The Lex Column:
*Rio (RIO) window - At the end of last year when Rio Tinto first insisted that BHP Billiton (BLT) lay its cards on the table, the rival miners seemed to be facing each other as equals. With the Takeover Panel’s deadline a week away, there is a case that BHP’s hand has strengthened.
*Tui Travel’s (TUI) turn - The savings just keep coming. Tui Travel announced on Tuesday that projected annual cost synergies have jumped 50% to £150-million.
*Emissions trading - Under the European Emissions Trading Scheme, customers have paid for the permits the utilities require to produce carbon, despite the fact that, so far, the companies have received them for.
*Gazprom’s stranglehold - Gazprom has some strong cards to play. It has jacked up prices in its domestic market to give it more muscle internationally.
*Bidding for SocGen (SGN) - Even French finance minister Christine Lagarde says Société Générale is in “a crisis situation”. So the relative resilience of SocGen’s share price reflects hopes that things are bad enough to force a takeover.
The Lombard Column:
*Dangers lurk when publicans try to play the markets (Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) hedging).
*The FSA’s history lesson – The FSA’s list of priority risks for the year ahead reads like a history rather than a forecast.
*No point in hiding it – Alliance & Leicester (AL.) provides us with a tribute to transparency, rather than a punishment for an unpleasant surprise.
Further news:
*BSkyB (BSY) given little room to manoeuvre re: ITV (ITV).
*Prudential (PRU) fears slower growth in Asia sales.
*PZ Cussons (PZC) takes the plunge at The Sanctuary.
*Hopes of rate cuts and strong data support gains.
*Imperial Tobacco (IMT) falls after Citigroup (CGP) gets behind BAT’s (BATS).
*Dunelm (DNLM) rallies on sales rise.
*Power shortages benefit Aggreko (AGK).
The Business Commentary Column:
*Playing blame game at Mitchells & Butlers (MAB).
*By the seaside – Time to rediscover the charms of a British holiday?
*Strewth! Aussie rules at Friends (Provident (FP.)) – There will be few tears shed in Edinburgh over the departure of Trevor Matthews. The straight-talking Aussie did wonders for the life and pensions arm of Standard Life (SL.), resuscitating what was a moribund division, but he rubbed some of his colleagues up the wrong way in the process. He was never one of them.
Further news:
*European banks circle stricken SocGen (SGN).
*South Africa woes do Rio (RIO) a power of good.
*Melorio (MLO), the provider of vocational training, rose 8p to 105p after it said that full-year results would be materially ahead of expectations.
Lead Story of The Business Section:
*SocGen (SGN) scandal is ‘wake-up call’ for UK banks - The Financial Services Authority cautioned that the global credit crunch has increased the risks of financial crimes emerging in the Square Mile.
The Comment Column:
*M&B (MAB) left with a bitter taste as banks skip their round.
*‘Clever Trevor’ will need all the Friends he can get – Trevor Matthews’ move to Friends Provident (FP.) from Standard Life (SL.).
Feature:
*Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) – Last orders.
The Questor Column:
*Anglo American (AAL) – Buy.
*PZ Cussons (PZC) – Buy.
Further news:
*It’s time to buy, JP Morgan advises investors.
*From call centres to curry houses – India Outsourcing.
Market news
*US rate decision expected 7-15pm UK time
*UBS (UBS) sees full-year loss Sfr4.4-billion
From The FT
*Post-Rock revamp for savings safeguard (p1)
*FSA warns of more credit-crunch pain (p2)
*EDF and ACS eye Iberdrola (p19)
*Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) hedging angers shareholders (p19)
*Standard Life (SL.) loses top-rated executive to Friends Provident (FP.) (p19)
*Alliance & Leicester (AL.) losses triple to £185-million on back of credit turmoil (p20)
*Woolworths (WLW) carries out board reshuffle (p22)
*AIM dominated by overseas listings in fourth quarter (p23)
From The Times
*Darling proposes new system to regulate banks that fail (p36)
*Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) up for sale after taking £391-million hit (p36)
*Alliance & Leicester (AL.) shares fall after bank reveals £130-million increase in writedowns (p41)
*BSkyB (BSY) given secret deadline to reduce its ITV (ITV) holding to 7.5%. They currently own 17.9% (p43)
*Goldman Sachs hit with fresh legal action relating to sub-prime fallout (p45)
*Prudential (PRU) looks East as domestic business slows (p47)
From The Daily Telegraph
*Rogue trader claims bosses ‘shut their eyes’ to his huge bets (B1)
*ITV (ITV) sale set to push Sky (BSY) into the red (B5)
From The Independent
*Finance director quits as Mitchells (MAB) is hit for £274-million (p40)
From The Daily Mail
*Hutton tells Sky (BSY) to slash its controversial stake in ITV (ITV) (p64)
From The Daily Express
*Daily Mail (DMGO) attacked over dual share structure (p64)
*Gold project launch lifts Metals Exploration (MTL) (p65)
SOME ITEMS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SHARE PRICES
*The Dow Jones added 96.41-points to 12480.30, the Nasdaq added 8.15-points to 2358.06 (having been in negative territory for the majority of the day), while the S&P put on 8.34-points to 1362.30.
*One million homeowners at risk as banks get tougher, warns the FSA.
*MP Derek Conway faces a possible police investigation and de-selection as a Tory Parliamentary candidate over £260,000 of taxpayer-funded payments he made to his two sons and wife, it has emerged.
*Scientists performing experimental brain surgery on a 50-year old man have stumbled across a mechanism that could unlock how memory works. The accidental breakthrough came during an experiment originally intended to suppress the obese man's appetite, using the increasingly successful technique of deep-brain stimulation.
*A man described as a "fanatic" has pleaded guilty to plotting to kidnap and kill a British Muslim soldier. Parviz Khan, 37, an unemployed charity worker from Birmingham, intended to seize and behead the serviceman "like a pig", Leicester Crown Court was told. Three other men, Basiru Gassama, 30, Mohammed Irfan, 31, and Hamid Elasmar, 44, have admitted other offences connected with Khan's plot.
*The International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth outlook yesterday because of turmoil in the financial markets and a slowdown in America. The US economy, which the IMF described as “the epicentre of the global slowdown”, will expand by 1.5% this year, down from a previous forecast of 1.9%.
*Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, separately revealed that each is working with investigators seeking information on their activities in relation to the packaging and trading of sub-prime mortgages.
*EU regulators threaten action on mobile web surfing charges.
*Top-grade US wheat prices soar 40% in 2-months.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
