The Lex Column:
*Merrilly Christmas – The multibillion-dollar injection for Merrill Lynch is the fourth investment in bruised international banks by eastern sovereign funds in a month.
*Making scents – Christmas is primetime for fragrance makers, but an industry that should be the poster child for mass market luxury is under pressure.
*Philips’ spending spree - Was Philips trying to lull investors with the €5-billion buyback it announced on Wednesday?
The Lombard Column:
*Alistair and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Loan - In search of family entertainment this Christmas? Look no further than this unfeasibly long-running production of the much-loved Rock (NRK) opera, a blend of parable, fantasy, farce and extreme mortgage lending that makes for an unmissable and (let's hope) never-to-be-repeated show.
*There is life after EMAP (EMA) - It appears that the decision to end sale negotiations, whether or not it was a tactic (EMAP says it wasn't), successfully called the bluff of buyers.
*Be frayed, be very frayed - Alas for its shareholders, Carpetright (CPR) is not bluffing. Lord Harris of Peckham yesterday called off the buy-out he was leading, two minutes before the close of trading. Just enough time for nearly 18% to be sliced from the share price.
Feature:
*New Star’s (NSAM) gleam diminishes as lock-ins loom.
The Weekend Share Watch Column:
*Anite (AIE) (Testing patience over likely disposal) - Order books in all Anite's businesses remain strong and cost savings should come through to the bottom line in the second half. Dresdner estimates the shares trade on a P/E ratio of 9, which is priced for a worst-case scenario only.
*Baltic Oil Terminals (BTC) (Terminal courtship trims political risk) - Simon Escott, chief executive, argues Baltic is well placed because it specialises in mazut, a fuel oil, and is the only foreign terminal operator in Kaliningrad.
*Fonebak (FON) (Restructuring rings up recovery) - KBC Peel Hunt, the group's broker, estimates the shares trade on a p/e of six times full-year 2008 earnings, based on a pre-tax profit of £4.2-million. That would represent a substantial improvement from the loss of £10.4-million a year ago. However, it has not been reflected in the share price, which has remained flat around 72p for the past 3-months.
Further news:
*Cadbury (CBRY) investors back Peltz’s demands for more changes at the confectionary company.
*Carpetright’s (CPR) long buy-out plan unravels.
*The US Treasury-backed $75-billion "superfund" planned by the top three US banks was scrapped yesterday after lack of interest from other banks in providing financial support.
*Year-end rally belies concern over credit outlook.
*Surge in copper prices helps drive gains in mining.
*Impressive double-digit growth from William Morrison (MRW) prompts Lehman to reiterate its favourable stance on the grocer. The shares added 3.4% to 321.5p.
*KKR deal lifts Northgate Information Systems (NIS).
Further news:
*Merrill Lynch looks for $5-billion bailout from Singapore fund.
*Credit crunch forces Lord Harris to abandon Carpetright (CPR) buyout.
*Festive cheer gives a boost to the market.
*Northern Rock’s (NRK) shares have fallen 92% in the past year.
*Bebo, the social network, is believed to have found a bank to help it to raise funds, although there no plans to be put up for sale.
The Comment Column:
*Equitable Life may take scalps Northern Wreck hasn’t - A financial scandal of deep embarrassment to the Government. Regulators under the spotlight for incompetence. Savers' money at risk. Sound familiar? I could be talking about Northern Rock (NRK) but you could take your pick from any number of financial scandals that have beset us, from Barlow Clowes to the pensions mis-selling fiasco. In fact, it's the scandal of Equitable Life.
*Myopic fund managers are hitting us where it hurts - The last time KKR, the US private equity house, came shopping on these shores it walked off with Alliance Boots for £11.1-billion. That deal proved a high-water mark before the summer credit crunch took a hold. Now KKR it’s back but seeking bargains on a very different scale. Its latest target is Northgate Information Systems (NIS).
Profile:
*Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury (SBRY).
Feature:
*Satellite hits new heights – Inmarsat (ISAT).
The Citywire Column:
*Cash flight leaves property funds looking to shore up.
Further news:
*GKN’s (GKN) Filton win gives UK a shot in the arm.
*Takeover talk sees traders pour into pubs (talk of possible merger between Punch Taverns (PUB) and Mitchells & Butlers (MAB)).
The Outlook Column:
*A sad end to 250-years of Equitable Life – The auction of Equitable will be a reminder of just how badly its policyholders have been let down by financial watchdogs.
*Sports Direct (SPD) cashes in on Nike.
*EMAP’s (EMA) U–turn for shareholders - What lies behind EMAP's swift change of heart over whether or not to sell its business-to-business publishing unit?
