LONDON (Thomson Financial) - MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,631.7 down 60.7
FTSE 250 9,706.1 down 95.4
DJIA 11,951.1 down 194.65
Nasdaq Comp 2,212.5 down 51.12
S&P 500 1,288.1 down 27.34
Gold 997 usd (988.25)
Oil 108.13 usd (106.22)
WEEKEND PRESS
*Bear Stearns seeks investors to keep it afloat: fears that others will be
exposed - Telegraph
*Traders think Lehman Brothers may be next casualty of credit crunch - Times
*Fed expected to cut rates by 0.75 pct or 1 pct on Tuesday - Independent
*Yahoo leaves London for Switzerland for tax reasons - Guardian
*Stanley Gibbons hopes to profit from uncertainty in financial markets, as
people seek alternative investments - Guardian
*Barclays' Bob Diamond to go to Wall Street to look for opportunities caused by
turmoil - Telegraph
*Richard Branson still planning to launch high street bank - Telegraph
*Prudential suffers from subprime write-offs - Telegraph
*Prudential rules out flotation of Asian arm - Times
*Terry Smith of Collins Stewart looks forward to buying opportunities in current
depressed markets - Telegraph
*RAB Capital is keeping leverage low to protect it from the credit crunch -
Telegraph
*Tesco disputes claims by US broker that Fresh & Easy, Tesco's west coast
convenience stores, are struggling with "very weak footfall" -- Times
*Tesco reported to be ready to cut back property division - Daily Mail
*Goldman Sachs has urged investors to sell Tesco -- Mail on Sunday
*John Lewis sales take unaccustomed hit in February - Independent
*Aga Foodservice promises to step up marketing after flat profits - Daily
Express
*High street giant Next is expected to warn times are tough with full-year
results this week - Daily Mail
*Three directors and senior managers reported to be adding to their holdings in
Restaurant Group - Daily Express
*UK lenders withdrawing from mortgage market - FT
*Government sounds out energy suppliers to gauge interest in the state's 35.2
pct stake in British Energy, owner of nuclear power plants - FT
*Dresdner Bank, owned by Allianz, to be split into two in preparation for sale
of investment banking unit, Dresdner Kleinwort - FT
*Private equity group Apollo concerned about Countrywide - Sunday Telegraph
*Goldman Sachs is reportedly set to announce this week asset writedowns worth
about 3 bln usd, according to one analyst; the investment bank is expected to
report a fall in Q1 earnings of about 50 pct - Sunday Telegraph
*Tullett Prebon understood to have paid about 40 mln usd for London-based oil
broker Primex Energy - Sunday Telegraph
*Dubai has launched a new multi-billion pound sovereign wealth fund - Sunday
Telegraph
*BHP Billiton director: Rio Tinto's valuation is off by 50 bln usd - Sunday
Telegraph
*Debenhams chairman John Lovering is believed to be considering stepping down
from helm of department store group -- Sunday Telegraph
*Mitchells & Butlers to consider selling a minority stake to private equity
firms -- Sunday Telegraph
*Rolls Royce and BAE Systems have asked the government to let them appoint a
foreign chief executive - Sunday Times
*Whitbread has been holding secret talks to merge its Premier Inn budget chain
with the rival Travelodge chain in a move that would create a 3 bln stg
hospitality giant - Sunday Times
*Private equity firms, including 3i and August Equity, have approached e-mail
marketer TMN with buyout proposals - Sunday Times
*Informa, owner of Lloyd's List, will this week switch chairman Peter Rigby to
the role of chief executive to fill the gap left by David Gilbertson - Sunday
Times
*Sportingbet's founder Mark Blandford has invested more than 1.5 mln stg in
Mfuse, a technology firm that designs software to enable gambling via mobile
phones - Sunday Times
*Airlines unite to push for Ferrovial unit BAA's break-up - Sunday Times
*MPs call for breakup of BAA - Telegraph
*Ukrainian steel group Interpipe looking for London listing this year, which
should raise about 1 bln usd and value the company at 4-5 bln usd - Sunday Times
*HSBC examining sale of its train-leasing division - Sunday Times
*Centaur Media starts a strategic review that could lead to a management bid to
take the company private - Sunday Times
*Speedy Hire is considering the sale of one of its best-performing businesses,
Speedy Space which, according to industry analysts, could generate more than 100
mln stg - Sunday Times
*Royal Dutch Shell to slash reserve figures from last year by more than half,
taking about 1.3 bln barrels of oil off its books, because of problems in Russia
and Nigeria -- Observer
*Furious investors are demanding meetings with Marks & Spencer as the row over
botched succession planning at the retailer intensifies - Observer
*M&S' Rose expected to chop 300 jobs - Sunday Express
*New Star Asset Management expected to reassure investors this week, although
analysts expect profits to plunge this year - Observer
*Aberdeen Asset Management has made "opportunistic" approach to New Star - Mail
on Sunday
SATURDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on Bear Stearns (authorities and Wall Street
institutions concerned about "systemic risk" and "domino effect" from Bear
Stearns collapse), Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser (Lex column wonders aloud
