Special Report:
*Inside China’s stocks frenzy (a lot is riding on investors’ hopes) – Taking stock of China’s great bubble.
The Agenda Column:
*Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN) is right to hold out for a fair price.
*Bargain hunters – Chief executives at some of our larger quoted companies are starting to phone their bankers to ask if they can organise the funding to take their companies private. Their interest is understandable.
*Melrose (MRO) well placed – It’s worth keeping an eye on the team at Melrose, the quoted acquisition vehicle set up by Simon Miller, David Roper and Simon Peckham to acquire undervalued industrial assets, as it appears they are still looking for the big one. In preparation for a deal, they have quietly signed up JP Morgan Cazenove as joint broker alongside Investec, with the aim of identifying a target valued at £1-billion to £2-billion and the Caz appointment will enable Melrose to quickly raise funds from institutional shareholders.
*Rock (NRK) on, Gordon – Come on Prime Minister, your Government has procrastinated for long enough, it’s time to make your mind up, Gordon.
Business Focus:
*Help! – Declining sales, artist in revolts at Guy Hands’ EMI.
The Andrew Davidson Interview:
*Chris Moore, new chief executive of Domino’s Pizza (DOM).
Feature:
*Northern Rock (NRK): the end game – Investors have tabled resolutions to block a sale of he bank on the cheap.
Feature:
*Gadgets swamp our digital future.
Feature:
*GCap (GCAP) prepares for Global war – GCap faces a new year of hostile bids and essential restructuring.
The Inside the City Column:
*Microsoft (MSF) mars Autonomy’s (AU.) ‘darling’ status - On balance it is probably worth holding Autonomy, but this is a share to watch closely.
*Michael Page (MPI) – Avoid.
The Director’s Deals Column:
*£1-million stake triples chief executive Sir Stuart Rose’s holding in M&S (MKS).
*Chairman of JD Wetherspoon (JDW), Tim Martin, has taken advantage of share weakness and spends £2.95-million for 957,127 shares, to lift his stake to 23.46%.
Feature of Money Section:
*Investor’s bail out of Britain.
Further news:
*Debenhams (DEB) festive sales set to shine.
*Citigroup (CGP) and Merrill Lynch seek $18-billion rescue funds, as a result of the credit market.
*GCap (GCAP) investors try to call the tune, trying to push Charles Allen’s Global Radio to reverse into Classic FM, to break the impasse over his rejected takeover offer.
Feature:
*(Ron) Sandler: The City’s Mr Fixit - A lifelong troubleshooter, he rescued Lloyd's of London from the brink of collapse before leading an ill-fated attempt to see off takeover bids for NatWest.
The Comment Column:
*Russian venture may yet prop up Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN) bar - The Scots are thinking of unleashing a trading statement on an unsuspecting market to reassure investors. At the heart of this bid battle is the value of BBH, the Russian joint venture owned by Carlsberg and S&N. The Scots want every last bit of data on the joint venture out there in public to help S&N shareholders understand what a vintage business they're sitting on. A clever idea, especially in the final week before the Takeover Panel's deadline takes effect.
*Board stupid - Consumer-facing stocks are out of fashion and long-term institutional shareholders, the backbone of the London market, aren't buying, whatever the price. But while institutions have gone on "strike" brave directors have put their hands in their pocket and spent their hard-earned cash buying shares.
*Woolworth’s (WLW) York bar - Woolworths is among those unloved consumer stocks - with shares in the group closing on Friday at 10.5p. But the spiralling share price is the least of Trevor Bish-Jones' worries. On Saturday Woolworths will close the doors of its York store for the last time. The shop's landlord has made Trevor an offer he cannot refuse to surrender the lease and move out (allowing the landlord to move in a retailer who is prepared to pay a much higher rent).
*More famine than feast (attending AGM’s) – The meeting will be great corporate theatre no doubt but the chances are it will have little influence on the future of Northern Rock (NRK), which, rightly or wrongly, is no longer in the hands of its shareholders.
The Economic Agenda Column:
*America must remain the land of free trade.
Feature:
*Is this a slump? Or an M&S (MKS) slump?
*Rivals’ figures may make life less rosy for Sir Stuart.
Interview:
*Anna Schwatz (revered economist) – ‘Greenspan has to answer for this crisis’.
Feature:
*Engine of the British economy begins to slow – Thanks to high employment, a UK recession seemed unlikely... until now.
Feature:
*Time has run out for Northern Rock (NRK).
Feature:
*Beer becomes the toast of Russia - As vodka loses its popularity, a battle is brewing over S&N (SCTN) and Carlsberg's joint venture.
*Scottish & Newcastle’s (SCTN) John Dunsmore stays calm as the storm brews.
