Rumour mill seizes on mandatory convertibles 28 Feb 2003 It is possible to separate fact from fiction, at least with the rumours of massive issues. The size of doable deals is limited by the liquidity of the underlying stock and its availability to borrow.
Do German banks need a safety net? 28 Feb 2003 They may not be at that stage yet. But the government should make contingency plans. If push comes to shove, it is much better to have a "bad bank" solution than a long drawnout Japanstyle fudge.
Industrials mired in double-dip recession 28 Feb 2003 The first round of restructuring hasn't been enough to turn around ABB, Alstom and Invensys. It is hard for these companies to raise money. So they have to sell core assets. The snag is that these come with liabilities attached.
HVB rocked by E4bn mandatory rumours 27 Feb 2003 The troubled bank said it didn t need to raise funds last month. Hence the panic reaction. Hopefully HVB hasn t changed its view. Because it looks as if it would have a tough time wringing money from investors.
Alstom looks like a slow-motion train wreck 27 Feb 2003 The French engineer s finances are unravelling with an eerie sense of inevitability. A balance sheet update, a cancelled outsourcing plan and a possible disposal all inch the narrative forwards.
Bidders may battle for Pizza Express 27 Feb 2003 Rivals are threatening to upstage Luke Johnson's accepted offer. A bidding frenzy for the chain may soon erupt. Johnson won't want to fall out of the game. That may be good news for shareholders.
Axa investors shrug off dividend cut 27 Feb 2003 The French life and general insurer is at pains to show it is managing its capital base prudently. It has also beaten its own cost cutting targets. But this won't be enough to sustain a share price rally.
Fiat gets a clever new CEO 27 Feb 2003 The resignation of two independent directors strengthens the grip of the Agnellis. Who's going to look after the other shareholders now? But having a clever dealmaker may not be great for minority shareholders. Morchio is best known for cutting great deals for himself.
Trinity Mirror stands by its laggards 27 Feb 2003 New chief executive Sly Bailey is reluctant to split the UK newspaper group's regional and national businesses. If Trinity's share price is anything to go by, investors want her to keep a much more open mind than that.
Parmalat pulls bond offering amid jitters 27 Feb 2003 Fears about the company's solidity made investors demand steep conditions on the E300mE500m deal. The company insists that it has the money to refinance itself.
Umberto Agnelli returns to Fiat 26 Feb 2003 His arrival, and Fresco's departure, are a step in the right direction. But Fiat still needs to take drastic action. Reluctance to auction Toro and launch a rights issue raise questions about the group's resolve.
Ahold break-up looks fraught with difficulty 26 Feb 2003 The problem is not merely that the Dutch supermarket group looks like a forced seller in a bear market. For all their quality, Ahold's assets may be of limited strategic interest. It won't be easy to drum up an auction.
Fiat losses complicate Agnelli’s plea 26 Feb 2003 How will Umberto Agnelli persuade his family on Monday to invest in a firm that just lost E4.3bn? There is a way. The bylaws of the family holding company make it attractive for members to follow their money.
Endesa balance sheet groans from Latam troubles 26 Feb 2003 A E2bn issue of preferred securities is the Spanish group's way of plugging the hole. Unwinding its other problematic diversification into telecoms will take longer. But at least the core Spanish business is doing well.
Abbey halves dividend 26 Feb 2003 The UK bank has also quantified the bill for previous management's decision to play the wholesale markets: £2.7bn. Now Abbey is returning to its retail roots. The idea is this will cut risk. Maybe, but it won't eliminate it.
Royal & Sun Alliance keeps on falling 26 Feb 2003 But investors won t stump up for RSA when they reckon stronger insurers are mulling rights issues too. This time it is rumours of a 30pashare rights issue that have bashed the UK insurer's stock price.
No need for government to run the City 26 Feb 2003 Britain's regulators are proposing new powers to let them direct the financial markets in an emergency. As New York showed, market players have the skills and the incentives to cope with a crisis. More to the point, the government does not.
Ahold bonds imply insolvency risk 25 Feb 2003 On the information currently available, Ahold s assets are worth more than its debts, even in a distressed breakup. Bondholders are obviously worried that more skeletons will fall out of the Dutch supermarket group s closet.
Mandatory convertibles fleece shareholders 25 Feb 2003 Weak managers abuse the mandatory structure to avoid the scrutiny they would otherwise face in rights issues. Mandatories promise riches to hedge funds and banks. But the ordinary shareholder is left to pick up the tab.
Credit Suisse 2002 loss tops European banks 25 Feb 2003 Although war clouds the outlook, Credit Suisse reckons it has turned the corner at last. However, the group s troubles are now hurting its private bank. Fund inflows there have slumped.
Prudential raises doubts over dividend 25 Feb 2003 The UK insurer is eating a healthy portion of humble pie. It cannot recommit to dividend growth following cuts to its credit rating. The Pru s declaration last summer that dividends would keep rising was always tempting hubris.
BCP does first big banks rights issue of 2003 25 Feb 2003 Food for thought for other capitalstrapped banks that are dithering about raising equity. As the insurance sector showed last year, the window may not stay open for long.
WPP expects corrugated recovery 24 Feb 2003 The advertising bellwether isn't expecting much joy in its markets until 2004. Meanwhile, it is pulling out all the stops to keep investors happy with a strategy that still devotes most of their cash to acquisitions.
Ahold CEO, CFO quit on earnings restatement 24 Feb 2003 The Dutch supermarket giant s past of acquisitionled growth has finally caught up with it. Ahold s bad disclosure and terrible cash conversion led investors to smell a rat. Was the board asleep on the job?
EMI might grab Warner – report 24 Feb 2003 The music industry needs to consolidate. But even if trustbusters are ready to smile, the conglomerates are too crippled to act. It looks like woestruck EMI's only hope of salvation is to enlist a partner and become an improbable consolidator itself.
Enel may take stake in EdF nuclear plants 24 Feb 2003 This is part of a master plan by EdF to curry political favour in Rome for its march into Italy. But Enel investors must keep on their toes. This may give Enel cheap power, but it may not actually open the French market to competition.
Benettons nab Autostrade 24 Feb 2003 The next step for the family could be to fold the debtladen bid vehicle into the Italian motorway group. That way the Benettons could end up with more than double their original stake without spending an extra Euro.
KKR drops out of Safeway battle 24 Feb 2003 The LBO firm had no competition issues. But it faced higher hurdles than other potential bidders. It needed more information and couldn't match the synergies of Philip Green. Better to focus on hotter assets like Six Continents.
SixCon bidder in controversial scheme 23 Feb 2003 Hugh Osmond and his cronies were given warrants allowing them to own 12% of CMI's issued share capital. Even if he torpedoes the warrants, Osmond's credibility as a saviour for SixCon's shareholders will suffer a serious blow.
S&P junks ThyssenKrupp on pension liabilities 21 Feb 2003 The German steelmaker is the first European company to be hit by changes to the rating agency s approach. But it won t be the last.