The Lex Column:
*Sell phone - Shareholders of Sprint Nextel have waited a considerable time for the US wireless business to fix the problems arising from the merger that created it.
*Siemens (SIE) meeting - Should investors take rotten fruit and eggs with them to Siemens’ annual general meeting on Thursday?
*Sovereign wealth rules - Alan Greenspan’s objections to governments punting on shares have gone out of fashion. Recent forays by foreign governments into equities have been broadly welcomed.
The Tony Jackson on Monday Column:
*Has the supercharged banking model run off the road? - The supercharging is not in doubt. McKinsey estimates that in 2006, profits per employee in banking were a staggering 26 times higher than the average of all other industries worldwide.
Feature:
*RBS (RBS)highlights fallout from the credit squeeze.
Regional Focus:
*Republic of Ireland.
Further news:
*Biffa (BIFF) bidders hasten to quell rival approach.
*‘For Sale’ goes up at News International’s ‘Fortress Wapping’.
The Economic View Column:
*Cheap talk and broken promises for Africa – 3-years on from those heady moments of idealism and political optimism in Davos and Gleneagles, progress has been pretty scant.
Feature:
*British farmers reap rich Russian harvest – High food costs and low costs boost yields ... Vast areas of cheap but fertile soil lie fallow.
*Hedge funds make dash for the land as investors dig for hidden value.
Business Big Shot:
*Robin Saunders.
Feature:
*General Motors (GMR) set for another restructuring round, to bring down costs.
The Monday Manifesto:
*Indra Nooyi, chief executive of PepsiCo.
Feature: Man with a plan - Sir James Dyson:
*‘We’re on course to shuffle into a home for retired great powers’ (Great Britain is losing touch with glorious industrial past).
Further news:
*Food inflation is here to stay, warns PepsiCo chief.
The Comment Column:
*The end of the illusion, and of money for nothing, is nigh - In a country like ours, the exchange rate is critical to both the generation of the illusion and its demise. The illusion of the Brown transformation is no exception.
Monday Interview:
*Simon Nixon, chief executive of Moneysupermarket (MONY) – ‘The geek behind the glamour’.
Credit Crisis Feature:
*Wall St nightmare haunts banks (despite writedowns).
The AIM Market:
*Dubai investors force delay in betting firm’s flotation (TurfTrax).
Further news:
*Working Title, the British-based film production company, is understood to be in discussions with NBC Universal to launch an international television business.
*UK faces ‘rebalancing’ rather than recession, says Item Club.
*Former easyJet (EZJ) chief, Ray Webster, lands BMI consultancy.
The Small Talk Column:
*Probabilty - Probability has not had the easiest of starts to its life on AIM, hit by the fallout of US legislation just a week after listing. A year and a bit on from its listing, it is gearing up for its second International Casino Exhibition (ICE) in Earls Court. The big name gamblers have not become involved in mobile gaming in any meaningful capacity. But a few might look at a takeover of Probability.
*FoaMasters (FOAM) – The bulk of its business comes from sales of raw foam, exported to retailers including Wal-Mart. It also makes its own brand bedding products.
The Stephen King Column:
*If the West denies chances to emerging countries, it will only end in tears.
Further news:
*Public finances are a mess and will get worse, says ITEM club.
*Fashionable Asos (ASOS) can net gains amid the gloom.
The Investment Analyst Column:
*Volatile global markets give brokers a boost.
The AIM Market:
*Chinese Eastsea Business Software – Chinese IT spin-off raises profile ... and a war chest (adviser is Evolution).
*Share – Big shares giveaway heralds firm’s float (adviser is KBC Peel Hunt).
Further news:
*Darling to reveal £25-billion Rock (NRK) bail-out package.
*S&N (SCTN) set to bazck £7.8-billion takeover.