The Real Business Column:
*Saatchi (SAA) gears up for leaner times ahead.
The Lead Story of the Business on Sunday Section:
*Sir William Castell tipped to take over as BP (BP.) chairman.
Feature:
*‘Serious problems’: report seeks rate cuts as slowdown takes hold - Figures from the British Chambers of Commerce to be released on Thursday are set to add to the growing weight of evidence showing a marked slowing of the economy.
The Analysis Column:
*The people’s car with a market of 1.8-millon - It may not meet Western standards, but with the arrival of the Tata Nano, India's motor industry has come of age.
Interview:
*Tim How, chief executive of Majestic Wine (MJW).
The Business Editor’s Column:
*(George) Osborne’s chance to scrap our Soviet rules – Entrepreneur’s need to be profit-seekers, not grant-seekers.
The Expert View Column:
*There’s no Prince Charming, but gold is going to the ball (the rise in the interest of gold).
The Hamish McRae Economic View Column:
*China and India are heading for the top of the world but along the way the climb will become treacherous – Could social dissent derail China and India’s performance? If China can grow like this, why can’t we? What are we doing wrong?
The City View Column:
*He talked a good game, but did the City listen? - In the short term, Sir Stuart Rose and fellow shareholders will be sympathetic to just about every private-equity heresy going.
*The young enrich the old - There's a generation game going on. We all try to transfer wealth to our children, and it's not difficult. But now the tables are being turned. A mix of high house prices and low inflation means today's whippersnappers are struggling to get a foot on the ladder. Older folk selling their big homes and moving to a smaller place take a large pot of cash as they downsize.
Feature:
*They used to drown in a deluge of data. Now City workers have a souped-up search engine – A breed of ‘aggregators’ that sift online financial information to bring you the needle, but not the haystack.
Feature:
*Leading hedge: Citadel goes empire building in the ruins.
Further news:
*Too many false starts and too high a price tag in race to buy the Tote.
The Lead Story of the Financial Mail:
*EMI to slash 1,700 jobs in loan crunch – Music giant cuts costs to repay Citigroup (CGP) £2-billion.
Feature:
*His ‘n’ Hers battle of the High Street - George Davies of M&S’s (MKS) Per Una range and his ex-wife Liz Davies who is leading a fashion challenge from the supermarkets.
The Lisa Buckingham Column:
*Power supplier is here to frighten me (nPower).
Interview:
*Patrick Dempsey, boss of Whitbread’s (WTB) budget hotel group, Premier Inns.
The Midas Column:
*Northumbrian Water (NWG) is solid and a prime takeover target - Buy.
Further news:
*£60-billion nuclear bonanza.
*Virgin holidays have struck a deal with Tesco (TSCO) that will allow customers to book holidays ‘in-store’.
The Lead Story of the Financial Express Section:
*Credit crunch brings record profit alerts.
Feature:
*Battle to rule he skies – Airlines are poised for a flurry of deals.
Further news:
*Google earmarks £1-billion for UK mobile spectrum spree.
*Security firm, Global Solutions sues police over Yarls Wood riot.
*Friends Provident (FP.) plans £400-million handout (cash return to shareholders).
From The Sunday Times
*Fate of Rock (NRK) rescue is in PM’s hands.
*Sony Ericsson has signed Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova to be its first global brand ambassador, in a deal said to be worth £2-million.
*Two private-equity groups, Blackstone and Texas Pacific, have held detailed talks with Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN), the brewer, to help buy out Carlsberg’s £4 billion share of the Russian joint venture Baltic Beverages Holding.
*2,000 jobs on the line at EMI.
*Australians (Babcock & Brown) buy big stake in Forth Ports (FPT).
*Virgin Media to lose board member David Elstein.
*Roadside restaurant chain Little Chef is likely to shelve a planned sale of the business and offload up to 20 of its sites instead.
*Game Over for Tomb Raider boss - The position of chief executive Jane Cavanagh at SCi Entertainment (SEG), the company she founded 20-years ago, was this weekend described as “untenable” by one top investor. Her husband, Bill Ennis, who is commercial director, and the chairman, Tim Ryan, are also under fire.
*The board of Close Brothers (CBG) is preparing to bring down its defences and engage in talks with Andy Stewart of Cenkos.
*Laxey Partners inveils £1-billion fund to target property shares.
*Tote sale finally approaches finish line.
From The Sunday Telegraph
*Treasury lines up Ron Sandler as boss for nationalised Northern Rock (NRK).
*Anheuser-Bush plots joint S&N (SCTN) bid to take contral of BBH.
*EMI managers will have to sing for their supper.
*ILVA, the furniture retailer, lost £2.33 for every £1 spent in its stores last year, racking up total losses of £62-million.
