Companies must explain growth strategies 31 Jul 2005 Look at Reuters. The UK information group s shares were clobbered last week when it announced a plan to pep up growth. That s not just because of investor shorttermism. It s also because Reuters didn t explain what actually looks like a valueenhancing plan.
French protectionism is a tragedy 31 Jul 2005 There is only one loser from the French political establishment s determination to block foreign takeovers: France itself. Its refusal to embrace free markets and welcome foreign investment is one reason why it suffers from slow growth and high unemployment.
US tax break may lie behind euro fall 29 Jul 2005 Currency strategists have blamed the euro s 7% fall against the dollar since May on fears for the eurozone s future. But the real culprit may be US companies repatriating earnings to get a oneoff tax break.
Pearson gets new chairman 29 Jul 2005 Glen Moreno, the British publisher s new chairman, is true to company form: half businessman, half dogooder grandee. Investors who hoped that Pearson would make a radical choice that would shake up the group will be disappointed.
Lachlan Murdoch unexpectedly quits News Corp 29 Jul 2005 In the good old days of primogeniture, the rule of thumb to ensure the continuation of a family dynasty was an heir and a spare . Rupert Murdoch still has an heir James, CEO of BSkyB but has now run out of spares. An outsider may yet succeed him.
BAT deserves to trade at a premium 29 Jul 2005 The UK tobacco giant managed to grow volumes by 2% this half. Pretty impressive for a mature business in a besieged market. Yet BAT trades at a 7% discount to the sector. Given its enviable access to fastgrowing emerging markets, the stock deserves a revisit.
UK regulator erects hurdles to LSE deal 29 Jul 2005 It's not a killer blow for Euronext. The Competition Commission is worried about clearing not competition in trading services. But while a full merger is still doable, pulling it together will be a long process. Meanwhile, the LSE is outperforming Euronext.
New Royal Dutch Shell is same as old Shell 28 Jul 2005 The unification of the oil giant s shares increased Shell s index weighting and gave the stock a technical boost. But now it's back to fundamentals. And here Shell still lags its main competitor BP in profits, production growth, dividends and buybacks.
Daimler shares soar after Schrempp quits 28 Jul 2005 Juergen Schrempp has created more value for investors in one day by resigning than he did over ten years as Daimler s boss. His successor has a good reputation, but noone expects miracles, so the share price move underlines what a burden Schrempp had become.
Consob suspends BPI bids for Antonveneta 28 Jul 2005 Italy's stock market regulator has given a menu of reasons for freezing the bids it just approved, including questions about the financing. If BPI is prevented from making a mandatory bid, it s unclear what will happen. Meanwhile, Antonveneta investors have no bids on the table.
Is there an equity market conundrum? 28 Jul 2005 The European and US markets are at multiyear highs. But profit growth might be about to slow, as interest rates and capex increase. Equities have benefited from investors high tolerance for risk. It could take a financial crisis to derail the rally.
AstraZeneca boss bows out at a high 28 Jul 2005 Chief executive Tom McKillop couldn t pick a better time to leave the AngloSwedish drug company. Sales and earnings are soaring. But he bequeaths his successor a challenge: fixing the group s sputtering drug pipeline.
Should Saban sell ProSiebenSat? 28 Jul 2005 The US media magnate is deciding whether to lock in a whopping return or hang on to his investment in the German broadcaster. While it s not impossible that ProSieben would sell for a higher price in the future, Saban is best advised to take his money and run now.
Deutsche Bank rides out credit storm 28 Jul 2005 The German bank has escaped a drubbing from the market upset which hit some US rivals. Its second quarter earnings rose by 44%. This has kept alive Deutsche s hopes of meeting its 25% return on equity target. The bank also has firepower for buybacks or a deal.
Deutsche, Dresdner pulled into BPI storm 27 Jul 2005 Italian prosecutors are reportedly probing whether BPI s deals with the two German banks were designed to flatter its balance sheet. But if that wasn t the case, the two banks would appear to have taken an unusually large risk on behalf of BPI.
