Client guys call it quits at banks 30 Jun 2005 First Peter Weinberg said he was leaving Goldman Sachs. Now Philip Yates is quitting Merrill Lynch. These moves coincide with a power shift in banks from advisory business to trading, which makes life harder for client advisors.
Bank of America in $35bn swoop on MBNA 30 Jun 2005 The last time BofA did something this bold, with Fleet, investors hated it. But the bank recovered and managed the deal superbly. Will it do the same with MBNA? Possibly. The deal stacks up financially. The question is whether the household credit boom has peaked.
Companies shouldn’t bemoan short-termism 30 Jun 2005 Corporate managers and investment heavyweights love to gripe about the pressure for immediate performance. But they complain too much. Investors with shortterm strategies do not harm companies. It is the institutions' own clients who should be complaining.
Perella advises MBNA on takeover 30 Jun 2005 And Morgan Stanley s nowhere to be seen on the deal. Anyone looking for fallout from exCEO Purcell s bungling has now found it. John Mack has returned to the fold. But now he's tasted flying solo, why would Perella do likewise?
Competition bites into Blackberry maker 30 Jun 2005 Research in Motion, maker of the ubiquitous Blackberry phones, is finally seeing its phenomenal rates of growth slow. The group already faces formidable legal issues. But that's nothing compared to the headache of competition from Microsoft.
Mack back at Morgan Stanley 30 Jun 2005 Anyone who thought hammering out John Mack s voluminous employment contract was tough work better think again. He returns to a firm riven by politics. One of his first priorities apart from mending fences ought to be shaking up the board of directors.
Costas jumps ship to new internal UBS hedge fund 30 Jun 2005 As he currently runs the whole investment bank, it seems to prove the bank s point that to keep staff, you need your own hedge funds. The move looks economically smart for UBS. But it may not work as well as a retention mechanism as the bank hopes.
ITV’s licence cut isn’t all good news 29 Jun 2005 Sure, the lowerthanexpected licence fee burden improves ITV's shortterm earnings prospects. But it's a stark reminder of the declining value of the UK broadcaster's business.
Has Deutsche got one over on private equity? 29 Jun 2005 The fund manager may have doubled its money by hanging on as an unwelcome minority in Cinven s buyout of Fitness First. But though Deutsche seems to have enjoyed a free ride at Cinven s expense, it s not quite the freebie it appears.
UK prepares to dismantle BNFL 29 Jun 2005 The government gave up on wholesale nuclear privatisation following problems at the Sellafield nuclear site in 2003. But it hasn t given up wholly on privatisation. So now it is going to break the nuclear operator up, selling of the juiciest bits.
Credit Suisse kills off CSFB name 29 Jun 2005 The snag was that it had more than its share of heartstopping and costly spills. Few will mourn its passing at least in Zurich. The bank's name may have stood for innovation in derivatives, the bond market and Russia.
Breton on the ropes over Rhodia 29 Jun 2005 The French finance minister has played down his knowledge of a deal at the center of the Rhodia scandal. But a document has emerged suggesting he was well briefed about it. Breton has some explaining to do.
Shell merger creates share dilemma 28 Jun 2005 Investors looking to increase their weighting in the oil giant before it merges its holding companies must choose between A and B shares. In the long run, it shouldn't make much difference. The bigger question is when to switch into BP.
KPN buys Telfort for up to E1.1bn 28 Jun 2005 The Dutch national telecoms operator has bought O2 s former Dutch mobile unit for a multiple of more than ten times ebitda. The deal will require significant synergies to stack up. What a shame KPN didn't strike two years ago when Telfort could be bought for E25m.
Thomson restructuring creates winners 28 Jun 2005 The French tech group s rejiggering has come to an end with its exit from TV tube production. Boss Frank Dangeard and shareholders have done well. But they paid too high a price for the approval of technology fund Silver Lake.
