million to 38 partners.
*Pasta maker puts UK on the menu.
*Allegations of corruption rocks South Korea’s ‘Republic of Samsung’.
The Sylvia Pfeifer Deputy Business Editor’s Column:
*Deal blocking can only lead to a slowdown - It's the new rock'n'roll in the City. Groups of investors, from individuals to hedge funds, are taking sizeable stakes in companies to frustrate others from taking action and ensure they have a say in their target's future.
*Not so Rock’n’roll – Guy Hands’ best hope his new baby, EMI (EMI), has of getting a Christmas chart winner is the compilation album, Now that's what I call music '68.
*That hoary old chestnut – The problem for Paul Nicholls and his Hoare Govett team is how to differentiate the broking firm from its rivals.
The Economics Editor’s Column:
*The credit crunch could crush the €uro.
Feature:
*Bringing EMI (EMI) down to earth – Terra Firma, the new owner is stamping out the last vestiges of rock ‘n’ roll excess.
Feature:
*Could Virgin be chastened by its Northern (NRK) venture?
*Anti-establishment hero seeking membership of the establishment.
*Jayne-Anne Gadhia: ‘This isn’t a sham. We’re right on the money’.
Feature:
*All-Bar-None: hedge funds call time on M&B’s (MAB) pubs.
The Real Business Column:
*How bankruptcy pricked Bains’s pride to do better (BBI Holdings (BBI)).
Share Tips:
*GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – it’s still undervalued... buy.
*BPP (BPP) – Buy.
*T Clarke (CTO) – At these levels, the company is worth a look.
*Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGO) – Buy.
*Qinetiq (QQ.) – Keep buying.
Profile:
*John Pluthero. Cable & Wireless’s (CW.) live wire.
Further news:
*BT (BT.A) slows down Governments push for faster broadband, unless it is allowed to increase the prices it charges competitors for using its own network.
*Malaysians build stake in Rank (RNK) (Genting).
*Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) ‘could go under if spins off property’ says un-named institutional shareholder.
*Tiffany clocks up Britain’s highest rent.
Lead Story of The Business Section:
*Northern Rock (NRK) rivals in dash for finance.
Feature:
*Saturated market? Not in India. International coffee brands wake up and smell the money.
The Analysis Column:
*‘Extradited at a moment’s notice’: is it time to be afraid of doing business in America?
The Business Editor’s Column:
*How hedge fund bad guys became heroes - The battle for Northern Rock (NRK) is going to be a lot closer than recent Newcastle United home fixtures. It’s the shareholders in Northern Rock who remain in a powerful position, as they have to agree to the takeover of the company they own. They are willing to bet that the Government will not risk the political fallout of putting the Rock into administration, an option open to the Treasury if investors reject a rescue plan for the bank.
*Erskine’s progress - Peter Erskine, the chief executive of O2, and responsible for the transformation of the company from unwanted BT cast-off to a world class mobile operator, stepped down last week from the board of Telefonica, the Spanish group that acquired its UK rival 2-years ago. Ben Verwaayen, BT's chief executive, is going to step down in the next year or so. Ian Livingston, BT's group finance director, is the hot favourite to succeed Verwaayen, but Erskine might be in with a shout if he wants the job.
*What next for the City? – In the City over the last 12-months, it has been a time of great change, establishing itself as the foremost financial capital in the world and the money it has brought into the UK has helped to fuel this country's economic growth. The economic tide is turning and we all have to be careful not to get caught out of our depth.
The Expert View Column:
*Once upon a time we all believed in the magic of the Fed.
The Hamish McRae Economic View Column:
*The Bank stood by while the house party got out of control. But why be puritanical when the excess is over - Just as interest rates weren't raised quickly enough before, so they should be cut now. The fragile markets need a signal.
The City Eye Column:
*Villainous speculators are cashing in... Oh no, they’re not.
*Asset managers on a roll.
Feature:
*Underground loans foil Beijing’s attempt to hold back runaway growth.
Interview:
*John Adnams, chairman of Adnams Brewery.
Further news:
*Cenkos ‘hostile’ offer attacked by Close Brothers (CBG) shareholder, Caledonia (CLDN).
Further news:
*Deloro up for sale at £300-million.
*Subscribers hit million at Setanta.
*Tesco (TSCO) finds gaps in its US markets, as IT systems fail to recognise the need to restock, thereby leaving empty shelves.