France Tel buys 80% of Amena for E6.4bn 27 Jul 2005 The sellers jumped through hoops to help FT seal the deal. They are keeping a minority stake and have agreed to underwrite an FT share sale. This means the acquisition won't scupper the French group's debtreduction targets. It also lets the sellers extract a fairly full price.
Are bonds really cheap on a 250-year view? 27 Jul 2005 Based on this timescale, 3% looks like a normal yield. So one might be tempted to think that current yields are actually too high. But for bonds, history is probably bunk. Current yields don t compensate for inflation risk, a relatively new investment issue.
Hedge funds bounce back in June 27 Jul 2005 In May, critics were writing off the asset class. But it bounced back in June with one of its best monthly performances in five years. But don't read too much into one month s figures. Hedge funds have yet to prove they can deliver over the longterm.
British Energy premium doesn’t make sense 27 Jul 2005 Thanks to rocketing power prices, the UK nuclear group now trades at a premium to the sector. The market seems to assume high power prices are here to stay and that British Energy's troubles are behind it. These are big assumptions.
Reuters fails to sell jam tomorrow 26 Jul 2005 The information group is trying to persuade investors to accept lower profits today for the chance of future riches. Investors are sceptical, but Reuters is better than most at delivering on its promises. And a £1bn buyback should sweeten the pill.
Danone seeks shareholder pacts – reports 26 Jul 2005 Having scared off PepsiCo, the French food group reportedly wants to shore up its defences by selling shares to friendly investors. This would be hard to engineer without triggering a mandatory bid. But if the board succeeds, it would be an abuse of minorities' rights.
Just how close are Fazio and Fiorani? 26 Jul 2005 In a midnight telephone call, the BPI boss expressed a desire to kiss the Bank of Italy boss on the forehead, according to a report. This raises questions about whether the regulator is too close to those he regulates and heaps ridicule on the central bank.
Cadbury should sell European beverages 26 Jul 2005 The UK confectionery group is expected to sell its European soft drinks business, raising up to £750m for future buybacks and acquisitions. That s good news. Cadbury's Adams acquisition showed it can deliver value from deals, and there is still plenty of growth in confectionery.
Now China bashes hedge funds too 26 Jul 2005 China says it s moving slowly on forex reform because it fears a hedge fund attack on the renminbi would cause a repeat of the 1997 crisis. Hedge funds are handy scapegoats. But they couldn t cause a Chinese crisis now, just as they didn t cause the Asian crisis eight years ago.
BBVA shrugs off Italian bid failure 26 Jul 2005 The Spanish bank missed out on BNL, but takeovers aren't the only way to expand. Strong organic growth means BBVA enjoyed a record quarter. Even so, BBVA still has an appetite for bids. And with its strategy unclear, investors are right to treat the bank with some caution.
Don’t even think about early retirement 26 Jul 2005 A fashionable UK thinktank wants to raise the retirement age to 67. But is that really the best way to solve the pensions crisis? People can't and don't want to work that long. A better solution is to persuade them to have bigger families.
Will China keep funding US trade deficit? 25 Jul 2005 Asian buying of US debt has supported both US consumption and the dollar. That prop could be on the way out. Now that the renminbi will be valued against a basket of currencies, China could diversify its reserves. That dollar would likely tumble.
Vodafone struggles to sign-up 3G customers 25 Jul 2005 Although the mobile phone operator has enjoyed a great Q1 for customer growth, demand for its advanced services remain sluggish. Vodafone may have to sacrifice margins to meet subscriber targets for a technology on which it has staked so much.
S&N gets into a spot of Russian trouble 25 Jul 2005 The British brewer has been too clever by half in the reorganisation of its Russian interests, leaving itself open to attack from minorities S&N is not the first foreign investor in Russia to get in this position. It too will probably have to buy the minorities off.
Spanish boom contains seeds of its own destruction 25 Jul 2005 For years the economy has enjoyed a virtuous cycle fed by cheap immigrant labour working in a booming construction sector. But all it would take is a small pricking of the property bubble for the cycle to move into a vicious reverse.