Italian intervention on Endesa reeks of hypocrisy 12 Oct 2005 It s hard to believe Italy is really interested in free trade between Spain and Portugal, as it claims in its petition to the EU. Italy's real agenda seems to be to pry open Spain's market for its own national champion. That may not be altruistic. But it's still valid.
Bondholders protest too much over LBO divi recaps 11 Oct 2005 Sure, it is risky to keep topping up debt on a leveraged structure by siphoning off dividends as KB Toys bondholders have discovered. They are now suing. But they shouldn t have been so eager to buy bonds with weak covenants in the first place.
Unions cement power at VW 11 Oct 2005 That will probably be the result of workers on the board riding to the rescue of the chairman Piech, in opposition to shareholder directors. The risk now is that Piech will be beholden to unions, slowing down needed restructuring. Yet more bad news for shareholders.
Eutelsat heeds warning of Telenet IPO 11 Oct 2005 The satellite operator has learned the lesson of Telenet s weaklyreceived float. It is seeking a rating in line with its peers. That should ensure it is welcomed by investors who are warming to the sector s strong cash flows and chunky dividend yields.
Wilbur Ross in the black with coal IPO 11 Oct 2005 Just as he did by rolling up the bankrupt US steel industry, Ross should reap big gains from his coal IPO. But this has less to do with crafty restructuring than it does with the frothy market for coal stocks.
Lehman pays $9m for hedge fund lesson 11 Oct 2005 The investment bank trying to break into prime broking's top echelon should have smelled something fishy at the Wood River hedge fund. Considering the small sum lost against the lesson learned about doing business with hedge funds the bank can consider it an investment.
M&S in sight of 400p 11 Oct 2005 After languishing below Philip Green s proposed bid price for a year and a half, the UK retailer s stock is now almost there. M&S has clearly made good progress in Q2. But its shares won t rise much further unless Rose can show he has fixed the business permanently.
Icahn damns Time Warner board 11 Oct 2005 The AOL merger wasn t the media giant's only disaster. Everything since has been a dismal failure too, the billionaire investor reckons. And he has a point. Shareholders should support Icahn's demand for a shake up of the board.
Accor fudges nepotism row 11 Oct 2005 The French hotel group has shoehorned the nephew of a cofounder into the top executive slot. He wasn't obviously the best choice. The silver lining is that the founders have agreed to an outside chairman and AngloSaxon style board. Not perfect, but better than nothing.
Inco sidelines Xstrata with Falconbridge bid 11 Oct 2005 Xstrata thought it had the Canadian miner in the bag when it bought a stake. This agreed C$13bn deal puts the Swiss miner on the back foot. Xstrata might struggle to overcome the C$350m in synergies and massive breakfee without a big rights issue.
Ricucci looks on wobbly ground 11 Oct 2005 The controversial property tycoon, who has been at the centre of Italy s two bank bids, caused a big splash when he bought 21% of RCS. But it looks like he geared up to the gills to do so. Now that RCS s share price has tumbled, banks may force him to sell down his stake.
Murdoch should keep his promises 10 Oct 2005 Having broken a pledge to put News Corp s poison pill to a vote, the media mogul is suffering a breakdown of trust with investors. They are now taking the fight to BSkyB. And rightly so. Otherwise, Murdoch may feel free to trample on them again.
Rising rents rescue the UK house market 10 Oct 2005 Well that was the slump that didn t happen. After a spring lull, UK house prices have started to rise again. Higher rents may help explain why. They ve supported the marginal UK house buyer current and prospective buytolet investors.
Merkel wins hollow victory 10 Oct 2005 Germany's conservative leader has had to yield the key labour and finance ministries as the price of taking the chancellorship from the SPD. The markets will be relieved the political paralysis is over for now. But it is clear that further labour market reform is off the agenda.
Empire Online deals fresh blow to gaming investors 10 Oct 2005 The online gambling group says market growth is flattening. Meanwhile, its major partner seems to be reducing its dependence on Empire. But the shares reaction seems overdone. Empire s results suggest it s growing faster and attracting better customers than Partygaming.
