Director share sales raise red flag on stocks 30 May 2003 The ratio of sellers to buyers has reached worrying levels in the US and Germany and extreme levels in technology companies. Insider selling may be a better indicator of earnings downgrades now that new fairdisclosure rules are in force.
Italian funds must assert their independence 30 May 2003 In the Telecom Italia saga, the funds abstained en masse rather than voting against the Olivetti merger. Most funds face potential conflicts because they are owned by banks that had a strong interest in the transaction proceeding.
Rolls-Royce engineers dividend protection 30 May 2003 The UK engineering group has found a way of paying dividends should its pensions deficit annihilate distributable reserves. But RollsRoyce s apparent wheeze shows that the law on paying dividends is only silly if applied to strong companies with big deficits.
Investors gird themselves for euro strength 30 May 2003 During the 1990s, investing in US assets was a nobrainer. A rising stock market and strong dollar provided capital gains twice over. Now the situation has reversed.
EdF’s pain in Italy isn’t over 30 May 2003 One way or another, the French electricity giant seems destined to have to sink yet more capital into Edison. EdF will either be forced to buy out all the minorities at an inflated price or give leading shareholders a juicy sidedeal.
Cordiant says its shares are worthless 30 May 2003 The advertising group decided it had to warn investors that none of the bids its has received justifies even its minimal equity value. But tot up expected asset sales, and Cordiant's problems should be solved. Its debts must be much worse than they look.
Italy names Consob’s new chairman 29 May 2003 The country needs its own Eliot Spitzer a fiercely independent regulator. Italy is so riddled with conflicts of interests. With luck, Cardia is up to the task. But his track record doesn't offer a huge amount of hope.
TI/Olivetti merger creates new poison pill 29 May 2003 One byproduct of the transaction is that any bidder for TI would also have to bid for TIM, its mobile subsidiary. TI already looks pretty bidproof. But the extra cost of taking out TIM would make it even harder to take over.
Welcome to relationship stockbroking 29 May 2003 Fund managers are turning their attention to conflicts of interest in stock trading. They don't like banks making trading profits from their orders. This could lead to a revival of relationship stockbroking.
French capitalism hands over to a new generation 29 May 2003 A quarter of the CAC40 has changed chief executive in the last 18 months. Civil servants are out of fashion, but not family heirs. And a francofrancais, male, closed shop still prevails.
Union Fenosa to scrap takeover protection 29 May 2003 The main proponent of the change is reportedly Santander, which has built up a 24% stake in the Spanish utility. An exit may be coming soon. After so many fits and starts, consolidation in the utilities sector could be about to start to again.
It’s time to think about currency intervention again 29 May 2003 Global currency agreements, like the Plaza and Louvre accords, supposedly went out of fashion in the late 1980s. After a 20 year absence, they might be about to make a comeback.
Corporate bonds in a muddle on deflation 28 May 2003 Worries about falling prices have sent government bond yields close to 50year lows, but credit spreads have only widened a bit. This is a muddled message. If deflation is really on the way, companies are going to find it harder to repay their debts.
HeidelbergCement launches rescue refinancing 28 May 2003 The rights issuecumrefinancing would give the German group breathing room on its debts. But it does apparently nothing to address the strategic problems facing the business.
Volvo tries to put off Scania sale 28 May 2003 Now is hardly a good time to sell 45% of a truckmaker, especially when another investor blocks a full takeover. But until Volkswagen dumps its even more disastrous investment in Scania, Volvo is stuck.
Telefonica offers Terra Lycos minorities E1.7bn 28 May 2003 The Spanish incumbent thinks it can boost ebitda by E269m over three years by turning its ISP subsidiary into a division of the company. Its offer values those extra earnings at a healthy premium to Telefonica's own multiple. Terra shareholders would be brave to resist.
PPR gets some of its money back from Gucci 28 May 2003 The French group put $3bn into the fashion group in 1999. It is getting about $1bn back. That doesn't make much difference to PPR's obligation to buy Gucci. But it makes sure the cash isn't spent.
NYSE should consider floating 27 May 2003 Opening the NYSE up to the pressures of being a public company would be the best way to overcome issues like remuneration of its executives. It would subject it to the same scrutiny, disclosure and other rules as the companies it regulates and bring other benefits too.
Barclay twins try to strong-arm regulator with GUS buy 27 May 2003 It looks pretty daring to snap up the home shopping unit without making the deal conditional on regulatory approval. But the gamble may pay off if the regulator accepts the only alternative to the deal is closure.
Why don’t minority shareholders vote? 27 May 2003 TI s investors join an illustrious tradition of absentees. Partly, it is true that voting is a hassle. But the main problem is that shareholders just don t think they can make a difference. That's likely to be a selffulfilling prophecy.
Vodafone stands its ground 27 May 2003 It is Chris Gent's last set of results. The mobile giant is neither writing down its 3G licences nor recycling cash. Gent's successor inherits lots of room for manoeuvre and will find it harder to refuse to use it.
Xstrata arbs are still in with a chance 27 May 2003 Forget the creation of shareholder value. The UK miner s rights issue to fund the takeover of MIM shows the value of shareholder creation. If the arbs can find a way to create thousands of new MIM shareholders, they will profit from buying the traded rights on the cheap.
Case wants to spin off AOL – report 27 May 2003 It is hard to see the "watercooler fantasy" of an unwinding of the AOLTime Warner merger actually happening. The Time Warner old guard talked AOL's value down as a way of trashing its managers' reputation. A buyout would neatly call that bluff.
Telecom Italia rebellion fizzles 25 May 2003 Only 2.5% of shareholders opposed the Olivetti merger as a result of abstentions by local funds and apathy by foreigners. The deal no longer involves a transfer of value because share prices have shifted. But issues of principle remain.
Seat bidders try to talk down price 23 May 2003 They may not be especially successful, though, if their only gripe is Telecom Italia s short noncompete agreement. While it's true TI could get back into directories in a few years, there is little evidence it will do much damage.
Euronext lifts operating margin to 30% 23 May 2003 Without the acquisition of Liffe, the panEuropean bourse would now be in big trouble. Derivatives revenues are comfortably outpacing costs. If only the exchange didn t keep breaking down, investors would be more confident that it will continue to spend less than it saves.
Spain’s new takeover code to get an outing 23 May 2003 Spanish M&A is hotting up again. This time it s in the hotel sector. But that s the only real difference. The bid for 26% of NH Hoteles looks as fishy as recent bids in Spain s utility and construction sectors.
Black appeases shareholder pressure 23 May 2003 Hollinger's chairman has made minimal concessions to shareholders, trading his baronial control for a pact with a single other investor. He will come under pressure to do more. But does the structure of the rest of his empire allow him to?
WestLB banker’s potential conflicts deepen 23 May 2003 Robin Saunders, the bank's assetfinance chief, was juggling a host of personal equity investments in the bank s borrowers. At the very least, WestLB looks pretty dumb to have got into a situation where it lost millions while Saunders apparently made a killing.
Equity cult’s demise spells shake-up for prime brokers 23 May 2003 The hedge fund boom has been a bonus for prime brokerages, but there are signs that certain strategies are at full capacity. Prime brokers will find it hard to adapt if hedge funds accelerate the shift to asset classes other than equities.