A Day in the Life:
*Dermot Halpin, European head of Expedia.
Further news:
*Price controls lifted on banking for SME’s (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises).
*Broker report (UBS) puts Berkeley (BKG) on a Swiss roll.
*Jittery investors make record fund withdrawals.
*Tata Motors closes in on UK car brands.
*Equitable plans for a spring sale.
*Footsie celebrates a £22-billion flourish.
*The Takeover Panel has told BHP Billiton (BLT) to make a formal bid for Rio Tinto (RIO) by 6th February 2008, or walk away.
*Saudi Arabia aims to take lead in sovereign wealth fund stakes.
*Mike Ashley delivers Umbro (UMB) to Nike in a deal to transfer ‘crown jewel’ of the England shirt.
*EMAP (EMA) consigned to history after Apax purchase.
*Investor showdown looms for Northern Rock (NRK).
*Morgan Stanley reviews position of risk officer over writedowns.
*Friends Provident (FP.) replaces broker Merrill with Goldman Sachs.
*Debenhams (DEB) shares at record low, despite suitor.
*Nike poised to seize control of Umbro (UMB).
*Northern Rock (NRK) bows to hedge funds’ calls for special meeting.
*Skipton Financial Services, a subsidiary of Skipton Building Society, said that details of 14,000 customers had been lost after a computer was stolen from Moore Stephens Consulting, a London-based IT contractor.
*Marsh & McLennan ousts chief and hints at possible break-up.
*Merrill Lynch seeks Temasek cash injection.
*EMAP (EMA) sells business magazines to Guardian and Apax for £1-billion.
*The Investment Management Association said yesterday that private investors' confidence has plummeted to such low levels that November was the worst month on record for redemptions of holdings in investment funds.
*The Investment Management Association said yesterday that taking into account both new investments and redemptions, investors withdrew £333-million from unit trusts and Oeics during November. The worst-hit funds were those invested in equities, which suffered a net outflow of more than £600-million.
*Tracker funds are tops as market beats a retreat.
*Great Britain and Italy are considering cancelling or halving orders for Eurofighter aircraft as military budgets come under pressure. The Eurofighter consortium.
*Umbro (UMB) soars as Nike takes stake.
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*The Dow Jones closed up 205.01-points at 13450.65, the Nasdaq 51.13-points to 2691.99, while the S&P closed at 1484.48, a rise of 24.34-points.
*The Pound hits record low against the €uro.
*The Bank of England has warned that a sharp economic downturn could push Great Britain’s financial system to the brink of collapse, forcing banks to raise billions in fresh capital.
*The number of first-time home buyers in the UK has dropped to its lowest point since 1980 as house prices soar, mortgage lender Halifax says. An estimated 300,000 first-time buyers entered the market in 2007, 15,000 less than the total a year earlier. Halifax found that the average house was out of the reach of a typical first-time buyer in 96% of UK towns. The average price paid by a first-time buyer for a property increased 15% during this year to £175,093.
*It has emerged that Labour has abandoned its key manifesto pledge to eliminate the controversial practice of mixed-sex wards.
*Investors fleeing from equity and property markets have caused the worst sales performance for UK funds for 15-years.
*Travelscope Holidays - Administrators say thousands of customers hit by the liquidation of a travel company will be refunded the full cost of their cancelled holidays. A statement on Gloucester-based Travelscope Holidays' website said as many as 40,000 people were affected. Christmas and New Year breaks have been cancelled with immediate effect. Some 854 passengers due to travel on Saturday have been told they cannot. "All passengers will be refunded," said joint administrator Paul Clark. A statement on Travelscope's website said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would pay all losses to air passengers while land and sea passengers would receive refunds from the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).
*The Competition Commission and high street banks were accused of being, respectively, deaf and dumb over small business needs after the regulator announced it would scrap price controls imposed on accounts offered by the four biggest banks.
*The use of a controversial form of DNA evidence has been put on hold after scathing criticism by the Omagh bomb case judge.
*The parents of Madeleine McCann have sent a Christmas message to their missing daughter in a new video appeal for information. Kate and Gerry McCann say their only Christmas wish is to have their daughter back. Madeleine, four, vanished from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal on 3rd May. The couple remain official suspects, but have always denied any involvement in her disappearance.
*Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has been elected to the politburo of South Africa’s ruling ANC party.
*An avalanche on a road linking the Tajik capital Dushanbe with the country's second city Khudzhand has killed 16 people, police say. It occurred late on Friday evening 42-miles to the north of Dushanbe, a mountainous republic in ex-Soviet Central Asia. Police were alerted by one driver using a mobile phone, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reports. Communication with the vehicle was lost "at once".
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
