Royal & Sun Alliance gets ready for rights issue 31 Aug 2003 The British insurer has been itching to raise funds for over a year. RSA has a stronger hand now. The bet is investors will believe a rights issue is worth it.
Nokia tightens Symbian grip as Motorola exits 29 Aug 2003 Battle lines are drawn in smartphone operating systems: Motorola is backing Microsoft/Java while Nokia is closer to acquiring Symbian. Psion is also upping its Symbian stake a smart investment that nevertheless suggests its own shares are overvalued. Psion is also upping its Symbian stake. But the valuation is so low that it raises questions about its own share price.
MCI takes US governance forward 29 Aug 2003 The Breeden report on the bankrupt telecoms group's future takes the debate over US and by extension European governance to a new level. The meat of the MCI matter is in the recommendations to strengthen the roles of nonexecutive directors this takes Higgs a step further.
Capitalia spins new protective web 29 Aug 2003 The controversial Italian bank is collecting a group of powerful investors. The risk is that these players have multiple relationships and that could allow Capitalia's chairman to resist pressures from the market.
Mitchells & Butlers knocked out of S&N pubs 29 Aug 2003 The perceived leader has been told it s out of the running for the pubs business, which is now likely to fetch more than £2.4bn. That may be good for M&B shareholders who feared it would overpay, want to see cash returned and may prefer their company to be a target.
BP buys Russian Slavneft stake for $1.4bn 29 Aug 2003 By agreeing to buy the stake, BP is now fully in bed with its Russian partner. BP's Russian adventure is going full speed ahead. This tidies up BP s $6.4bn venture with TNK, which owned half of Slavneft and had long wanted to go splits on that with BP.
Swiss Re H1 beats expectations 29 Aug 2003 It's little wonder that investors were cautious about the reinsurer's results following CEO John Coomber's quasi profit warning in June. But the results show that the issues Coomber highlighted are not so serious after all. He should keep his head down in future.
ABB shores up balance sheet with convertible 28 Aug 2003 It has made big inroads into the first two. With this issue, it is addressing the third. The SwissSwedish group had three big problems: asbestos; feeble operating performance; and an illiquid balance sheet.
Grasso’s $140m payment grotesque 28 Aug 2003 NYSE's governance was dysfunctional. The men who granted Grasso the payment were largely people he regulated. This is over the top for the boss of the NYSE an important job, but not one that has created massive wealth or involved significant risk.
Yell flotation cost £180m 28 Aug 2003 Total pretax costs of the directories group's IPO came to over 40% of the £433m it raised. Most of it paid for legacies from Yell's earlier leveraged buyout. But by any standard, it made for a costly capital raising.
BHP rides high on economic recovery hopes 28 Aug 2003 Mining stocks have been among this year's best performers. Hopes of a global recovery and frothy commodity markets have lit up share prices. But the rises have come too far, too fast. Valuations now leave little margin for error.
S&P downgrades Munich Re to A+ 28 Aug 2003 A capital raising would not have averted the move. The agency s view of the reinsurer relative to its peers has clearly deteriorated. Munich Re has declared war on S&P. If the rating agency is taking a harsher view of the whole industry, the fireworks are just beginning.
More mud flies in Collins Stewart dispute 28 Aug 2003 Collins Stewart forced staff wanting to sell shares in the broker to find buyers for twice the number of shares they sold. The practice looks questionable. It may have had the effect of institutionalising net demand for its own shares.
Morrison in Safeway driving seat 28 Aug 2003 Even if other supermarkets are allowed to buy small chunks of Safeway, regulators may insist that Morrison ends up with the lion's share. That means Morrison is well positioned to extract value for its shareholders.
BSkyB tells BBC to act like a venture capitalist 28 Aug 2003 The payTV group is being mischievous when it demands that the state broadcaster auction off winning shows to rivals to fund itself. It knows killer content is king. But it is exposing the contradiction at the heart of the BBC s public service role.
Goldman eyes Chinese joint venture 27 Aug 2003 The investment bank would be the latest to jump onto the Chinese securities bandwagon. Morgan Stanley stole a march on rivals when it formed a Chinese venture in 1996. Others including Deutsche and BNP are playing catchup.
Berlusconi seeks to raise retirement age 27 Aug 2003 Italy s pensions system is straining at the seams. But it is not clear that the proposal such as it is will solve the problem.
Convertibles are back after the summer break 27 Aug 2003 Adidas' E400m deal shows that while terms are no longer ridiculously good for issuers they are still pretty attractive. It is doubtful that wouldbe borrowers could extract better terms any time soon. They may as well get their skates on.
Bunds fare best in bond market crunch 27 Aug 2003 European government bonds have outperformed US Treasuries during the selloff. They still look like a safer bet than US debt, regardless of economic recovery.
Mobilcom moves to turn Freenet stake into cash 27 Aug 2003 The German telecoms group needs to refinance a loan coming due next year. Rumours of a deal with Tiscali are doing the rounds. But a share placement looks more likely.
UK hotels could be a good property play 27 Aug 2003 One answer lies in an ongoing review of UK taxation for property groups. Property tycoon Jack Petchey is building what look like trading stakes in struggling UK hotel chains. How can he make a turn?
Sterling’s euro entry victim of Kelly affair 26 Aug 2003 There was precious little chance of Blair pushing through the single currency anyway when hardly anybody apart from him was enthusiastic. But the erosion of Blair's authority in the wake of the Iraq war and Kelly's death has put an end to what little chance there was.
UK power grid eyes electricity rationing 26 Aug 2003 So scream the headlines. In fact, the interruption contracts that Britain s National Grid has offered industrial users make sound sense. In return for a fee, industrial users shoulder a greater risk of power cuts. This is a sign of markets working well, not failing.
Reckitt returns cash but keeps powder dry 26 Aug 2003 The household products group is achieving this juggling act by virtue of the fact that it has net cash on its balance sheet. Shareholders could have demanded more but they will probably give Reckitt the benefit of the doubt. It must use this trust wisely.
Deutsche Telekom moves for control of PTC 26 Aug 2003 This looks like an opportunistic move to seize control of the Polish mobile operator from reluctant owners at an attractive price. DT is at pains to stress it is not back on the acquisitions trail. Really?
Virgin Mobile tug-of-war nears its end – reports 26 Aug 2003 Deutsche Telekom has been trying to rein in the selfinflicted harm from its joint venture with Virgin that has been stealing its customers. It now seems to have realised that a deal with Virgin, then a float, is a better exit. Surely but who would want the shares DT doesn't?
Italian companies face refinancing hurdles 26 Aug 2003 In the wake of the Cirio blowup, the unrated bond market has slammed shut. The bluechip issuers shouldn't have much trouble raising money. But for others, the costs could rise steeply.
Munich Re tests S&P’s patience 26 Aug 2003 The German reinsurer was spared a downgrade in June. Instead, S&P issued a verbal warning that more capital would be needed before long. But Munich Re is still procrastinating over a capital increase. That can only be justified if its operating performance has gathered pace.
The equity rally is fragile 25 Aug 2003 It has been a sizzling summer for the stock market. A bleaker winter lies ahead. Valuations might not be obviously stretched, but estimates of profit growth for US, UK and European firms are.
Collins Stewart’s integrity under attack 25 Aug 2003 The UK stockbroker is disputing allegations of insider dealing and share price manipulation made by a former employee. The charges would be serious for any broking firm. But the stakes are even higher for Collins Stewart and its maverick chief Terry Smith.