Economics
FTSE 100: Britain’s leading share index rose to a 14-month high, led by
a rally in mining companies as base metal prices climbed. The FTSE 100 ended
86.29 points up at 5,382.67, its highest close since September 2008.
UK recovery: Andrew Sentance, a member of the Bank of England’s
Monetary Policy Committee, said that the economy had emerged from recession
in the quarter between July and September, contradicting initial figures
published by the Office for National Statistics.
French economy: Patrick Devedjian, the minister appointed to take
charge of France’s stimulus package, said that the French economy was doing
better than six months ago but that it had not yet fully recovered.
US dollar: Ben Bernanke said that the Federal Reserve would keep a
close eye on the sliding dollar while renewing his pledge to keep interest
rates at record lows to nurture the economic recovery. The central bank’s
Chairman is trying to bolster confidence in the dollar without actually
raising rates.
Japanese economy: Japan recorded an annual growth rate of 4.8 per cent
in the third quarter, making it the fastest-growing economy in the Group of
Seven leading industrial nations, yet the Government stands ready to admit
that Japan has toppled into deflation.
US retail sales: Rising demand for cars helped to fuel an increase in
retail sales of 1.4 per cent in October, after a 2.3 per cent drop in
September, the Commerce Department reported.
US manufacturing: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire State
Manufacturing Survey showed that conditions had improved in November,
although at a slower pace than in October, with an 11-point decline in
general business conditions to 23.51, from 34.57 last month. November marks
the fourth consecutive month that the index has been in positive territory.
Banking
&
finance
Bonuses: Bankers who are not prepared to forgo controversial contracts
that flout new rules on bonuses should get out of the mainstream industry,
Lord Myners, the City Minister, has declared.
Raj Rajaratnam: The billionaire at the centre of the Galleon Group
insider-trading case has asked the court to unseal records of an earlier
criminal charge against the Government’s main witness against him. Lawyers
for Mr Rajaratnam hope the documents will undermine suggestions that the
technology investor had been conspiring for years with Roomy Khan,
prosecutors’ star witness.
GMAC: The chief executive of General Motors' car finance unit, which
was handed $12.5 billion in bailouts by the US government, has resigned
abruptly. The beleaguered financial services company confirmed that Alvaro
de Molina was leaving his post, which he has held since April 2008. He was
formerly chief financial officer at Bank of America, and news reports
recently have mentioned him as a possible candidate to be chief executive
there.
Construction
&
property
UK housing market: Homebuyers in the Midlands, Wales and Scotland will
be hit hardest by the end of the stamp duty holiday on properties worth
between £125,000 and £175,000, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
said. Estate agents in these locations feared that the end of the holiday on
December 31 would put off potential buyers.
Persimmon: The housebuilder reported that its forward order book was 50
per cent higher than this time last year, with £500 million of sales taken
for 2010. Persimmon, the only leading housebuilder not to have tapped the
market for additional funds through the downturn, said that sales and prices
in the autumn had remained at the “encouraging” levels seen during the
summer.
Alpha Real Capital: The international property fund management group
will launch a £400 million fund to take advantage of investment
opportunities in the British market.
Invista European Real Estate Trust: The company announced plans to
raise £53.51 million from shareholders, the bulk of which will be used to
reduce a Bank of Scotland debt facility. It said that it would retain excess
proceeds as working capital.
Consumer
goods
Arla Foods: The Danish company that processes 28 per cent of Britain’s
milk is to build the biggest dairy in the world near London as the
consolidation of the milk market continues.
Robert Wiseman: The dairy company said that rising costs were returning
to haunt the business, despite an 81 per cent year-on-year jump in
first-half profits to £21 million. The profits increase came after the
company had passed on higher prices to customers and beginning a milk supply
deal with the Co-operative Group two months early after the collapse of
Dairy Farmers of Britain.
Evian: The French mineral water group’s roller-skating babies — the
centrepiece of a global campaign designed to halt a fall in sales — have
become most widely seen advertisement on the internet.
Engineering
General Motors: The American carmaker has given its strongest hint so
far that the future of its Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, which
employs 2,100 people, is safe.
Rolls-Royce: The engine maker said that it had won a $1.5 billion (£900
million) order with Air China to power 20 aircraft, and a second order with
Ethiopian Airlines worth $480 million. The aircraft, to be delivered to Air
China from 2011, will be powered by Rolls-Royce’s Trent 700 engines. The
company also said that Ethiopian Airlines had ordered Trent XWB engines for
12 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, with entry into service expected in 2017.
EADS: The parent company of Airbus reported its first quarterly loss in
two years and warned that it might have to cut production because of
persistent problems with its A380 and A400M aircraft. The company lost €87
million (£77.4 million) in the three months to September 30, compared with a
profit of €679 million in the same period last year.
