Italian bank battles highlight flaw in bid rules 18 Jul 2005 Italian law lets bidders offer one price for control, and another to buy out minority investors. BPI has hence been able to buy enough shares to frustrate a juicy bid for Antonveneta, without being forced to bid higher.
Unipol lands killer blow with E8.4bn BNL bid 18 Jul 2005 The insurer has locked up over 40% of the Italian bank s share capital, and has made a higher bid than Spanish rival BBVA for the rest. Unless the regulators block Unipol's bid which is unlikely BBVA has little option but to sell out.
Landesbanken soldier on despite losing guarantees 18 Jul 2005 Not much will change this week when the German regional banks finally lose the guarantees that have allowed them to raise funds cheaply. The change is symbolic rather than real in the short term. If the banks are to change, their state owners need to sell them.
Internet advertising confounds content is king 17 Jul 2005 In the first internet boom, media executives believed that all you needed to attract internet advertising was to dish up great content. Instead the most successful internet advertisers have been those that don t offer what many would consider content at all.
Asset managers break M&A logjam 17 Jul 2005 Deutsche Bank and Citi have offloaded fund management assets, and Amvescap has rebuffed a bid all in the space of a month. Under pressure from hedge funds, the industry must restructure. And fund managers tend to do better as independent, and focused, businesses.
Volkswagen scandal shows need for German reform 15 Jul 2005 Bribes, sex scandals and perks for union bosses. It all suggests that the German system of worker representation has gone rotten. There s an election in the offing. It s time for politicians to consider radical reform of the codetermination system.
Byers admits he lied over Railtrack 15 Jul 2005 After three days in court defending his role in the bankrupting of Railtrack, the former UK transport minister admits lying to parliament. Despite evidence of government mendacity, shareholders will have a tough time proving misfeasance. But Byers admission makes things easier.
Popping of carbon bubble will hit utilities 15 Jul 2005 A bubble in the price of pollution credits has driven electricity prices to unsustainable highs in Germany and the UK. Few would value oil companies using oil's current $60 price. So it doesn t make sense to use inflated electricity prices to value utilities.
Is ABN Amro’s boss too keen on risk? 15 Jul 2005 Rijkman Groenink has made a daring bid for Antonveneta, bought a chain of mental health hospitals and even tried to snap up HVB. Groenink needs to take risks if he is to tackle ABN s slow revenue growth. But he shouldn t swing the bat too wildly.
Shell hit again by the Watts effect 15 Jul 2005 The oil giant certainly seems to have looked on the bright side under its former CEO, Sir Phil Watts. It didn't just overegg reserves; it also seems to have underestimated the cost of developing the giant Sakhalin gas project.
Who wants 50-year gilts? 15 Jul 2005 Not many investors, judging by the tepid response to the latest auction. Few pension funds want to look quite that far ahead. It looks like a small victory for common sense. These bonds offer both low returns and the potential for significant real losses.
Oil fund launch is sign of speculative fever 14 Jul 2005 The new exchangetraded fund is intended to cash in on soaring oil prices by luring in retail and institutional investors. But the ETF faces a big problem. Contango in the oil market means investors may suffer a loss, independent of whether prices rise or fall.
Dollar rally stalls 14 Jul 2005 The dollar s strength has been one of 2005 s big surprises. But that might be ending. It has been flat against the euro since midJune. Traders have been distracted by rising US rates and the eurozone s troubles. But the huge US trade deficit could be coming back into focus.
Novartis strategy on generics isn’t working 14 Jul 2005 The Swiss pharma s strategy of recycling cash from patented drugs into lowmargin generic treatments is proving costly, as Q2 figures show. Other pharma companies have dropped this strategy. Novartis should too.
UK broadcasting buzzes with M&A activity 14 Jul 2005 Everything is happening at once. RTL wants to shore up control of Five. ITV may be under siege. NTL and Telewest look ready to tie the knot. It may be a coincidence. But it looks like the players are gearing up for the fight for market share in a new digital world.
