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SATURDAY 2ND DECEMBER 2006
The Lex Column:
*Cold turkey - British TV news crews are not filming happy UK shoppers returning home with Italian suits or gadgets from Japan. The reason is because US dollar weakness, not sterling strength, is the only real story in currency markets.
*French energy - France’s constitutional council is an unlikely champion of open markets. That is why its condemnation of regulated tariffs in the country’s energy market surprised everyone.
*Venezuela - On Sunday, Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president, is expected to be re-elected. His grip on power has been significantly strengthened by high oil prices. How much would he, and the economy, suffer if prices were to plummet?
*Japanese inflation - It is still a great time to be a consumer in Japan. The core consumer price index rose 0.1% in October. That is basically a rounding error, but will it be sufficient to stop the Bank of Japan raising interest rates in the coming months?
The Lombard Column:
*Flat-pack finance: the risks of Sipp self-assembly – DIY pensions can sometimes fall apart.
*Expect more M&A.
*Four months on edge (Who Wants to be a Millionaire/2waytraffic).
Feature:
*New rich make their mark (Personifying the National Entrepreneurial Spirit - Barry O’Callahan, Sir Anthony O’Reilly, Derek Quinlan, Dermot Desmond).
The Weekend Share Watch Column:
*Internet retailer rises like a phoenix from the ashes (Asos (ASC.L)) - If sales growth at Asos continues, the stock could climb.
*Zinc and lead miner digs out 25% share price rise (European Goldfields (EGU.L)) - key to the stock's future performance will be whether the Greek authorities grant mining licences for European Goldfields' Olympias and Skouries projects. A decision is expected by mid-year.
*Group ringfences pension debt and rides to recovery (Uniq (UNIQ.L)) - The shares have the potential to rise sharply but it is clear that nothing is going to happen overnight and investors should be prepared for setbacks. Anyone brave enough to take the plunge, however, could gain from some of the best potential upside in the sector.
Further news:
*Motorists could face £30-billion annual bid for road charges.
*Jackpot for quiz show owners.
*Asprey unlikely to see profits until 2008.
*Citadel reveals $5.5-billion bill for trading costs.
*Citigroup (CGP.L) gives Indian poor a hand with thumbprint ATM’s.
*Revaluation lifts Harrods’ book value by 11%.
*Talk of a possible bid lifts Pipex Communications (PXC.L).
*Investors protest at FSA lifting caps on fund charges.
The Business Commentary Column:
*Adding up to a hill of beancounters - Bob Greifeld of Nasdaq, his Dublin beano, the lack of ability in calculating one of the most basic financial ratios? (After all, he has accountants who crunch numbers for him)
*The long and winding road - Business generally backed the London congestion charge three years ago, thinking that pricing other people off the road would grease the wheels of commerce. The chairman’s chauffeur-driven Jag, it was no doubt hoped, would slip more easily through the streets of the capital too. Traffic duly fell by a net 22%, but improvements in time and speed have been limited by falls in available road space and the obligation to spend longer at red lights waiting for pedestrians to pass. Buses have benefited but business, in the main, has had to shoulder increased costs.
*Bottom dollar - Raising the spectre of recession adds pressure on Ben Bernanke’s Federal Reserve to stop fretting about inflation and to cut rates within 4-months, as the markets now predict. That will help growth but hasten the dollar’s fall against almost everything except the yuan. Faster adjustment means riskier adjustment, so expect more jitters ahead.
Tiddler to Watch:
*Invista Real Estate (INRE.L).
Rumour of the Day:
*AstraZeneca (AZN.L) slid 60p to £28.90 as dollar weakness combined with persistent rumours that the drug company is in talks over an acquisition. Shire (SHP.L), up 7.5p to 1026.5p, was mooted as a possible target, along with New River Pharmaceuticals, a US company with which Shire has licensing deals.
Feature:
*Growth industry: Rise of the (hair) Salon.
The Tempus Column:
*British companies can also be winners from a burgeoning pound – For many UK firms the currency effect is only transitional.
Further news:
*Profit and loss: Nasdaq chief lacks skills in economics.
*Pru (PRU.L) launches Asian healthcare drive and promises breakthrough in profits.
*Café Rouge float in doubt as possible buyers appear.
*Citigroup downgrade puts Rank (RNK.L) in investors sights.
*Alizyme (AZM.L) leaps after raising £14.5-million.
The Comment Column:
*Place your bets for a two-dollar pound by next week.
*Massive pub hangover is just around the corner - After more than a decade of almost uninterrupted corporate success in the pub sector there are going to be some nasty failures stumbling out of the back bar soon.
Feature:
*VW (VKW.L): on the road to ruin or recovery?
Profile:
*Barbara Merry, Chief Executive of Hardy (HDU.L).
The City Trader Column:
*Grainger Trust (GRI.L).
The Questor Column:
*Strong management and deep pockets create a potent Punch Taverns (PUB.L) – Buy.
*De La Rue (DLAR.L) – Buy.
*Gooch and Housego (GHH.L) - Buy.
Further news:
*Dollar slides again amid US gloom.
*Eddington’s road charge plan boosts bus companies.
