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Economics
Retail sales: High street sales are expected to have picked up again in
October. The CBI’s gauge of distributive trades, due out tomorrow, is
forecast to show that high street sales rose to 10.0 in October, from 3.0 in
September.
Mortgage lending: Data due out on Thursday are expected to show that
53,100 home loans were approved during September, up from 52,300 in August.
Consumer confidence: The GfK index of consumer sentiment, due out on
Friday, is expected to show that confidence rose to minus 14 in October, up
from minus 16 in September.
Household wealth: Figures from the National Institute of Economic and
Social Research show that household wealth in Britain fell by £844 billion
between 2007 and 2008, driven by sharp falls in house prices and the
collapse of the stock market. It is expected to fall by a further £251
billion in 2010, after a slight improvement this year. (The Sunday
Telegraph)
Eurozone inflation: Data due out on Friday are forecast to show that
the annual rate of inflation in the eurozone rose to minus 0.1 per cent in
October, from minus 0.3 per cent in September.
German sentiment: The GfK German consumer confidence index, due out
today, is expected to rise to 4.4 for October, up from 4.3 in September.
German inflation: Preliminary figures due out Wednesday are tipped to
show that the annual rate of inflation in Germany was 0 per cent in October,
up from minus 0.3 per cent in September.
German unemployment: Figures due out on Thursday are expected to show
that German unemployment fell by 20,000 in October after a drop of 12,000
during September.
US consumer confidence: The US Conference Board index of sentiment, due
out tomorrow, is tipped to have risen to 54.3 in October, from 53.1 in
September. The University of Michigan index, due out on Friday, is tipped to
rise to 69.8, from 69.4 in September.
US durable goods: Data due out Wednesday are forecast to show a 0.7 per
cent increase in orders for long-lasting US goods during September, after a
2.4 per cent drop in August.
US economy: Official data due out on Thursday are expected to show that
US GDP rose in the third quarter by 3 per cent on an annualised basis, after
falling by 0.7 per cent in the second quarter.
Japanese employment: Data due out Thursday are expected to show that
the rate of unemployment in Japan rose to 5.7 per cent in September, from
5.5 per cent in August.
Japanese inflation: Figures due out on Thursday are expected to show
that consumer prices in Japan fell at an annual pace of 2.2 per cent in
September, the same decline as in August.
Banking
&
finance
Standard Life: The insurer, based in Edinburgh, is believed to have
asked its advisers to review the company’s Canadian business with a view to
a possible sale. Standard Life’s Canadian business reported a £102 million
loss in 2008 based on IFRS accounting standards. However, Marcus Barnard, an
analyst at Oriel Securities, forecasts that the business will deliver
underlying profits of £70 million in 2010, based on the same accounting
standards. (The Independent on Sunday)
Banking fees: Investment banks could face a competition inquiry unless
they start lowering the fees charged to their clients, Lord Myners, the City
Minister, has warned. He said there is such mounting concern about the level
of fees for financial services, such as corporate advice on mergers and
acquisitions, over-the-counter hedging transactions and underwriting fees on
rights issues, that the Government could launch a competition inquiry. (The
Independent on Sunday)
Bradford & Bingley: The lender is planning to divide its £50
billion balance sheet into “good” and “bad” assets that it can sell to
private buyers. The plan is part of B&B’s drive to repay its government
loan as quickly as possible. B&B was closed to new business last
September and its mortgage book nationalised, with a £18.4 billion loan from
the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Spain’s Santander bought its £20
billion deposits book.
Construction
&
property
Index-Linked Properties: Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, has
resigned as adviser to the high-profile fund, which is believed to be
looking to raise a target of £1 billion of investment firepower. ILP said
that it would seek to list on London’s junior Alternative Investment Market.
(The Independent on Sunday)
Crown Estate: The Queen’s property company, which owns Britain’s seabed
out to 12 nautical miles, wants to treble its revenues from offshore wind
parks, jeopardising the viability of some projects and undermining
government plans to boost renewable energy in Britain, energy company
officials have warned.
Consumer
goods
Simple: Britain’s biggest manufacturer of products for sensitive skin,
based in Solihull, has been put up for sale by Duke Street Capital, its
private equity owner, for more than £250 million. The move comes after a
number of unsolicited approaches that have been made over the past 12
months. The company reported that operating profits for 2008 had risen by
more than 10 per cent to £21 million. (The Sunday Times)
Christian Lacroix: The lost making French fashion house is likely to be
taken over by Sheikh Hassan bin Ali al-Nuaimi, a nephew of the ruler of
Ajman, the smallest member of the United Arab Emirates, when his €100
million (£92 million) rescue deal goes before the Paris Commercial Court
tomorrow.
