ING 2002 profits dented by hefty banking provisions 21 Feb 2003 The hit to the Dutch insurer s banking unit is more severe than expected. Despite big provisions, it is unclear if the worst is over. No wonder management declines to give a forecast for this year.
Parmalat may get shot of football team 21 Feb 2003 Parma Calcio never made much sense in a dairy group. But the mooted process looks anything but straightforward. Moreover, Parmalat investors have plenty more to worry about.
Credit derivatives market in a tizzy over SixCon split 21 Feb 2003 What happens to credit default swaps if the UK group gets its demerger through? Do they do the splits too? The only certainty is that, if Osmond blocks the demerger and loads SixCon up with debt, the swaps will be worth having.
Phantom M&A is the current UK zeitgeist 21 Feb 2003 Almost all M&A activity this year has involved indicative approaches rather than firm bids. Why? First, risk aversion. Second, the fact that most potential suitors are financial buyers who want to do due diligence.
Soft commissions under threat 20 Feb 2003 The UK Financial Services Authority may be limbering up for a crackdown on this shabby practice. It certainly ought to be.
What’s worse than FRS 17? 20 Feb 2003 The UK government is considering giving occupational pension schemes equal rights to secured creditors when a company goes bust. If the proposals see the light of day admittedly a biggish if that would be bad for both bondholders and shareholders.
Airlines brace themselves for war 20 Feb 2003 For all their survival planning, most carriers still don t know what is about to hit them. Equity investors should stay on the sidelines until the picture is clearer.
Osmond places giant personals ad 20 Feb 2003 His interest in SixCon could be rephrased: "Rich white male seeks partners". Osmond's plan to break up SixCon's hotels arm may have merits. But Osmond still needs to show the colour of his currency and spell out what price he wants to extract for himself.
Reed keeps its promises 20 Feb 2003 The publisher is confirming a reputation for reliability despite recent shareholder doubts. And looking ahead, its threeyear transformation process has made it a much less risky business than its peers.
Turkey is the latest moral hazard trade 20 Feb 2003 Investors assume Bush has staked so much on war with Iraq that he cannot afford not to bail out Turkey, a key ally in the region. But even if Turkey gets the $30bn it wants, this will only just cover the costs of war.
L’Oreal performance looks glossy 20 Feb 2003 Granted, 18% growth in earnings per share looks great. But L Oreal s performance is already reflected in its toppy valuation. Moreover, lower interest charges and lighter than expected taxes also helped to add some shine.
Hugh Osmond mulls bid for Six Continents 19 Feb 2003 But he will need to answer many questions before investors will feel comfortable voting against SixCon's demerger plans. The UK pubs impresario hopes to capitalise on investor discontent with SixCon's management and strategy.
Edison looks for new sugar daddy 19 Feb 2003 Less clear is why anyone would step in at this late stage in the game. It s clear why exisiting shareholders wriggling on a painful hook would want to find someone to take their place.
Reckitt holds onto its cash 19 Feb 2003 The AngloDutch consumer products group decided against a stock buyback to keep powder dry for doing deals. Having promised to hand back cash if it failed to make acquisitions last year which it did this policy simply looks stingy.
Spanish regulators shown, again, to lack fangs 19 Feb 2003 The reason given by a Madrid judge to throw out an insidertrading case against Cesar Alierta makes a mockery of securities regulation.
HVB puts a brave face on 2002 figures 19 Feb 2003 The bank has chosen to focus on transient trading improvements rather than the ugly truth. Either its implausible transformation plan works or investors face a monster equity issue.
Corus ties itself up in another knot 19 Feb 2003 Governance problems from the merger that formed the AngloDutch steel maker have crept out of the woodwork. They are hampering a planned disposal, potentially throwing the group's finances into turmoil.
Moguls’ sons make phantom bids 19 Feb 2003 Fatherson rivalry may have motivated two recent bid approaches. First Richard Li tried to prove himself with a proposed bid for C&W. Then Tony Pidgley Jnr had a similar idea except he actually thought of tilting at his father s own business. Both bids have proved flaky.
Standard Chartered 2002 pretax profits rise 16% 19 Feb 2003 The emerging markets bank is one of the few Londonlisted banks that still offers growth. Bad consumer debt crunched Hong Kong profits a preview perhaps of what may happen to OECD banks. But the rest of Asia is doing well.
DT launches E2.3bn mandatory convertible 19 Feb 2003 The disguised rights issue will get the credit ratings agencies off Deutsche Telekom's back for a while. But it may not be enough to provide real momentum behind the DT deleveraging story.
Berkeley Group could face conflict of interest 18 Feb 2003 Tony Pidgley Jr is mulling a bid for the homebuilder founded and run by his father. An auction of the company would be the fairest way to go.
Fiat seeks call option on Fidis stake 18 Feb 2003 By retaining a right to buy back 51% of its financial services arm from its banks, Fiat is covering its backside. The reason? Some fear Section 6.10 of the master agreement to sell Fiat Auto to GM could be compromised.
Reuters cuts and cuts again 18 Feb 2003 By 2005, the information provider will have slashed a third of its cost base as it tries to get ahead of dramatically declining revenues. Its offer for Multex signals a wish to refocus on content. That's fine but Reuters really needs to focus on its competitiveness.
UBS sees gloomy 2003 after Q4 loss 18 Feb 2003 At least the Swiss bank is honest. But then it can afford to be given its position of relative strength. While other banks fret about capital, UBS has launched a new share buyback scheme.
Breuer guilty of banking code breach 18 Feb 2003 A Munich court has found the chairman of Deutsche Bank guilty of breaking client confidentiality rules. What an embarrassment for the man who chairs the German Bankers' Association. Let alone letting DB in for a whopping fine.
Kingfisher powers ahead 18 Feb 2003 B&Q's Q4 likeforlike sales surged 8.8%. Moreover, the business may not be as exposed to a dowturn as its rivals. And, in spite of Dixons January bloodbath, electricals retailer Comet held up better than expected.
Six charged over Mannesmann payments 17 Feb 2003 Former board members of Mannesmann face prosecution for agreeing, or receiving, special bonuses after its takeover battle with Vodafone. Such a show trial will be a sterile and backward looking waste of time.
Fiat rights offer a better deal for its banks 17 Feb 2003 Without news from GM and new management, Fiat will struggle to attract minority shareholders to a E2bn capital increase. But for Fiat's banks, underwriting the offering at a price close to market beats converting E3bn of debt at an inflated price.
An investment upside to Germany’s problems 17 Feb 2003 On the one hand, Germany s problems are dragging down Europe. On the other, they mean lower interest rates through the region. These are already negative, in real terms, in some peripheral Eurozone countries. They are about to get more negative still.
Mohn moans rock Bertelsmann 17 Feb 2003 The media group's management is in turmoil because the founding family seems to want to pull all the strings again. They can't complain after all, they backed the Mohns' countercoup against earlier plans to float the conglomerate.