From The FT
*Ladbrokes (LAD)ends casino plans (p19)
*JC Flowers considers £4-billion bid for Friends Provident (FP.) after building 2% stake (p19)
*Ping An Insurance, China’s second-largest insurer, plans to raise almost $22-billion to help fund aggressive foreign acquisition plans in the biggest-ever share sale in mainland China (p19)
*BHP (BHP) set to reveal solid rise in output (p21)
From The Times
*EDF considers Sellafield for new reactor (p38)
*JC Flowers in £4-billion bid for troubled Friends Provident (p38)
*Don’t waste money on futile insurance policies, warns the Which? Consumer body (p42)
*GIP may trump Montagu and Hg with bid of up to £1.5-billion for Biffa (p42)
*Mobile firms face tough rules on internet access for children (p43)
*Companies are caught in ‘perfect storm’ in Japanese market (p45)
From The Daily Telegraph
*Gordon Brown denies Northern Rock (NRK)deal with Sir Richard Branson (p1)
*Treasury looks for new bidders in Rock (NRK) auction (Business 1)
*According to documents ‘leaked’ to the Daily Telegraph, the European Commission believes that some of the most polluting electricity generators are making huge windfall profits (B1)
*JC Flowers may look for Friends (Provident) (FP.) partner (B1)
*Takeover of Close Bros (CBG) is a ‘done deal’ (B2)
*S&N (SCTN) battle could end this week (B2)
*Non-dom tax moves ‘will drive rich away’ (B3)
From The Independent
*BHP Billiton (BHP) prepares hostile Rio (RIO) bid (p38)
*Sale of Virgin Radio back on the agenda as potential suitor’s line up (p38)
*Bid talk surrounds Friends Provident (FP.) as JC Flowers builds new stake (p38)
From The Daily Mail
*Rio Tinto (RIO) anger over BHP (BHP) bid (p62)
*William Morrison turns a corner (p62)
*WestLB is considering a £1.5-billion injection, to bolster its finances after being hit by the credit crisis (p62)
From The Daily Express
*SMG’s (SMG)radio sell-off plans back on (p50)
*BHP/Rio (BHP)/ (RIO) deal in balance (p50)
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*Last Friday on Wall Street the Dow Jones closed down 59.91-points at 12099.30, the Nasdaq fell 6.88-points to 2340.02, while the S&P lost 8.06-points to close at 1325.19.
*Chancellor Alistair Darling is to set out rescue plans for Northern Rock (NRK), which will pave the way for a private sector buyout of the stricken bank. Mr Darling will make a statement to the Stock Exchange before briefing MPs on how he wants to handle the sale. He is to announce the £24-billion given to the bank in Bank of England loans will be converted into Government bonds.
*Queues outside Northern Rock (NRK) when the bank’s troubles first hit the headlines have damaged Britain’s campaign to persuade the European Union to adopt its light-touch approach on financial regulation, according to leading City figures.
*Lenders call for help to fund home loans.
*A scheme to prevent children accessing pornography, gambling and other adult services on the latest mobile phones is to be reviewed by the telecoms regulator.
*According to a Daily Telegraph report, the number of crimes being solved by police has fallen or ground to a halt in nearly two-thirds of forces in England and Wales. Last year, every warranted officer detected about 10 crimes per year, the same level as in 2001. Also somewhat worryingly, it seems that it cost the police £10,000 for each detection – 10% more in real terms than in 2001.
*House prices fall for third consecutive month but agents see signs of recovery.
*According to a study due to be published tomorrow, single-salary married couples in Great Britain are paying a much higher proportion of tax than their counterparts in other major western nations.
*Sales of organic and free range chickens have soared following a controversial Jamie Oliver television programme, which showed disturbing scenes of chickens being slaughtered using battery-farming methods. A source close to one large supermarket said that sales of free range and organic poultry had risen eightfold since the programme aired.
*Hardline nationalist Tomislav Nikolic has won the first round of Serbian presidential elections, but will face a run-off poll, partial results suggest.
*A midair collision between two single-engine planes over suburban Los Angeles left at least five people dead, including one killed by the falling wreckage, police and federal officials reported.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
