The Lex Column:
*Pay to play - Parents shopping for games consoles this Christmas will need little persuading that the prospects for their manufacturers are rosy in Europe, a shortage of Nintendo's Wii means that they now trade on the secondary market at around a 40% premium to prices in stores.
*Sub-prime rescue - If the market is right on it's initial take on the US government's plan to ease some of the sub-prime pain, it could provide a moment of light relief for US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson.
*Euro broadcasters - Hard to believe, but the phrase 'a licence to print money' originally applied to television broadcasting. These days it's more of a licence to kiss it goodbye.
The Tony Jackson on Monday Column:
*Anglo-Saxon customers are suffering. Does it stop there? – The Merrill Lynch thesis rests heavily on the premise of so-called decoupling... the ability of China to shrug off a US slowdown.
Banks Interview:
*António Horta-Osório, chief executive of Abbey National.
In the Spotlight:
*New Bertelsmann chief takes stage, Hartmut Ostrowski.
Face to Face:
*Alexander Matturri of S&P.
Further news:
*Satnav gadgets on road to sales boom.
*ESPN aiming for football rights.
*Peltz’s stake-building deal with QIA keeps pressure on Cadbury (CBRY).
*Investors to vote on James Murdoch promotion.
*How misfiring quant funds are distorting the markets.
The Economic View Column:
*Bank’s interest rate reductions just won’t cut it this time – Our failure to set aside pennies may well mean we have been living on borrowed time.
Business Big Shot:
*Jon Asgeir Johannesson.
The Monday Manifesto:
*Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose.
Further news:
*National Express (NEX) promises improvement on East Coast City route amid redundancy fears.
*Apple calls tune in mobile music.
*BAE (BA.) targets civilian clients to offset military cutbacks.
Further news:
*Blackstone in China break-up bid Rio (RIO).
*Guy Hands sends grovelling letter to EMI stars.
*Dan Wagner reveals he is to float his new technology business Venda next year.
*Chancellor expected to stand firm on his decision to introduce a flat rate of capital gains tax.
The Karen Ward Column:
*How the ‘nice’ decade has turned nasty – Dilemma on growth vs inflation.
The Small Talk Column:
*Totting up our winners and losers.
*Dateline still growing strong.
Further news:
*Lloyds (LLOY) and HBOS (HBOS) can restore some confidence.
*Baugur hunts for bargains amid the gloom.
*OMG (OMG) wins major road surveying contract.
*UBS (UBS) to write off billions of pounds as a result of sub-prime exposure.
*High Street names consider MBO’s.
*John Lewis sales hit record high in the last week to Saturday.
*Paternoster wins deal for Lasmo pensions.
*Nelson Peltz, the US activist investor, has teamed up with the Qatar Investment Authority to boost his stake in Cadbury (CBRY).
*Blackstone, the US private equity giant, is planning an audacious break-up plan for Rio Tinto (RIO).
*Share price fall puts Baugur on alert for £40-million takeover of Moss Bros (MOSB).
*Northern Rock (NRK) to caution on slow pace of bidding process.
*Revival plan for Abbey from its Spanish owner Santander, includes 300 new Abbey branches.
*ESPN, the US cable sports network, is 'absolutely interested' in acquiring UK rights in the Premier League in the next auctions due in 2009.
*UK property developer Richardsons Capital has bought derivatives in over 9.3% of Rank Group (RNK).
*Orascom Telecom denies it is for sale.
*Goldman Sachs has amassed £1-billion for property investments in Asia.
*Investec (INVP) to sell its UK sub-prime mortgage business, Kensington, to Goldman Sachs less than 7-months after buying the company.
*Citigroup (CGP) meets today to discuss potential successors to Chuck Prince as chief executive.
*International Finance Corporation to repeat in 2008 its record investment in India of over £400-million.
*Close Brothers (CBG) brings Mittelstand to London, setting up a brokerage service that aims to bring small and mid-cap German stocks to London-based institutional investors.
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*Gordon Brown tells troops in Basra that Great Britain is to hand over its last combat responsibilities in Iraq to local army and police 'in the next 2-weeks.
*Employment prospects at UK companies are at their highest for 14-years as corporate optimism remains buoyant, according to UPS Business Monitor survey.
*UBS (UBS) to update its position on sub-prime exposure tomorrow.
*Economists predict US Fed will cut interest rates by a quarter-point to 4.25% tomorrow.
*Bank of International Settlements figures reveal scale of shutdown in debt markets in the late summer.
*Militant mood grows in police ranks as pay row threatens operations.
*December sales on the internet set to double to £7.4-billion.
*A way to cut red tape, hailed by Gordon Brown as a crucial means of reducing the burden on business, has failed to axe or even amend a single regulation in the first year of its existence.
*Car sales are resilient in the face of falling house prices and warnings from retailers of slower sales this Christmas, according to latest data.
*Manufacturing output expanded slightly in November, but for the first time in 2-years growth was not recorded across all 12 regions, according to survey.
*According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, hundreds of below standard hearts, lungs and kidneys have been taken from drug addicts and transplanted into critically-ill patients.
*Iran signals sanctions alert by signing a $2-billion contract with Sinopec of China, suggesting to western companies that they might miss out on potentially lucrative contracts if they continue to heed US-inspired sanctions against Iran oil deal with China group.
*China is to treble the amount of money that foreigners can invest to $30-billion.
*European Union and African leaders clash over trade relations at a summit in Lisbon.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