Intel faces multi-billion lawsuit by AMD 28 Jun 2005 The chipmaker s rival has accused it of threatening and "kneecapping" computer makers to maintain an illegal monopoly. Even if the suit doesn t damage Intel, it s likely to take years for management to settle the issue.
Why won’t economists say what they mean? 28 Jun 2005 The Bank of International Settlement's annual report is a masterpiece of euphemism, jargon and convoluted economistspeak. But what it seems to be saying is that the financial system is in a precarious state and there's not much anyone can do about it.
Is hedge fund activism out of control? 28 Jun 2005 First there was the Deutsche Boerse saga. Now a US hedge fund is taking on an underperforming longonly asset manager. Is nothing sacred? Even the boss of Man Group is worried. But he shouldn t be. Hedge funds have just as much right to be activist as any other investor.
What will France Tel’s boss do with all his cash? 28 Jun 2005 Didier Lombard inherits a company that is no longer cashstrapped. Indeed it is churning off bucketfuls of the stuff. Lombard has two options: return it or use it on deals. But if he s to do the latter, he needs to persuade investors that he won t waste it.
British Airways goes for it with surcharges 28 Jun 2005 BA is taking a risk with a higher surcharge than rivals to cover fuel costs. Given its stiff margin targets, it may not have a choice. So far the gamble has paid off perhaps because customers haven't figured out what it's up to. That may well change.
Citigroup to settle on bond trades 28 Jun 2005 The giant bank will disgorge £10m in profits from its controversial 2004 euro bond trade, and pay the FSA a £4m fine for lack of due care. But Citi avoided being charged with market abuse. After many contrite statements, the bank has probably salvaged its reputation.
What should Chevron do next in Unocal battle? 27 Jun 2005 It would be crazy to get into a bidding war with China s stateowned CNOOC over Unocal. That would be a mug s game. Certainty is the card Chevron should play. To further reassure investors, it could use a collar to guarantee the value of its bid.
Corporate savings can’t fully explain low yields 27 Jun 2005 JP Morgan says that balance sheet repair at companies lies behind much of the fall in real rates. But the evidence doesn t really stack up. A simpler explanation is readily available irrational buying by Asian central banks.
Investors start to warm to M&A 27 Jun 2005 Look at the way they have cheered large deals like Pernod s bid for Allied Domecq. The bidders shares have shot up. Declining bid premiums have helped bring about this change of heart. But it s not indiscriminate.
US lawmakers urge review of CNOOC deal 27 Jun 2005 The Chinese are fast replacing the French as the nationality Americans love to hate. But criticism of the Unocal takeover is off base. It largely ignores the fact that without the free markets that engendered the deal, US oil companies would have no assets to speak of.
Is Mack the right man for Morgan Stanley? 27 Jun 2005 The former president would certainly be in a better position than anyone to heal the many rifts created by Phil Purcell s stewardship. But on longterm strategy, it s not clear where Mack would take the firm. At CSFB, he pushed hard for a big financial services merger.
Why is China buying foreign companies? 24 Jun 2005 It s mainly a product of Beijing s decision to hold down the currency. This forces it to buy foreign assets come what may. Companies may be a better bet than government bonds. But there s plenty of scope for Chinese companies to waste money on these deals.
Italy’s economic problems deepen 24 Jun 2005 The country is already in recession. Consumer confidence is falling and the country is deep in debt. The central problem is soaring labour costs. But tackling that could lead to even more shortterm pain.
PartyGaming gets backing for £4.7bn IPO 24 Jun 2005 Since slashing its price, the online poker operator has drawn enough support to cover its book twice over. The shares are likely to be priced at a 15% discount to rival Sportingbet. That looks enough to ensure a buoyant aftermarket.
BT investors breathe sigh of relief 23 Jun 2005 The telecoms operator has avoided the two main pitfalls it could have fallen into after Ofcom's review of its dominant market position. It's not going to be broken up, and its longdistance network has been spared draconian regulation.