*End of an era as Wolves & Dudley (WOLV.L) becomes Marston’s.
*Pru (PRU.L) to double Asia life profits by 2009.
*Tales of takeovers – and some are coming true.
No share news today
The Derek Pain “No Pain, No Gain” Column:
*Printing.com’s (PDC.L) tarnished image set to brighten up – The online printer is no longer a strong buy, but it’s worth holding.
The Outlook Column:
*Eddington and the art of the possible. For once a report that may not end up gathering dust - Had Eddington been advising the Treasury a decade ago, one wonders whether the Channel Tunnel Rail Link would have seen the light of day.
A Day in the Life:
*Bob Geldof (Ex-Boomtown Rat and founder of Ten Alps (TAL.L)).
Further news:
*Bid rumours mill boat comes in for Forth Ports (FPT.L).
*Morgan Stanley put the skids under hopes that music publisher EMI (EMI.L) will get a knockout offer, saying it does not think that a new offer will match the 320p offered by Warner Music earlier this year.
*Yesterday’s rise in Plasmon (PLM.L) will give little comfort to long-term shareholders as the stock has been in freefall for the last couple of years, having traded above 250p in early 2004.
The Investment Column:
*Uramin (UMN.L) hunts big game in Africa – Ian Stalker (Chief Exec’) says the companies value has begun to be realised, but it has some way to go yet. This value needs to be shared out fairly. But if Uramin delivers, there should be enough for everyone.
At a Glance:
*Confident Ceres (CWR.L).
The Comment Column:
*Tills are not jingling yet (Retailers and Christmas).
Further news:
*Bid talk drives up Whitbread (WTB.L).
*Good interims and an acquisition lifts Hampson Industries (HAMP.L). Investiec says buy, but reduces PBT forecasts.
*Michael Grade ready to freshen up the boardroom at ITV (ITV.L).
*Pressure on BAE (BA.L) as Saudis talk to French.
The Trevor Webster Column:
*Follow Trevor Webster’s golden investment rules.
Further news:
*Cairn (CNE.L) asset talk hots up.
*Further boardroom buying lifts Media Corporation (MDC.L).
*New man from the Pru (PRU.L) sets Asia goals.
No share news today
THE SUNNo share news today
COMMENT AND BID NEWS*ITV (ITV.L) snaps up Scoot for a fraction of its peak price.
*FSA wins time over move by ‘Plumber’ to wind it up.
*WPP (WPP.L) takes new stake in the prized China market.
*Wolverhampton & Dudley (WOLV.L) calls time on brand name.
*Imperial Energy (IEC.L) plans move to main market.
*Upbeat presentation lifts Cairn Energy (CNE.L).
*Talk of an imminent takeover lifts Forth Ports (FPT.L).
*Inmarsat (ISAT.L) fell after 5 directors sell shares.
*BP (BP.L) moves Prudhoe Bay chief to London.
*JJB Sports (JJB.L) faces another warehouse strike.
*Rupert Murdoch’s wife gets MySpace role in China.
*Tesco (TSCO.L) comes to the rescue of the collapsed engineering company that maintains its stores, saving 800 jobs. Buying Maintenance One Services which went into administration in July.
*Last Night in New York the Dow closed down 27.80 at 12194.13, the Nasdaq fell 18.56-points to 2413.21, while the S&P closed down 3.92-points at 1396.71.
*Doctors are due to carry out more tests on a contact of Alexander Litvinenko who has tested positive for the same substance found in the Russian's body. Mr Litvinenko's wife Marina is also said to have been "very slightly contaminated" but is not ill. Health officials stressed the public were in no way at risk.
*Prospects for US interest rate cut bolstered.
*Institute of Supply Managers data compound heavy series of falls for greenback.
*Gold slips back but another surge could be on the cards.
*Rescue workers in the central Philippines are searching for survivors in the wake of a typhoon that triggered deadly landslides. More than 400 people have been reported either dead or missing, but Philippine officials said the toll could rise. Rescue operations are continuing, but emergency workers say hopes of finding any more survivors are dwindling. Areas near the Mayon volcano, south-east of Manila, were among the worst-hit by Typhoon Durian.
*Motorists should be asked to pay to drive on the nation's road network, a report commissioned by the Government has recommended. Former British Airways chief Sir Rod Eddington has examined options for modernising the UK transport network. He has reported that road tolls could benefit the economy to the tune of £28-billion a year. With road charging, drivers would pay more to use roads when they were busy or more congested.
*David Cameron has issued a stark warning to his Tory critics saying that the Conservatives will crash to a fourth consecutive general election defeat unless they rally wholeheartedly behind his drive to modernise the party.
*The pay deals given to top BBC entertainers such as Jonathan Ross are to be investigated by the Government's spending watchdog. The National Audit Office will review whether the large salaries are value for money for viewers and listeners.
*Police are investigating whether a woman who died after a "vicious attack" at her house was followed home. Laila Rezk, 51, was found unconscious with a serious head wound at her home in Robin Hood Lane, Kingston Vale, south west London, on Wednesday. She was taken to a south London hospital where she died the next day.
Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
