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Economics
GDP: Figures due out tomorrow are tipped to confirm that GDP fell by
0.5 per cent between July and September.
Public debt: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary
Fund, delivered a bleak warning to Britain as he described the level of
public debt as "disturbing", before recommending that it be
increased to finance a further fiscal stimulus.
French producer prices: Figures due today are tipped to show that
French factory gate prices fell by 0.9 per cent in November, after a similar
decline in October, pushing the annual rise down to 2.6 per cent, from 4.3
per cent.
The US economy: Final estimates due out tomorrow are tipped to show
that the US economy shrank by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter.
US housing market: Figures due out tomorrow are tipped to show that
sales of existing US homes fell to an annual rate of 4.93 million in
November, from 4.98 million in October. New home sales are tipped to have
declined to an annual rate of 420,000, from 433,000.
US consumer confidence: The University of Michigan US consumer
confidence index, due out tomorrow, is expected to be at a level of 58.6,
down from an initial estimate of 59.1.
US consumer spending: Figures due out on Wednesday are expected to show
that US consumer spending fell by 0.8 per cent in November, after a 1 per
cent decline in October.
US durable goods orders: Figures due out on Wednesday are tipped to
show that US durable goods orders fell by 3 per cent in November, after a
6.9 per cent drop in October. Orders excluding transport are forecast to
have dropped by 3.1 per cent, after a fall of 5.4 per cent in October.
Banking
& finance
Barclays: The banking group is conducting a review of its private
equity business that could lead to a management buyout of the unit and the
accelerated sale of about half its investments as it seeks to conserve
capital.
Anglo Irish Bank: David Drumm, chief executive, and Sean FitzPatrick,
chairman, have resigned over the "inappropriate" failure of the
bank to disclose €87 million (£81.3 million) in personal loans to Mr
FitzPatrick. He concealed the loans for eight years by temporarily
transferring them to Irish Nationwide Building Society to avoid revealing
them in the bank’s accounts. (The Sunday Telegraph)
Irish banks: The Irish Government will inject up to €7 billion (£6.5
billion) into the three biggest Irish banks, most of it through buying new
preference shares. Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank will get €2 billion
each from the Government, Anglo Irish Bank will receive €1 billion. (The
Sunday Times)
Madoff Securities International: Liquidators from Grant Thornton have
been appointed to scrutinise the operations of Madoff Securities
International, the London-based business controlled and chaired by Bernard
Madoff, the man behind the $50 billion (£33.6 billion) alleged fraud that
has rocked the financial world. (The Sunday Times)
Construction
& property
Taylor Wimpey: The largest housebuilder in Britain is set to strike a
compromise deal with its banks this week to buy it more time to renegotiate
its £1.9 billion debt mountain. Its shares closed up 10.9 per cent on Friday
at 12.75p, valuing the company at about £134.6 million. (The Sunday
Times)
Consumer
goods
Jamba: The US fruit juice group and the US unit of Nestlé, the Swiss
food company, said that they had suspended production and shipments of
bottled juices and smoothies under their partnership because of problems in
manufacturing. The ready-to-drink products Jamba Smoothies and Jamba
Juicies, were launched in American grocery and convenience stores this year.
Engineering
ABB: The Swiss engineering group said that its orders in October and
November had weakened but it would still be able to report a fourth-quarter
net profit, despite an $850 million (£572.6 million) provision, and would
meet its 2008 growth targets.
Jaguar Land Rover: David Smith, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover,
the carmaker owned by Tata, of India, has told the British Government that
it may be forced to cut thousands of jobs within months unless it receives
emergency state aid. The company has already cut 2,000 jobs since it was
taken over by Tata Motors this year. (The Sunday Telegraph)
Health
Stryker: The US medical device maker and healthcare group has cut its
2008 sales and earnings forecasts as a “significant and rapid contraction”
in hospital capital budgets affected demand for its products. The company
added that it expects tight hospital budgets to continue into next year.
Industrials
Zotefoams: The world’s leading manufacturer of the cross-linked block
foams used in sports and leisure, healthcare, toys, building and the
military, said in a trading up-date that it was well positioned for the
future, despite less visibility of orders. The London-listed group added
that it had been helped by lower raw material costs because of falling oil
prices, as well as the strength of the dollar and euro.
