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FINANCIAL TIMES
The Lex Column:
*January sales - The world is decoupling from the US, just not in the way the optimists hoped. With US stock markets closed, equities got slammed worldwide.
*Northern Rock (NRK) - On Monday Alistair Darling announced the latest plan for a “private solution” to the Northern Rock crisis. Under his proposal, the true subsidy is almost impossible to work.
*European lending - Banks’ caution now appears to reflect a more profound pessimism than one that might be prompted by “technical” money market problems and temporary balance sheet strains.
*Japanese equities - There are plenty of thankless jobs in banking these days. Marketing Japanese equities is one of them. The market continues to see an exodus of investors.
*Davos men - The attendees at this week’s Swiss gathering of top business, government and opinion leaders have more sober thoughts on their minds than at this time last year.
The Lombard Column:
*Ave or Vale? Brazilians can’t decide on Xstrata.
*Wolseley’s rising damp – There seems no way of stanching the leaks in the American market.
*Easy ride not guaranteed (the Governments financial guarantees to financial institutions on Northern Rock).
The Power Player Column:
*Suvek Nambiar, UK chief of ICIC Bank.
Feature:
*Wolseley (WOS) – Profits down by almost a third.
Further news:
*Imperial Energy (IEC) eyes oil services float.
*Recession fears trigger rout in Europe and Asia.
*Footsie retreats but Taylor Wimpey (TW.) and Barratt (BDEV) buck trend.
*Takeover talk lifts Fiberweb. (FWEB)
*Pub directors fail to halt slide.
THE TIMES
The Business Commentary Column:
*Downtrodden Dolcis left helpless in a flight to quality (the collapse into administration).
*Fear of the unknown takes its toll – Uncertainty breeds fear, and feat in these markets is infectious.
*Secrecy will send wrong signals – There should be no reason for the Energy Retail Association to withhold information about what is discusses at its meetings.
Feature:
*Dolcis crushed as fashion retailers stamp their authority on high street shoe market.
The Business Big Shot Column:
*George Soros.
The Tempus Column:
*Wolseley (wos) – The shares are still best avoided.
*Corin (CRG) – Hold.
*Filtronic (FTC) – Hold.
Tiddler to Watch:
*Proventec. (PROV)
Further news:
*Biggest slide in share prices for 6-years.
*Headhunter, Hat Pin (HTP), fell 33p to 46p after saying that a dire performance at its ‘The Talent Business’ unit would hurt profits.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
The Comment Column:
*Astute buyers won’t try to catch this falling knife now.
*Darling won’t survive black horse riding to his rescue - Last summer's dithering has left us with no option but to pursue the Goldman Sachs version of nationalisation. However, the likes of JC Flowers and Cerberus could come back, but the obvious new entrant to compete against Virgin and Olivant is, in fact, the oldest player in the Northern Rock (NRK) rescue saga - Lloyds TSB (LLOY). If it was keen on Northern Rock when the share price was hovering around 700p last September, surely it'll be dusting off its plans again.
Feature:
*Online guide plots the path to success.
Feature:
*Taxpayers: welcome to sub-prime.
The Questor Column:
*Wolseley (WOS) – Hold.
*Workspace (WKP) - Buy.
Further news:
*Recession fears drive FTSE-100’s biggest-ever points fall.
THE GUARDIAN
No share news today
THE INDEPENDENT
The Outlook Column:
*(Northern) Rock (NRK) books into a private rehab clinic.
*Less TalkTalk, more action please (Carphone Warehouse) (CPW).
The Business Analysis Column:
*Davos – Wealth, power and a sprinkling of stardust.
The Investment Column:
*Wolseley (WOS) – Avoid.
*Corin (CRG) – Buy.
*Hat Pin (HTP) – Avoid.
Further news:
*Takeover talk lifts Biffa (BIFF) above the stock carnage.
DAILY MAIL
At a Glance:
*Tele – Qinetiq (QQ.).
The City Focus:
*Friends Provident (FP.) comes to the end of its innings.
Further news:
*America sparks Footsie freefall.
DAILY EXPRESS
*World holds breath for Wall Street opening.
*Slide puts miners into freefall.
DAILY MIRROR
No share news today
THE SUN
No share news today
COMMENT AND BID NEWS
From The FT
*Tesco (TSCO) plans High Street outlets to take on department store chains (p1)
*Vale (Brazil’s biggest mining group) flirts with Xstrata (XTA) move (p19)
*The cost of insuring corporate debt soars (p19)
*WestLB close to settlement with Natixis over Boxclever collapse (p19)
*Deutsche Bank (DBK) seeks expansion after deal for Chiltern (p22)
*More than a case of déjà vu for Friends Provident (FP.) (p22)
*Gresham House’s (GHE) board survives after disgruntled Parkwood sells stake (p22)
*Discounts by rival hit Sports Direct (SPD) (p23)
From The Times
*Warning of more turmoil as investors flee markets (p40)
*City concern at Treasury deficit figures (p45)
*Mortgage fall signals bleak outlook for lenders (p45)
*Brazilian miner, Vale, in funding talks over $90-billion takeover of Xstrata (XTA) (p49)
*Shareholders set for €1-billion bailout of loss-making German bank, WestLB (p51)
*Proventec’s (PROV) deal with the NHS to provide steam-cleaning kit for hospitals should be good news for Oxford Catalysts (OCG) (p55)
From The Daily Telegraph
*Northern Rock (NRK) to pay £40-million for Darling’s private sector solution (B1)
*Angry SilverJet (SIL) boss grounds Mayor Ken after a bust-up (B1)
*Grim times for Sports Direct (SPD) (B2)
*Swiss Re (SWI) eyes division of Friends Provident (FP.) (B3)
*FSA looks at funds’ marketing as more payouts frozen (B6)
*UK insurers seen as targets for Ping An (B6)
From The Independent
*Treasury insists on £5-billion Rock (NRK) asset buffer in bond issue deal (p35)
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*Wall Street was closed yesterday for Martin Luther-King day.
*Taxpayers to support Northern Rock (NRK) for the next 3-years.
*Businesses pile on pressure over fuel duty rise.
*Energy watchdog, OFGEM, to look at claims that suppliers have colluded on prices.
*As City firms look to retain staff with bear market experience.
*BA (BAY) pilots vote on strike action after impasse over subsidiary airline.
*Japan's Nikkei index closed down 5.65%, meaning it has fallen 18% this year. Trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange was suspended for an hour after hefty early losses, but later resumed trading with the main index down 12%.
*In Hong Kong the market was off 8%, but is currently 7.3%.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
