Fiat’s core business should be derivatives, not cars 28 Feb 2005 Three put options it negotiated earlier in the millennium are now worth E3.3bn. That s enough to cover four years of losses at its supposedly core auto division, at the current run rate.
Hearing date dooms Harmony bid for Gold Fields 28 Feb 2005 But the $5bn allshare offer was always a stretch. Moneylosing small companies tend to find obstacles when buying profitable bigger ones. Regulatory approval will not come before midMay. But by then the offer could loose the support of Norilsk, which owns 20% of Gold Fields. Regulatory approval won't come before May. By then Norilsk, the Russian miner which owns 20% of Gold Fields, may no longer support the bid.
Bunzl demerger makes sense 28 Feb 2005 The group s plan to spin off its cigarettefilter business to shareholders caps more than a decade of shrewd strategy. Now comes the harder part. Unless the drug can be reintroduced, Elan faces a troubled future. But the odds look low.
Will France Telecom escape the Breton curse? 28 Feb 2005 Didier Lombard, FT s new boss, won t change the strategy. But there are questions over his inexperience and Breton s continued influence. Companies saved by Thierry Breton, who has now become finance minister, tend to reverse after he leaves. Think of Thomson and Bull.
Elan slammed by drug withdrawal 28 Feb 2005 The Irish biotech has lost more than twothirds of its market capitalisation after a newly introduced drug was pulled from the market. Unless the drug can be reintroduced, Elan faces a troubled future. But the odds look low.
Thierry Breton named French finance minister 27 Feb 2005 France needs to cut costs, privatise assets and shape its repsonse to globalisation and competition. Breton's achievements at France Telecom suggest he could be the man for the job. But it will be tough.
Rothschild to front campaign against Borse 27 Feb 2005 Lord Jacob Rothschild may not be the ideal candidate to lead his son s campaign to oust Deutsche Borse's supervisory board. But his involvement underlines the rebels' determination to stymie DB's bid for the LSE, which increasingly looks dead in the water.
Stevenson to step down at Pearson 27 Feb 2005 Shares in the educational publishing group are barely above their level eight years ago when Stevenson first became chairman. Now his successor will be left to face the tough decisions, including whether to look for a new strategy and a new chief executive.
Investors display an appetite for tall stories 27 Feb 2005 Rumours are meat and drink to the stock market. But some of the recent stories doing the rounds in the UK have been plain daft. The takeover bids aren t materialising, but someone somewhere is making a lot of money.
UK companies pay out while consumers gear up 25 Feb 2005 Dividends are increasing at a doubledigit rate. Cashrich companies are afraid to invest or acquire. This is a rational response to heavy consumer borrowing especially now there are a few signs of distress.
Frankfurter Sparkasse should be sold by auction 25 Feb 2005 The savings bank is a vital piece in German banking consolidation. Selling it to the local Landesbank in a sweetheart deal would be copout. It's not as if there isn't interest from other banks. FraSpa's owners should sell it to the highest bidder.
Blackstone may form Euro restructuring unit 25 Feb 2005 Getting into the restructuring game now looks like a clever hedge. When things turn down, it will hurt the private equity business. Some private equity firms have been griping about hedge funds encroaching on their turf. This shows they aren't above a bit of poaching too.
Santander pushes Abbey’s bottom out further 25 Feb 2005 When the Spanish bank bid for the struggling UK lender last summer, Abbey s falling revenues were supposed to be bottoming out. But now Santander is looking at 2006 as the year of revenue growth. Small wonder it s decided to accelerate Abbey s costcutting programme.
Ryanair expands routes with E3bn Boeing order 24 Feb 2005 Instead of the budget airline "bloodbath" that chief Michael O Leary warned about, Ryanair is further expanding its capacity. The irony is that one of the companies that has done most for European integration is doing so with US planes.