Engineering
Vauxhall: The future of the carmaker has been thrown up in the air
again after it emerged that General Motors, its American parent, was
considering scrapping plans to sell its European operation to Magna, the
Canadian car parts group, and Sberbank, of Russia. More than 5,500 workers
at Ellesmere Port, in Cheshire, and in Luton will have to wait until
November 3 before they discover whether their company has been sold and they
still have a job. (The Mail on Sunday)
Health
GlaxoSmithKline: The London-listed pharmaceuticals group is set to
receive a boost from swine flu with a huge increase in the sales of its
Relenza treatment. For the three months to September, sales of Relenza are
likely to have topped £130 million, up from £12 million a year ago. Analysts
at Citigroup have forecast group sales of £6.75 billion for the third
quarter. (The Sunday Times)
Leisure
Tragus Group: The operator of the Café Rouge and Strada chains will
report a 0.3 per cent rise in pre-tax earnings to £44.16 million today, from
turnover up by 5.7 per cent to £261.9 million.
Delta 3: The commercial right — holder of Formula One motor racing,
which is majority-owned by CVC, the private equity group, has benefited from
the economic downturn as falling interest rates allowed it to reduce its
debt last year. Full-year accounts showed a 13 per cent rise in turnover to
$1 billion (£600 million), thanks to an increase in race-hosting fees. (The
Independent on Sunday)
Pub Revolutionary Group: The organisation, which claims to represent
2,000 publicans, says that its members are planning a rent strike against
Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns, their landlords, after last week’s Office
of Fair Trading ruling that the beer tie between tenants and pub companies
was not anti-competitive. (The Mail on Sunday)
Media
Chime Communications: The London-listed public relations group is set
to buy Pelham, the City PR company. It is believed that Chime, which is in
the final throes of due diligence before announcing the deal, will buy
Pelham and merge it with the City operation of Bell Pottinger. Shares in
Chime, which paid £18 million for Essentially, the sports marketing group,
last month closed at 211p on Friday — up from 81p this time last year. (The
Independent on Sunday)
WPP: The advertising and marketing group is set to report third-quarter
revenue down by about 9.3 per cent, compared with a year ago. WPP’s
first-half pre-tax profits fell by 47 per cent to £179million, but are
expected to be significantly better in the second half. (The Mail on
Sunday)
InterContinental Hotels Group: The world’s biggest hotel company, which
owns the Holiday Inn, Indigo and Crowne Plaza chains, is set to announce
that it has signed a contract for its second luxury InterContinental-branded
hotel in London, to be developed in Westminster by the Splendid Hotel Group,
an existing IHG franchisee, at an estimated cost of about £100 million.
Natural
resources
Petroceltic: The London-listed oil and gas explorer, based in Dublin,
is looking for a partner to help it to start production at the Elsa field
off the coast of Apulia, in southern Italy, in the third quarter of next
year. Petroceltic, which has a market capitalisation of £240 million, needs
help to finance the deal. (The Independent on Sunday)
Retailing
Matalan: The budget fashion chain, based in Lancashire, has hired
PricewaterhouseCoopers to advise on a possible £1.5 billion sale after a
string of unsolicited approaches during the past two months. John
Hargreaves, its founder, took the business private three years ago in an
£827 million deal.
Technology
LGC: The forensic science group has been put up for sale by Legal &
General Ventures, its private equity owner, for £200 million. The company
raised £3 million when it was privatised in 1996, highlighting the growth of
the industry. (The Sunday Telegraph)
Telecoms
Vodafone: The London-listed mobile phone group has pledged to fight any
allegations of irregularities surrounding its £450 million purchase of a
majority stake in Ghana Telecom when a report into the deal is published
this week. Vodafone took a 70 per cent stake in the state-owned GT, with the
Government in Accra retaining 30 per cent. (The Mail on Sunday)
Cable & Wireless: The FTSE 100 telecoms group, based in Berkshire,
has revived its plans for a £3.6 billion demerger to spin off its corporate
telecoms division from CWI, its international business, which stretches from
Panama to Afghanistan. (The Sunday Times)
Transport
Virgin Galactic: Sir Richard Branson’s company is seeking government
support to launch commercial space flights in Britain. Will Whitehorn,
president of Virgin Galactic, has held talks with Lord Drayson, the Science
Minister, about establishing an operation at the Lossiemouth RAF airbase in
Morayshire. Virgin estimates that bringing Virgin Galactic to Britain could
create up to 2,000 jobs. (The Sunday Times)
Royal Mail: The postal group has appointed architects to review its
£2.5 billion property portfolio with the aim of selling sorting offices and
other buildings. More than a dozen architectural groups have been hired to
look at 1,400 delivery offices, 70 mail centres and a number of post
offices. (The Sunday Times)
Utilities
Centrica: The owner of British Gas is set to make £400 million from a
deal in which it will sell half its stake in the Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind
farm off the Lincolnshire coast, the world’s largest. It is understood that
Centrica is in final negotiations with an infrastructure fund that will buy
an equity stake. Centrica will receive about £90 million in cash for the
equity, plus about £300 million from a debt syndicate. (The Sunday
Times)
Share tips: The Sunday Telegraph, buy Dechra Pharmaceuticals (health)
Cape (natural resources). The Mail on Sunday, buy Alumasc (construction
& property)
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