about the benefits to Unilever's management of a takeover of Reckitt), currency
interventions (given this week's sharp moves on exchange rates, there is growing
talk of official intervention on the currency markets to shore up the dollar);
Weekend Share Watch: Bioquell (should do well from MRSA, though the shares are
illiquid), Petrofac (looks like good value) Wolseley (may be cheap on a long
view); MARKETS LONDON: Shire (murmurs suggesting Pfizer is mulling a 1,300
pence-a-share offer - also mentioned in other market reports), HBOS (worst hit
by Bear Stearns story); SMALL CAPS: Inspired Gaming (said it was seeking buyers
for its pub division following poor trading; MY PORTFOLIO: Kevin
Goldstein-Jackson tips City of London Group and Falkland Islands Holdings
Independent
PRIVATE INVESTOR: Sean O'Grady advises investors to look east to the JP Morgan
Indian Investment Trust and the Jupiter India Fund - and avoid the banks; NO
PAIN, NO GAIN: Derek Pain suggests Scotty, a high-tech penny share, may be worth
a look after full-year results are revealed later in the year; MARKET REPORT:
Xstrata (talk Vale had already, or was close to, winning assent of Glencore, a
major shareholder in Xstrata)
Times
Large caps: Icap (market report raises possibility that it will be affected by
Bear Stearns), Xstrata (rumours that JP Morgan Cazenove, the miner's broker, had
agreed a sale to Vale at 4,200 pence-a-share), Rio Tinto (should Xstrata be
sold, Rio is more likely to be bought by BHP Billiton); Small caps: TMN (says
received more approaches since Michael Green's Tangent Communications made an
offer); Tempus: suggests investors are opting for safety over value and mentions
these stocks: BAE Systems, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, MAN
Group, Morrison, and Smith & Nephew; Rumour of the day: Freedom4Coms (potential
bargain in co which has struck a deal to sell its internet-hosting unit to
Oakley Capital for 120 mln stg); Deal of the day: Pan African Resources (chief
executive sells holding of 3 mln shares at 7 pence each); Tiddler to watch:
Novae (UBS has 44 pence target, and believes the specialist insurance company
should recover as its American arm is run off)
Telegraph
COMMENT: Big American finance houses have collapsed before, ie, Continental
Illinois, Long Term Capital Management. But this time the US economy isn't
currently in such rude health. Bear Stearns' implosion is more dangerous
Guardian
Market forces: Shire (rumour Pfizer planning offer; at an investor day this
month, Pfizer said it was not planning any major acquisitions. But analysts
pointed out that for the US group market capitalization of 74 bln stg compared
with the UK company's 5.5 bln stg - Shire may not count as a major), Next,
Debenhams (Dresdner Kleinwort reduces targets to 1,440 from 2,080, and to 55p
from 68, respectively), Mining sector (China's Sinosteel offered 902 mln usd for
Australian iron ore specialist Midwest Corp)
Express
MARKET REPORT Shanks (traders bet on further consolidation after Biffa
recently agreed 1.2 bln stg takeover), Powerleague (Patron Capital took 29 pct
stake)
SUNDAY PRESS COMMENT
Sunday Times
INSIDE THE CITY
Wolseley (has only 15 pct exposure to troubled US housing market, but most
investors won't see the need to chance their arm), Capital & Regional (predators
may use the company's difficulties to start stake building); MERRYN SHAW: A good
range of exchange traded funds is good for your ISA; suggests City Natural
Resources High Yield Trust
Sunday Telegraph
THE REAL BUSINESS: NetPlayTV (Martin Higginson, chairman and chief executive,
considering a rights issue to buy rival online bingo business); SUNDAY QUESTOR:
Cadbury Schweppes (Questor tips company despite concerns over consumer slowdown
and disposal of its drinks arm, 'buy'), Costain (looks cheap relative to the
sector, 'buy'), Chime Communications (an unwarranted discount to sector, 'buy'),
ISG ("great value", 'buy')
Observer
MARKET FORCES: Ladbrokes (Speculation of bid from Joe Lewis/Dermot Desmond),
Tottenham Hotspur (rumours football club close to being sold), Wolseley (buy on
weakness); Your Investments: notes the popularity of Blackrock's UK Absolute
Alpha fund; battle goes on at Norwich Union (Aviva) over 2.6 bln stg of "orphan
assets"
Sunday Express
BROKERS' NOTES: Aga Foodservice (Credit Suisse maintains 'neutral', pointing out
any future outperformance is likely to be driven by interest from financier
Eddie Truell's Pension Corporation, which has built up a 23 pct stake), Greggs
(UBS stays 'neutral', noting product standardisation should help maintain
profitability in the coming year, but warned that ingredient inflation is
expected to present significant cost pressure), Lookers (Numis Securities
weakness in car retail market is priced in. Bottom fishers might consider it),
Morrisons (Pali International warns that sales growth would be hard to maintain
as rivals fought back; maintains 'sell'), Home Retail Group (JP Morgan points to
competitive situation in UK retail, stays 'neutral')
Mail on Sunday
MIDAS: Cookson (shift in focus to ceramics pays off, 'buy').
tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com
vs
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content,
including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Thomson Financial News.
|