Daimler: The Abu Dhabi investment fund with the biggest stake in the
German carmaker said that it was teaming with Mercedes-Benz to buy a
controlling stake in Brawn GP, the Formula One motor racing champion team.
The deal is subject to approval by Swiss and European Union regulators.
Health
GlaxoSmithKline: The world’s second-largest pharmaceutical company and
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals have signed a licensing agreement for NicVAX, Nabi’s
experimental vaccine to treat nicotine addiction. Nabi will get $40 million
(£24 million) upfront and is eligible to receive more than $500 million for
the vaccine.
Sanofi-Aventis: The French drugmaker said that it had received
regulatory approval in France for Panenza, its vaccine against the swine flu
virus.
Industrials
ThyssenKrupp: The German steelmaker said that it had sold Safway, its
industrial services unit, to Odyssey Investment Partners, a private equity
firm based in New York. Thyssen, which is based in Düsseldorf, did not
disclose financial details.
Leisure
Off licences: Middle England’s love affair with fine wine is helping
Majestic Wine and Oddbins, two of Britain’s biggest wine sellers, to see off
the recession and competition from supermarkets.
Media
Vivendi: The media conglomerate’s shares fell amid investor concerns
that its dramatic, high-priced purchase of GVT, the Brazilian telecoms
group, announced last week, from under Telefónica’s nose signalled more
dealmaking.
Natural
resources
Regal Petroleum: City regulators have fined the oil explorer a record
£600,000 after a report covering two years when it was controlled by Frank
Timis, the controversial businessman.
Lonmin: The platinum producer said that its revenues had fallen by more
than half to $1 billion (£596 million) this year after a collapse in the
price of the precious metal.
Rio Tinto: The mining group is hoping to raise $520 million (£310
million) by spinning off Cloud Peak, its American coal business, in an
initial public offering.
Steel industry: European steelmakers called on antitrust regulators to
block a joint venture between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, the world’s second
and third-biggest iron ore miners.
Retailing
J Sainsbury: The supermarket group has disputed a report published in The
Times yesterday, which said that some customers were deserting it for
leading competitors for the first time in this recession.
Asos: The Royal Mail strike has thwarted sales growth at the online
fashion retailer, in spite of the company making alternative delivery
arrangements.
The high street: The battle for Christmas shoppers is hotting up as the
deadline for VAT to return to 17.5 per cent nears.
Support
services
Flowfood: Councils across the country moved to reassure meals-on-wheels
customers that their deliveries would continue after the supplier fell into
administration. Seven councils — Gateshead, Salford, Staffordshire, Milton
Keynes, Oxford, St Helens and East Riding — were forced to arrange new
suppliers over the weekend.
Technology
Cisco: The American network equipment maker has raised its bid for
Tandberg to $3.4 billion (£2 billion) after pressure from the Norwegian
company’s shareholders. Cisco has upped its bid to €140 a share as it looks
to boost its presence in video conferencing. It said that it had received
support from 40 per cent of Tandberg’s shareholders for the higher bid.
Intel: The chip maker has upped its quarterly dividend by 12.5 per cent
to 15¾p a share, starting in the first quarter of 2010. It said that the
boost in the cash payout was a result of its strong prospects.
Telecoms
T-Mobile: The mobile phone company’s complaint against BT concerning
termination charges for 0800 and 0808 calls has been followed by submissions
from Vodafone, O2 and Orange about the issue. Ofcom, the industry regulator,
has also revised the scope of the dispute to determine whether BT should impose any charge for 080 calls made from mobile to fixed networks and
whether BT should cover the cost of connecting such calls.
Essar Group: The Indian conglomerate has confirmed that it has
bolstered its presence in the African telecoms market after acquiring Dhabi
Group’s assets in Uganda and Congo-Brazzaville.
Transport
British Airways: The airline warned staff that it would not tolerate
them promoting strike action while at work, as Unite, the union, began
balloting 14,000 cabin crew on industrial action.
Etihad Airways: Abu Dhabi’s national carrier said that it expected to
achieve revenues of $3 billion (£1.8 billion) in 2009 but has pushed back
its profitability target to 2011 from 2010.
Fuel deliveries: Unite is to hold a ballot for industrial action among
BP tanker drivers who deliver fuel to the forecourts of Sainsbury’s
supermarkets. The union is concerned that up to one tenth of the workforce
could be dismissed from their jobs after Sainsbury’s decision to put the
contract out to new contractors.
Utilities
Vattenfall: The Swedish state-owned utility said that Oystein Loeseth,
the head of Nuon Energy, would replace Lars Josefsson as chief executive
after Mr Josefsson retires in 2010. Vattenfall’s management has come under
criticism after it leaked contradictory information to the press about a
potential sale of its Swedish energy grid and investments in the UK nuclear
industry.
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