The Lex Column:
*Stayin’ alive - Forget the dancefloor Travoltas at your office party, it’s the worId’s central bankers who stand accused of grievous loss of self-control this festive season.
*Morgan Stanley - John Mack is lucky to hang on to his job after the investment bank of which he is chief disclosed its first loss.
*Refco lawyer indicted - US securities enforcers have long threatened to hold gatekeepers, such as accountants, bankers and lawyers, responsible when they help clients commit fraud.
*Japan falters - It’s official that Japan’s economic recovery is running out of steam now the government has slashed its estimates.
*Repsol’s (REP) escape plan - It’s official that Japan’s economic recovery is running out of steam now the government has slashed its estimates.
The Lombard Column:
*(Mike) Ashley’s mad majesty is still worth gambling on.
*Balls to Sweden – Does the world need more laws to protect national stock markets from “regulatory creep”?, probably not. But we seem certain to get them.
*Post-boom buyouts – Are private equity princes riding back into town in triumph?
Further news:
*Dow Chemical talk brings shine to Johnson Matthey (JMAT).
*Umbro (UMB) gains on Ashley talk.
*Luminar (LMR), which is due to be dropped from the FTSE-250 next week to the Small-Cap Index, rallied 4.2% to 430.5p, on support from Panmure Gordon, who says the stock is oversold and advises clients to buy.
*Tony Pidgeley, founder and managing director of Berkeley Group (BKG), buys stock worth £2-million.
The Business Commentary Column:
*MPC verdict is a seven or eight on the Richter scale.
*Call a spade a spade, Mr Mack – John Mack, chief executive of Morgan Stanley, should be challenged when he tries to play down the seriousness of the sub-prime disaster at the bank.
*Bank balance is hair-raising – It’s not peculiar to Northern Rock (NRK), the process whereby banks take deposits on short notice but lend for the long term. None could pay out if all the depositors asked for their money on the same day.
Feature:
*Ashley doesn’t pull any punches as the main attraction hits his best form (Mike Ashley).
Business Big Shot:
*Alisdair Locke.
Feature:
*Visionary keen to steer Jaguar’s future (Ratan Tata, of Tata Motors).
The Tempus Column:
*Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) – Avoid.
*Trinity Mirror (TNI) – With the bad news priced in, buy.
*Cobham (COB) – It’s worth holding on.
Further news:
*IMI (IMI) counts the cost of bribery investigation.
*Torotrak (TRK) strikes £7-million-plus deal.
*Hirco (HRCO), the AIM-listed company, is thought to be looking to raise £150-millon of debt for its next phase of development.
The Comment Column:
*Morgan (Stanley) nurses wounds as Chinese bank on better days.
*Lose talk by MPC doesn’t prevent loosening in policy.
*‘Broken’ but unbowed (Mike) Ashley is homeward bound.
The Outlook Column:
*Fingers crossed for a happy New Year.
*Panto time for Sports Direct (SPD).
*Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree (Have the Danes rigged the price of Christmas trees?)
The Investment Column:
*Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) – Hold.
*Panmure Gordon (PMR) – Look ripe for recovery.
*DTZ (DTZ) – Avoid.
The Hamish McRae Column:
*2008: A recession in Britain, and oil at $175-a-barrel. Or is that too outrageous?
Further news:
*GKN (GKN) to buy Filton plant from Airbus.
*Talk of Swiss interest in Cairn (CNE) lifts oil stocks.
*Rumours of Bradford & Bingley (BB.) interest give Rock (NRK) lift.
*Investors queue up to leave hotels group.
*Hopes of lucrative deals lift Proteome (PRM).
*Mike Ashley blames ‘train wrecks' for profit fall (i.e. rain and England being dumped out of the European Championship).
*Bear Sterns to act over falling share of sub-prime brokerage market.
*Northern Rock (NRK) fails to stop EGM.
*RBS (RBS) eyes new China move with Suzhou.
*S&P paints a bleak picture of the 2008 debt outlook.
*Atmosphere remains tense despite drop in Libor.
*Dubai investor, Mahesh “Micky” Jagtiani, paves way for Debenhams (DEB) bid.
*It’s unanimous, MPC minutes set stage for series of rate cuts.
*New Year’s Resolution as Cowdery sells stake (Resolution's (RSL) chairman Clive Cowdery).
*Credit market turmoil thwarts Citigroup’s (CGP) bid to raise $10-billion for oligarch, Vladimir Potanin.
*Morgan Stanley chief takes blame for ‘dismal’ loss.
*No Christmas cheer as sales growth stalls.
*Ashley weighs into Merrill over float.
*Trinity Mirror (TNI) boosts its market by reducing pension deficit.
*Mergers soar to global record despite credit crisis.
*BT (BT.A) urges OFCOM to let it close payphones.
*Bank’s fears for economy point to gloomy 2008.
*Mervyn King will carry on reigning with clouds on the horizon.
*Biffa (BIFF) bid back on track.
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*The Dow Jones closed down 25.20-points at 13207.27, the Nasdaq closed up 4.98-points at 2601.01, while the S&P slipped 1.98-points to 1453.00.
*The FSA pledges to tighten rules governing banks, in the wake of the Northern Rock (NRK) troubles, but runs into Downing Street criticism.
*FSA calls for more liquidity controls.
*Minutes from the MPC meeting shows door is open for more cuts.
*Train leasing inquiry to look at DTI rules.
*The Competition Commission has recommended that BSkyB (BSY) should be forced to sell some of its 17.9% stake in rival broadcaster ITV (ITV). The regulator's report says that BSkyB should either sell all of its shares or cut its stake to below 7.5% and promise not to take a seat on ITV's board. BSkyB says that it has not sought to influence ITV and bought the shares as an investment. But Virgin Media accused BSkyB of effectively blocking an ITV takeover. John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, has 30-days to comment on the report's findings.
*A search has resumed for three crew members of a tug which capsized in thick fog on the River Clyde. An ambulance spokesman said a fourth person on board, a man, had been pulled out of the water after swimming ashore. He was taken to hospital in Glasgow. The Flying Phantom tug ran aground whilst towing a vessel and capsized.
*Brussels warning to MasterCard on charges.
*US oil stocks fall as weather slows imports.
*South Africa's top prosecutor says there is enough evidence to charge the new leader of the governing party, Jacob Zuma, with corruption. The acting head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Mokotedi Mpshe, said a final decision on when to take action against him was "imminent". The charges relate to an arms buying scandal, which saw one of Mr Zuma's advisers jailed for 15-years.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
