The Lex Column:
*Tense pegs - There are more than 100 countries with fixed currency regimes of one sort or another. With the dollar at eight-year lows against the €uro, some fixed exchange rates are creaking.
*Qatar drops Sainsbury (SBRY) - On Monday, Delta Two walked away from its long-drawn dispute of J Sainsbury. Another bidder is unlikely to emerge.
*Permanent capital - Last week Ashmore (ASHM), the emerging markets specialist, threw the covers off a planned €500-million offering on the London Stock Exchange by Christmas. Dozens more deals are sitting in the hopper, should Ashmore go well, expect a flurry of follow-ups.
*PetroChina's rules - On Friday, the world's biggest company by market capitalisation was worth just under $500-billion. By Monday the new holder of the crown boasted a market capitalisation of more than twice that. But the reality is rather less eye-popping.
*Citigroup’s (CGP) CDO mess – “Nothing will come of nothing,” railed King Lear. And we all know what happened to him. The quote is apt when looking at supposedly safe tranches of collaterised debt obligations, an activity guaranteed to send anyone mad these days.
The Lombard Column:
*It's time for RBS (RBS) and Barclays (BARC) to end silence.
*QIA showed its working (any new bidder for Sainsbury (SBRY) will be saved an awful lot of work).
*Private to public (Virgin regaining appetite for the public markets).
Further news:
*Google mobile strategy steals a march on rivals.
*Rumours of Saudi stakebuilding help Minerva (MNR) hold on.
*US bank takeover rumours lift Close Bros (CBG).
*Imperial Energy (IEC) in spotlight.
*Risks bear down on WS Atkins (ATK).
The Business Commentary Column:
*Everyone's a loser as Qataris falter at the checkout.
*Citigroup (CGP) needs to plot a course.
*Gold sets some new standards.
The Tempus Column:
*Pass - Dunelm Group (DNLM).
*Worth holding on for the ride – Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN).
*Dicom Group (DCM) - Should be better buying opportunities in the months ahead.
Further news:
*Robert Tchenguiz stable hit by Sainsbury's (SBRY) failure.
*Could Reed Elsevier (REL) be about to announce a group-wide cost-cutting plan.
The Comment Column:
*Banks have got it wrong in the core of their businesses.
*It's not the right time to try to defy sentiment (Citigroup (CGP)).
*Long-term uncertainties remain for Sainsbury's (SBRY).
*Northern Rock (NRK) mortgage trade collapses in wake of problems.
*Mervyn King says that Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling vetoed a secret move to save Northern Rock (NRK).
*CIBC analyst Meredith Whitney calls for Citigroup (CGP) to be broken up.
*Old Mutual (OML) is to sell its controlling stake in South Africa's second-largest short-term insurer to Royal Bafokeng nation for £585-million.
*A new study shows that patients taking AstraZeneca's (AZN) Crestor with standard drugs were as likely to die as those on a placebo.
*Pearson (PSON) Les Echos sale to LVMH to go ahead, believing the sale completed towards end of year.
*Blinkx (BLNX) plans to develop an online television service.
*Alfred McAlpine (MCA) has agreed to sell its interests in six private finance initiative concessions to Investor Limited Partnership for £52.2-million cash.
*Three bidders short-listed for Ford's luxury marques.
*SMG (SMG) plans £90-million rights issue to avoid fire sale of Virgin Radio.
*Telegraph publisher incurs a second successive year of heavy restructuring costs leading to a pre-tax loss of £8.8-million.
*Imprint (IMP) investors seek better offer.
*Metorex proposes conditional all-share offer worth 148.9p (£120.7-million) for remainder of Copper Resources (CRC).
*AB Foods' (ABF) Primark plans to expand in Spain.
*Yamana Gold (YAU) acquires about 90% of Meridian Gold.
*Apax denies it is preparing a bid for ITV (ITV).
*Cryo-Save starts life on AIM today issued at 210p.
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*The Dow Jones closed down 51.70-points at 13543.40, the Nasdaq slipped 15.20-points to 2795.18, while the S&P lost 7.48-points to close at 1502.17.
*Al-Qaeda is recruiting children in the UK to cause terror, according to head of M15.
*Leaders from Israel, Palestine and the US seek to inject urgency into the Middle East talks, predicting a deal was possible before George Bush's presidency ends.
*Ministers say Pakistan will hold elections as scheduled in January.
*Populus poll for the Times shows a big drop in Gordon Brown's standing.
*UK activity in retail, services and manufacturing has slowed sharply, according to latest data.
*Fears are rising in the credit markets that the turbulence that has claimed the jobs of two of the biggest names on Wall Street could last well into next year.
*Credit uncertainty may begin affecting US non-mortgage asset-backed securities, according to Fitch rating agency.
*US Institute of Supply Management non-manufacturing business index rose to 55.8 last month vs 54.0 expected.
*US Federal Reserve governor Randall Kroszner warns that subprime problems could get worse before they get better.
*Lenders increase credit card charges.
*More money is being withdrawn from pooled commercial property funds in the UK than being invested for the first time in nearly five years, according to industry's trade body.
*Consumers and speculators are scrambling for option contracts to insure against oil prices rising above $100 and some have taken out contracts to protect against prices rising to $250.
*Google unveils Android mobile device platform.
*Home Depot (HOM) and Lowe's shares hit multi-year lows after negative analyst comments.
*PetroChina first company to reach $1,000-billion capitalisation, overtaking ExxonMobil's (EXX) market value.
*British Airways (BAY) rates worst for lost bags and delays.
*BT (BT.A) to cut thousands of managers jobs.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
