Rhodia’s bondholders face bleak future 7 Jan 2004 The French chemicals company s refinancing package looks set to go through. But Rhodia s banks have made a heads I win, tails you lose bet at the expense of bondholders, stockholders and the company.
Private equity makes chunky profit off Yell 7 Jan 2004 Apax and Hicks Muse have pulled off an elegant exit from the directories group and made 2.5 times their original investment. The good news is that it removes overhang from the stock. But Yell still faces tough competition from BT.
Hedge fund poaches another top strategist 7 Jan 2004 Steven Galbraith is following former Morgan Stanley boss Barton Biggs and quitting his job as a pundit to go into money management proper. It looks like a bold move, but it says more about the maturity of the hedge fund industry than anything else.
When to buy the dollar 7 Jan 2004 It will soon be time to make the contrarian bet and buy the dollar but not quite yet. Momentum trading will take the greenback lower. But investors can't expect to catch the very bottom. They should be thinking of buying once it's fallen another 5%10%.
Capitalia’s Cesare Geronzi should resign 7 Jan 2004 The large Italian bank had close links with both Parmalat and Cirio, the country s two large recent scandals. The most charitable comment one can make about Geronzi, Capitalia s longtime chairman, is that he has proved a terrible judge of character.
UBS helped Parmalat with dubious financing 6 Jan 2004 The scheme involved Parmalat putting itself in double jeopardy: in the event that it went bellyup, it would do so spectacularly. Meanwhile, UBS covered its back. It protected itself against more than 100% of the downside, meaning it could even profit from the disaster.
Black’s rift with Hollinger board widens 6 Jan 2004 The newspaper group s board is doing everything it can to tie down its chairman while it figures out a way to deal with his mess. Although Black is still wriggling, the burden of accusations against him gets heavier by the day. This can t go on for much longer.
Skyepharma unfairly punished for its caution 6 Jan 2004 The UK biotech s stock took a hammering when it announced that delayed deals will lower 2003 revenues. A cautious approach to licensing should be applauded, not penalized.
Easy solution to lost shareholder votes 6 Jan 2004 Investors are more activist than they appear they only look apathetic because votes on corporate governance issues get lost in the system. But calls for an overhaul miss the point. Custodians can register votes competently already they just need to be told it's their job.
Next surprises with happy Christmas 6 Jan 2004 This suggests the British High Street had a better Christmas week than feared. But with Next growing strongly, the benefits for rivals may be dampened.
Low-cost airline wars gather pace 6 Jan 2004 Not even Ryanair's extraordinary ploy to pay passengers to fly is deterring new budget airlines from popping up all over Europe. There is still plenty of room to grow, and new nofrills players are unlikely to cause too much trouble for either Ryanair or Easyjet.
China recapitalises two of its biggest banks 6 Jan 2004 Hopefully, the giant $45bn cash injection will be followed by reform of the baddebt riddled banking system. As the Japanese example has shown, just writing cheques doesn't solve the problem.
BAE boardroom rift explodes 5 Jan 2004 Paolo Scaroni, one of the group's most recently appointed nonexecutives, seems to feel he's been banging his head against a brick wall. His departure will leave a worrying gap among nonexecs dominated by oldhands. But it may spur investors to demand a boardroom overhaul.
Investors prepare for chunky interest rate rises 5 Jan 2004 Few expect either the ECB or Bank of England to tighten as soon as this week. Even so, many are betting on a chunky rise in global rates later this year. They may be disappointed.
UK sky marshal policy in a muddle 5 Jan 2004 The UK government still faces big questions about its sky marshal policy, namely how it will work and who will foot the bill. The answers are unlikely to please the likes of British Airways. No wonder the airline is speeding up its cost cutting.
Snia in E1bn spin-off of medical business 5 Jan 2004 The remaining divisions in the Italian conglomerate are worth only a fraction of the medical business. While the move makes strategic sense, investors should stay clear.
NTL chiefs set to reap share bonanza 5 Jan 2004 The cable company's rocketing share price means their pay package is now worth more than £28m. That's a bit rich for a company whose owners lost everything a year ago. NTL seems to be making a bad habit out of overpaying its top brass.
Accounting change could lead to tech merger rush 2 Jan 2004 Proposed US rules make tech and biotech mergers less appealing after December 2004. Acquired R&D can no longer be written down so acquisitive companies will report lower earnings and returns on equity.
Weak Christmas triggers first retail warning 2 Jan 2004 WH Smith has rushed out a dire announcement before the decorations have even come down. It may be a special case having had problems for some time but this is still bearish for the sector.