*Takeover battle for Biffa (BIFF).
The Lead Story of the Financial Express:
*Four-way war looms for Northern Rock (NRK) – Branson under pressure as rivals hone their bids.
Focus:
*Danger stalks man from the Pru (PRU) – Activists are beginning to close in for the kill.
Further news:
*Rate cuts a close call, say experts.
*Shock as John Spellman quits Corona.
*Tobacco giants (BAT’s (BATS) and Imperial Tobacco (IMT)) in Turkish bid war.
*Oi! Bagel for sale despite expansion plans.
*Rate cut urged to end the gloom.
*Malaysian group, Genting, snap up 10% of gaming group Rank (RNK).
*Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to offer £2-million retention packages and seats on the board to the two internal candidates who missed out on becoming chief executive.
*David Coffer’s, Coffer Group looks for a potential £50-million AIM listing next year.
*Hit Entertainment (HTE) puts the Guinness Book of World Records up for sale, with a £60-million price tag.
*RBS (RBS) to admit £1.5-billion losses, attributable to the credit-crunch.
*Shore Capital (SGR) is aiming to cash in on the turmoil in the credit markets by raining its largest-ever investment fund. Plans to raise £243-million for a new fund could be announced as early as this week.
*Deutsche Bank (DBK) threatens to pull out of Branson bid, claiming “serious issues” over the bid.
*Defence industry chiefs have warned the Government that cuts to the defence budget could undermine the capability of Britain's armed forces in the future.
*Close Brothers (CBG) mulls sale of Winterflood to fend off bid.
*RBS (RBS) braced to announce £2-billion sub-prime write-off.
*NatWest Three will serve most of term in UK.
*Insurers demand shoring up flood defences.
*ING chief goes as savers take out £3.6-billion.
*Goldman gets Virgin float brief.
*Bidders lose taste for Pret.
*Russia’s Alrosa diamond miner, has become an early favourite to be the largest flotation of 2008.
*Rivals line up for Northern Rock (NRK) (3 suitors for Rock).
*Rank (RNK) targeted by Malaysians in shares coup.
*Japanese airlift in Wii crisis – Game addicts hit by shortage.
*Gazprom UK aims to beat rapid growth.
*Kazakh miner to float despite funding investigation – Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation’s (ENRC) £7.3-billion London float, which could take place this week.
*Apax in lead for EMAP’s (EMA) B2B arm.
*Carluccio (CARL) puts healthier profits on the menu.
*Rupert Murdoch eyes up corporate networking site.
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*The Conservatives have described reports of a new Government data security lapse as "disturbing", after hearing that an ex-contractor at the Department for Work and Pensions had 2 discs with thousands of benefit claimants' details for more than a year, according to a report in The News of the World. The unencrypted discs revealed the type of benefits paid, but a DWP spokesman said they did not contain bank details. The woman told the News of the World she forgot to return them after she stopped working for the DWP a year ago. It comes as the search for two missing child benefit discs containing the personal details of 25-million people continues. The News of the World has now returned the discs to the Government.
*The Royal Navy can no longer fight a major war because of years of underfunding and cutbacks, a leaked Whitehall report has revealed. With an "under-resourced" fleet composed of "ageing and operationally defective ships", the Navy would struggle even to repeat its role in the Iraq war and is now "far more vulnerable to unexpected shocks", the top-level Ministry of Defence document says.
*Rail watchdog Anthony Smith is to meet Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly to demand greater protection for passengers against soaring fares.
*The south coast of England is braced for severe gales as a winter storm is expected to bring winds of 70-mph. The gale will track from west to east and carry heavy rain across the coast and up the English Channel. Solent Coastguard said it expected commercial ships to request shelter in the area around the Isle of Wight. Veronica Taylor, watch officer at the coastguard, said the forecast for the south coast was severe gale force nine, rising to storm force 10.
*European football faces a major match-fixing scandal after it emerged last night that the results of 26 games may have been manipulated by Asian betting syndicates.
*America has told Great Britain that it can “kidnap” British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the United States, “Bounty-Hunter” style. A senior lawyer for the American government has told the Court of Appeal in London that kidnapping foreign citizens is permissible under American law because the US Supreme Court has sanctioned it. Until now it was commonly assumed that US law permitted kidnapping only in the “extraordinary rendition” of terrorist suspects.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