L&G signals confidence in dividend 24 Feb 2005 The UK insurer has been dogged by questions about the sustainability of its payout. In response, it s raised the dividend above inflation. But low dividend cover and an impending change of chief executive mean fears of a dividend cut could resurface.
BAe swings to net cash position 24 Feb 2005 The UK defence group has wiped out net debt of £870m thanks to strong cash inflows from its Saudi contracts. With reduced risk in the UK and a strong chance of further export contracts, BAe is now on the path to more stable growth.
Centrica fighting to retain retail customers 24 Feb 2005 The UK energy group has been haemorrhaging retail customers. Now it wants to retain them. This will cost the company. It remains to be seen whether cost cuts in other parts of the business can compensate.
Iron ore price hikes likely to be short-lived 24 Feb 2005 The 71.5% hike in a benchmark iron ore contract reflects an unexpected rise in demand. But the situation is less alarming than it appears. Prices are likely to fall back next year as new capacity hits the market.
Egg shares sink 9% on jump in bad debts 23 Feb 2005 The problem is the UK bank's unsecured personal loan book. Egg is promising to address this by tightening lending criteria. Egg s owner, Prudential, failed to sell it last year. This setback further dampens the prospects of a sale at a decent price.
Sainsbury family foundation sells 2.6% stake 23 Feb 2005 It looks like Judith Portrait, who administers much of the family's investment, doesn't think a bid for the supermarket group is imminent. Meanwhile, potential buyers for the group now have an idea of the price at which the Sainsbury family might be willing to sell out.
Bloomberg wobbles as rivals rebound 23 Feb 2005 Just as Reuters and Thomson get their acts together, the US financial information provider appears to be splitting into baronies. This may suit Mike Bloomberg as he starts his reelection campaign, but it does not answer the firm s need for professional management.
Markets return from winter holiday 23 Feb 2005 Financial markets have generally been optimistic since the beginning of 2005. Shortcovering coincided with New Year s cheer. One bad day does not mean that pessimism will prevail. But rising US rates and the enormous US trade deficit justify a gloomy prognosis.
S&N faces uphill struggle in Europe 23 Feb 2005 Scottish & Newcastle is making valiant attempts to boost returns in the face of tough trading in its core French and UK markets. The dividend provides some support for the shares. But further progress will depend upon finding new sources of growth.
UK shouldn’t subsidise MG Rover rescue 23 Feb 2005 The proposed deal with Shanghai Auto will strip the British carmaker of its only valuable asset its intellectual property. The tax sweetener is the latest in a series of failed attempts to rescue a symbol of British industry at taxpayers' expense.
Premiere’s IPO is no giveaway 23 Feb 2005 The German payTV firm has performed a remarkable turnaround since it went bust three years ago. But worries about future growth have forced Premiere to drop its IPO pricing albeit to a level that is defensible rather than cheap.
Cadbury delivers on targets 23 Feb 2005 The confectionery and soft drinks group has met all its targets. The integration of the Adams chewing gum business and its "Fuel for Growth" restructuring programme also remain on track.
Brewers face decline in European beer market 22 Feb 2005 Heineken and Carlsberg s fullyear results show just how tough the European drinks market has become. Both companies hope costcutting and increased marketing will stem the decline. The danger is that they are running just to stand still.
Utilities stocks start to crumble 22 Feb 2005 A more convincing explanation is the sector s unwarranted premium to the market. Yesterday s 3% fall in European utilities stocks has been widely blamed on the threat of higher longterm interest rates.
Ageing population to squeeze share prices 22 Feb 2005 The workingage population saves and others spend. A Barcap study shows that shares prosper when the proportion of workers is going up. That was the case until 2001, but no longer is. This shift may weigh on stocks in coming decades.
SEC throws sop to independent research 22 Feb 2005 Donaldson, the SEC's chairman, has again suggested that scrapping soft dollar arrangements could damage the industry. That echoes the view of the UK financial regulator. It now looks like softs will survive in a limited form on both sides of the Atlantic.