Boots’ structure a total fudge 10 Oct 2005 It s not just that Alliance s Stefano Pessina will be in charge of strategy, integration and acquisitions without reporting to the CEO. Pessina s girlfriend will run the wholesale division and sit on the board. No wonder the CEO doesn t like the jibe that he is only a COO.
Telenet slapped for its greed 10 Oct 2005 The Belgian cable operator is to float at the bottom end of its range, having earlier sought a punchy E2.5bn valuation. That suggests investors still have pricing power when it comes to floats. The lesson to other IPO candidates is don t try it on.
Refco loan embarrasses Wall Street’s finest 10 Oct 2005 No one comes out looking good from the discovery of Refco s previously undisclosed $430m loan to CEO Phillip Bennett just after its IPO. Top notch bankers CSFB, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, not to mention famed LBO investor Thomas Lee failed to spot the loan.
Private equity bid for UK cable looks ambitious 9 Oct 2005 With the cable industry enjoying a revival, the merged NTL and Telewest is certainly a tempting target for private equity. But NTL and Telewest have been crippled by debt before. The first time it was a tragedy. If it happened again, it would be farce.
M&S investors bet on a recovery 9 Oct 2005 The UK retailer s stock has outperformed the sector, and is now higher than it was during Philip Green s attempted bid. M&S may well be trading better. But it isn t yet clear that this is the beginning of a turnaround.
Accor shareholders revolt over nepotism 7 Oct 2005 It may seem odd for a French company to kick up a fuss. After all, the CAC40 index has plenty of family dominated companies. But Accor is familydominated in name only. In trying to shoehorn a nephew into the top slot, the cofounders may have overreached.
BP sells chemicals unit for $9bn 7 Oct 2005 Not a bad change of heart the oil major had planned to partially float the unit, and at a lower estimated price. Better still, BP says it will return the proceeds to investors. Add in dividends and buybacks, and BP s cash yield rises to 11%.
Not everyone does poorly in Chapter 11 7 Oct 2005 Chief executives often do very well indeed, gathering a big chunk of the new company s equity when it reemerges from bankruptcy. If past experience is anything to go by, Delphi s boss may be in for a windfall by taking the auto parts company into and out of bankruptcy.
John Mack’s first 100 days fizzle 7 Oct 2005 The stock price tells the story it is flat since he arrived. By contrast, Goldman has rallied 15%. The problem may be that Mack has done little to fix Purcell s problems. This may be because they are also partly of his own making.
C&W hit as people make more internet calls 7 Oct 2005 The telecoms company is cannibalising its own call revenues to hang on to customers who are switching to lowcost internet telephony. But at least the Energis merger gives C&W the chance to cut its costs too. The fall in the shares may be overdone.
Reckitt Benckiser pays full price for BHI 7 Oct 2005 That was always likely, given the huge interest Boots Healthcare attracted. But it doesn't mean that Reckitt will suffer the winner's curse. The deal makes strategic sense, there are synergies and Reckitt has strong management. Investors should give it the benefit of the doubt.
Don’t write off online gaming stocks 7 Oct 2005 The sector is struggling to regain credibility after Partygaming s profit warning. Investors don't believe the growth story is what it was. But Partygaming s problems are partly its own. The outlook for other gaming sites is still strong, and isn t reflected in their share prices
Greenspan Put set shortly to expire 7 Oct 2005 The moral hazard created by the Greenspan Fed s response to successive crises explains why risk premiums today are at an alltime low. This confidence is invested in Greenspan personally. His successor will have to work hard to gain the market s trust.
Skandia chairman quits 7 Oct 2005 Quite right too. He had backed Old Mutual s E4.8bn takeover bid for the Swedish insurer but failed to carry most of the board with him. Many shareholders want the bid. Goldman Sachs, Skandia s adviser, now bears a heavy burden of responsibility to protect their interests.
Avian flu will be a boon for vaccine makers 7 Oct 2005 Worries about a pandemic are prompting politicians to focus on the value of preventing disease and not just avian flu. More money for vaccines, easier rules for introducing new treatments and reduced liability when things go wrong are all on the table.