Leisure
Clapham House: The AIM-listed restaurant group that runs the Gourmet
Burger Kitchen is believed to have received offers for its Tootsies burger
operation. Interest in Tootsies, which operates 16 restaurants in the South
of England, has been reignited by the group’s strong performance during the
economic downturn. (The Independent on Sunday)
Globe Pub Company: Robert Tchenguiz and Scottish & Newcastle, joint
owners of the Globe Pub Company, are preparing for talks with their lending
banks and bondholders amid concerns that the company will breach its banking
covenants. (The Sunday Times)
Travel Republic: The Civil Aviation Authority has launched a criminal
action against the online travel agent because of its refusal to obtain an
Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing bond, a government scheme designed to
protect holidaymakers stranded abroad. (The Sunday Times)
Media
Informa: The board of the FTSE 250 media group has ordered management
to review its businesses as it looks to reduce its debt to less than £1
billion. It seems likely that the company’s performance improvement
division, which provides training, mainly in the United States, could be
sold. It has an estimated enterprise value of up to $300 million (£202
million). (The Independent on Sunday)
Mecom: The newspaper group run by David Montgomery, the former Mirror
Group chief executive, has been trying to reduce a debt burden of almost
£600 million but has so far failed to sell any assets. Analysts fear that it
will breach its debt-to-earnings ratio, set at 3.5 times earnings, at the
next covenant test on December 31. The shares fell to a new low of 0.94p on
Friday, compared with a high of 97p in July last year. The company is now
worth less than £15 million. (The Observer)
Natural
resources
Oilexco: The beleaguered North Sea oil explorer bought a corporate jet
for its chief executive this year, shortly after it had secured speculative
loans from Royal Bank of Scotland. The $9 million (£6 million) purchase is
one of the details that has emerged in due diligence conducted by
prospective bidders for the company. Once vaunted as the most prolific
driller in the North Sea, Oilexco put itself up for sale last month. (The
Sunday Times)
Retailing
MFI: Customers of the failed furniture chain, who were left without the
goods they ordered when it collapsed, will have their money refunded in
full, administrators have confirmed.
Woolworths: Sir Geoff Mulcahy, the former chief executive of
Woolworths, will have a meeting with Ardeshir Naghshineh, the biggest
shareholder in the high street retailer before it collapsed, about a
possible eleventh-hour rescue plan. Woolworths is scheduled to close down in
less than three weeks. Sir Geoff criticised Deloitte, the administrator,
last week, describing its handling of the sale process as “disgraceful”. (The
Independent on Sunday)
Eldorado: PPF, the Czech Republic’s biggest financial services
conglomerate, has agreed a $500 million (£336.8 million) loan to El-dorado
which, when converted, would give it majority control of Russia’s largest
electricals retailer, with 485 stores across the country and $4 billion of
revenues. PPF's Home Credit & Finance Bank is now the second-largest
financial group in Russia. (The Independent on Sunday)
Farepak: Advisers have earned nearly £1 million in fees as the
postmortem into the collapsed hamper group enters its third year. When
Farepak collapsed, it took almost £40 million of savers' money with it. (The
Observer)
Marks & Spencer: City experts have reduced their forecasts for the
high street retailer’s full-year profits after a series of one-day sales,
believing that M&S may struggle to reach profits of £600 million in the
year to March 2009 after it delivered profits of nearly £1 billion last
year. (The Mail on Sunday)
Support
Services
Solera Holdings: The US provider of services and software to the car
insurance industry said it had bought HPI, the used-vehicle validation
services provider, from Aviva, the British insurance group, for $117.4
million (£79.1 million).
Technology
Electronic Arts: The US video game publisher said that it would cut
1,000 jobs, or 10 per cent of its work force, as part of a restructuring
plan that will save about $120 million (£80.8 million) a year. The company
also said that it planned to take charges of between $55 million to $65
million over the next several quarters.
Telecoms
Telenor: The Norwegian telecoms company said that a Siberian court
would on Thursday resume hearing its appeal of a $2.8 billion (£1.88
billion) award that it has been ordered to pay Vimpelcom, the Russian mobile
operator.
Transport
Kenya Airways: The African airline said that its operations could be
disrupted if a fuel shortage in the country does not abate. The carrier
operates about 75 daily flights from Nairobi’s main airport to 43
destinations.
Royal Mail: The Government has appointed UBS, the investment bank, to
help to find an investor to accelerate its plans to part-privatise Royal
Mail. It has also emerged that the Department for Business, run by Lord
Mandelson, intends to have a deal in place by April. According to sources,
TNT, the Dutch postal giant, is the front-runner to form a “strategic
partnership” with the publicly owned group. (The Sunday Times)
British Airways: The carrier has been ordered by the US Department of
Transportation to file more detailed information about its proposed tie-up
with American Airlines relating to their global expansion ambitions and also
BA’s other merger plans. Analysts said that the demand could delay a deal by
several months. (The Sunday Telegraph)
Utilities
EDF Energy: The French utility could be forced to sell three British
coal-fired power stations if its £12.4 billion takeover of British Energy is
approved by European regulators. The European Commission will announce its
decision today on the French company’s takeover of Britain’s nuclear
operator. (The Sunday Times)