*Close Brothers (CBG) opens its books to Cenkos.
*Network Rail to recruit 200 new engineers.
*William Hill (WMH) jumps off fence and joins Turf TV stable.
*Erinanceous (ERG) insurance arm sale will cut debts.
*Bulletin board posters sued for defamation - The dangers faced by investors who use internet message boards such as ADVFN (AFN) and The Motley Fool are in the spotlight ahead of several forthcoming legal actions.
From The Independent on Sunday
*FSA to ‘tidy up’ listings instead of pushing for reform.
*New strike threat to airline caterer Air Gourmet.
From The Mail on Sunday
*Two Chicks (Alla Ouvarova and Anne Richie’s company) have signed a multi-million pound deal with Sainsbury’s (SBRY) to stock health-conscious cartons of free-range liquid egg whites.
*MoD plans big cuts to contracts.
*£1-billion buy-up battle on the way for F&C (FCAM).
*Shoe retailers, Stylo and C&J Clark, to look at pairing up.
*Taylor Wimpey (TW.) to sell its construction arm for £200-million.
*Olive branch held out to Rock’s (NRK) rebels.
*New bidders eye up Pret.
From The Sunday Express
*Fate of Rock (NRK) will be clear ‘in days’.
*Aircraft carrier design bill already tops £375-million (taxpayer’s bill rises).
*Cenkos and Landsbanki move in on Close Bros (CBG).
*AB Ports’ pension scheme under hammer.
*Brewers line up higher S&N (SCTN) bid.
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*A Front Page report from the Sunday Express - Al Qaeda terrorists posing as TV crews planned to blow up the Queen by smuggling explosives into last year’s Commonwealth summit. Two huge outside broadcast vans belonging to the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation were seized after a tip-off from intelligence agents. As a result, UBC was unable to transmit live pictures of key summit events, including the Queen’s historic address to the Ugandan parliament on 22nd November.
*Gordon Brown’s new spin doctor ‘deceived shareholders’. Stephen Carter, who was last week appointed the prime minister’s chief of strategy and principal adviser, is said in court documents to have told a fellow executive (whilst he was a senior executive at NTL) who feared he had misled shareholders, “What I tell them is nine-tenths bullshit and one-tenth selected facts.”
*The Conservatives have received a boost today, as an opinion poll shows their lead over Labour has widened and indicates huge public support for their tough plans to cut the number of people on benefit. The ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph puts David Cameron's party on 40% seven points ahead of Labour on 33%, with the Liberal Democrats on 18%.
*Peter Hain has apologised for "the embarrassment caused by poor administration" but insisted that he wants to get on with his cabinet jobs. Mr Hain has been under pressure over the failure to declare on time more than £100,000 donated to his failed bid to become Labour's deputy leader.
*Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne is facing questions after reportedly accepting £487,000 from donors last year without fully declaring the sum. He blamed unclear advice from a Commons official for his failure to report the funds to the Register of Members' Interests, the Mail on Sunday says. The story follows criticism of Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain for also failing to declare donations. Labour MPs have accused the Tories of hypocrisy and called for an inquiry.
*A military inquiry has found that a Great British war hero who bled to death after being injured in an Afghan minefield, died because of a catalogue of failures, incompetence and equipment shortages. Cpl Mark Wright, who was posthumously awarded the George Cross after rescuing an injured colleague, could have survived if a properly equipped helicopter had been available, it ruled.
*Scientists at the University of Minnesota, have taken a dead heart and brought it back to life in a breakthrough that could one day allow them to custom-build a range of organs for transplant. The procedure has so far been done only with rats and pigs and is highly experimental. It is unlikely to be applied to humans for years.
*Profit warnings by UK listed firms are at their highest level for 6-years. Research by Ernst & Young shows nearly 400 warnings about disappointing profits were issued in 2007, up by more than 10% on the previous year. The final quarter saw the highest rise of all, up by more than 20% on 2006, largely due to the credit crunch.
*US President George W Bush has arrived in the United Arab Emirates on the latest leg of his Middle East tour. Mr Bush is due to make a speech in Abu Dhabi promoting freedom, democracy and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and encouraging change in Iran. His first visit to the country since becoming president is also aimed at boosting diplomatic and business ties. Earlier in Kuwait, Mr Bush said the US was still on target to withdraw some 20,000 troops out of Iraq by July.
*Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has arrived in China for a three-day visit aimed at improving the strained relations between the two countries. Mr Singh will meet President Hu Jintao as well as Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and the Communist Party's second highest leader, Wu Bangguo. Their talks are expected to focus on territorial disputes and increasing bilateral trade, worth £18.9-billion.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