Fazio outmanoeuvres the foreigners 13 Jul 2005 Fazio has ingeniously wrangled an implausible Italian solution. Trouble is, he may have been too clever by half. Italy's central bank governor was until recently on the back foot, with foreign banks challenging his protection of Italian ones.
Intesa sets demanding targets 13 Jul 2005 The Italian bank has done all the obvious things and must now rely on sales growth to deliver a 50% rise in earnings by 2007. That's going to be tough, given Italy s dire economic outlook. At least there's now the prospect of a juicy dividend to underpin the shares.
Thatcher’s bovver boy dies 13 Jul 2005 Lord King s amazing turnaround at British Airways in the 1980s is part of the folklore of privatisation. He was at the forefront of a trend that, warts and all, has transformed the world for the better.
Westinghouse auction may be one to lose 13 Jul 2005 The sale of the nuclear plant builder is generating lots of excitement much of it predicated on a Chinese construction boom. But US politics may prohibit Westinghouse s involvement. And the profitability of building these plants is murky.
M&S hit by slowdown 13 Jul 2005 Sales are sharply down, especially in general merchandise. Granted that s partly because M&S hasn t yet gone into the summer sales. So the effect will be mitigated by better margins. But the UK retailer's muchhoped for turnaround is a long way away.
Bollore becomes Havas chairman 13 Jul 2005 The French financier has crowned himself king and slotted in what appears to be a lameduck chief executive. Ironically, this probably makes it less likely that he is in the advertising group for the longhaul.
Intel raid spells trouble for the group’s margins 13 Jul 2005 EU officials have combed the chip giant s offices for evidence of alleged abuse of monopoly power. Intel s dominance is driven more by marketing than technology multiple antitrust investigations may end this lucrative strategy.
Pru should get rid of egg 12 Jul 2005 There s no strategic benefit to the UK insurer in owning the internet bank it failed to sell in 2004. Selling egg to Citigroup would be nice. But if no purchaser can be found, chief executive Mark Tucker should consider demerging it.
Hollywood has a lot to learn from music 12 Jul 2005 Internet piracy isn t a serious issue yet. But film studios need to think ahead to avoid the same problems the music industry faced. Are DVDs going the same way of the CD? There is certainly a sense of deja vu.
CDU tax shift would help German economy 12 Jul 2005 The opposition party has proposed cutting taxes on labour, financed by higher taxes on consumption. This should make hiring cheaper and unemployment more expensive. More jobs and faster growth would be the likely result.
Skandia should get Old Mutual on the hook 12 Jul 2005 By pursuing a breakup alongside a full sale, the Swedish insurer has teased a tentative, but realistic, offer from its South African rival. But if Skandia lets Old Mutual slip away, it then may find that a breakup generates less value than was potentially available.
Alcatel issues positive profit warning 12 Jul 2005 Second quarter sales growth at the telecom equipment company was double the highend of management projections. Management has done a good job of selling kit. And Alcatel s profits are more highly leveraged to sales growth than rival equipment makers.
Markets focus on the three pigs 12 Jul 2005 That s what some traders are calling Portugal, Italy and Greece. The PIG countries share big fiscal problems and low credit spreads. The European Central Bank treats all eurozone government debt as solid as brick not straw and sticks. Not all traders are convinced.
ABF pays £400m for Littlewoods 11 Jul 2005 Having walked away from Danone s sauces business, this is George Weston s first deal as CEO of the familycontrolled UK food group. The acquisition makes sense. Primark, ABF s discount clothing retailer, is defying the UK high street gloom and should continue to do so.
Cheers turn to boos at Mack’s return 11 Jul 2005 It has only taken Morgan Stanley s new boss a few days to alienate staff with his pay guarantee. True, he has now torn it up. But he and the bank s board come out of the episode diminished.