Economics
Trade deficit The global trade in goods deficit narrowed in October to
£7.1 billion from a record £8 billion in September, according to data from
the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The main reason for the
improvement was a decline in imports, with underlying goods volumes falling
by 2.4 per cent over the month. However, exports rose by 0.3 per cent.
Foreign investment ONS figures on foreign direct investment into
Britain showed foreign companies investing £80.3 billion in 2006, down by
£16.5 billion from the previous year. Investment from Europe nearly halved,
but flows from Asia picked up from a deficit of £4.2 billion in 2005 to
£11.8 billion last year.
Mortgage payments David Cameron, the Tory leader, urged banks and
building societies to ease the burden on homeowners facing a sharp increase
in their mortgage interest payments in the coming months. An estimated 1.4
million households are expected to reach the end of fixed-rate mortgage
deals during 2008 and face an average rise of £200 in their monthly payments
as they move to higher rates.
German business confidence The German ZEW business sentiment indicator
fell to minus 37.2 in December, from minus 32.5 in November, worse than
economists’ forecasts and the index’s lowest level since 1993. In its
statement, the ZEW sounded negative about prospects for growth and exports
as the strong euro increases uncertainty and erodes competitiveness.
US interest rates The US Federal Open Markets Committee cut interest
rates by a quarter-point to 4.25 per cent, taking the rates a full
percentage point lower than just three months ago.
Japanese consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level in
nearly four years because of rising energy costs and grocery prices, a
government survey showed.
China’s consumer price index rose to 6.9 per cent in November, an
11-year high, official figures showed, up from 6.5 per cent in October. Last
week the country’s leaders announced that they would shift to a “tight”
monetary policy from what they called a decade-long “prudent” stance, in an
attempt to slow China’s breakneck expansion.
Oil prices rose by more than 2.6 per cent to above $90 a barrel as a
storm paralysed parts of the most important crude storage hub in the United
States. US crude oil prices rose by $2.29 to $90.15 per barrel in early
evening trading, while London Brent crude traded up $1.90 to $89.94 a
barrel.
Banking
& finance
FTSE 100 The biggest upheaval of the FTSE 100 since the dotcom days of
2001 is expected today as fears over a consumer slowdown and heightened
volatility have led to seven companies being relegated in the quarterly
reshuffle of the index.
Northern Rock The battle for Northern Rock, the troubled mortgage
lender, has been whittled down to two bidders after Cerberus, the American
private equity group, dropped out of the running. Virgin Group allegedly
remains the board’s preferred bidder, but shareholders incline to a proposal
from a consortium led by Luqman Arnold, the former chief executive of Abbey,
the banking group.
ABN Amro and Rothschild said that they would dissolve their joint
vehicle, which was set up in 1996 to do equity offerings for clients of both
banks.
Citigroup, the world’s largest bank, has promoted Vikram Pandit, a
former Morgan Stanley investment banker who joined just eight months ago, to
be its new chief executive following the departure of Chuck Prince last
month under the weight of multi-billion losses on sub-prime mortgage
investments.
Construction
& property
Bouygues, the French conglomerate, said that its construction unit has
acquired Warings, the UK construction company, for an undisclosed sum.
Warings has annual sales of almost ¤, of which more than half are generated
through partnerships and framework agreements, Bouygues said.
PowerFilm, the US solar panel maker, said that production delays will
result in next year’s revenue being about 20-25 per cent below expectations.
Consumer
goods
Cadbury Schweppes, the confectionery and soft drinks group, raised
forecasts for its confectionery business, saying that revenue at the
division would increase more than 6 per cent this year, beating its
forecast, thanks to higher sales of chocolate in Britain and of chewing gum
in the United States.
Vin & Sprit The Swedish Government opened the formal auction of Vin &
Sprit, the drinks company behind Absolut vodka, and said that its adviser
Morgan Stanley would be inviting bids for the whole company with a view to
completing a sale next year.
Engineering
Laird Group, the supplier of products for wireless and other advanced
electronics applications, said that it had enjoyed an “outstanding” year in
2007 and expects its full-year results to be at the top end of market
estimates.
BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest defence group, has entered due diligence
negotiations to buy Tenix, Australia’s second-largest defence company, in a
deal that could be worth more than A$1 billion (£431 million).
Health
Inverness Medical Innovations, the US group, is to take over BBI
Holdings, the AIM-listed maker of diagnostic and healthcare products,
valuing BBI at 195p per share, or £83.7 million.
Pfizer Exclusive drug distribution deals that cut out wholesale
suppliers, such as Pfizer’s agreement with Alliance Boots, the high street
health and beauty chain, could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of
pounds, according to a report by the Office of Fair Trading.
Industrials
Bayer, the German chemicals and pharmaceutical group, said that its
material science unit is raising the prices for several polyurethane raw
materials in Europe, the Middle East and Africa because of “a tight demand
and supply situation”.
Leisure
Cineworld, the cinema chain operator, has been approached by Carlton
Screen Advertising, which is owned by ITV, to amend the terms of its
contract.
Whitbread, the leisure group, reported robust third-quarter trading and
announced the signing of a joint venture in Russia to open at least 200
Costa coffee shops over the next five years.
Thomas Cook, the tour operator, accompanied the report of its higher
than expected full-year profits with the announcement of a Sportingbet, the
internet gambling operator, reported a 110 per cent rise in comparable
first-quarter operating profits to £4.2 million on the back of a 27 per cent
increase in European sports betting revenues.
Media
Aegis Group, the media and market research company, said that it has
acquired Solution Products Systems, the provider of footfall analysis.
Natural
resources
Cambrian Mining saw its shares suspended temporarily from London’s
junior AIM because of a delay in releasing the company’s accounts for the
year to June 2007. Cambrian said it has decided to reissue its accounts for
the year to the end of June 2006 after it found a number of mistakes and
missing disclosures.
Royal Dutch Shell, the oil and gas group, said it will construct a
testing facility in Hawaii to develop biofuels using vegetable oil from
marine algae and is teaming up with HR Biopetroleum, the Hawaii-based
developer of microalgae production technology, for the project.
BP, the oil and gas group, will spend €100 million (£72 million) on
building a photovoltaic solar modules plant in France. Theplant, which will
be located at the La Nava II industrial park in Puertollano, will produce
300 megawatts a year, enough to supply electricity for up to 200,000 homes.
Retailing
Tesco is rumoured to have made a £145 million bid for a chain of
discount stores in the Czech Republic. Reports claim that the supermarket
giant is the frontrunner for the Plus business which is being put up for
sale by Tengelmann, the German retailer.
Carpetright Lord Harris of Peckham, the founder and chief executive of
Carpetright, the UK’s largest floor coverings retailer, said he expects his
£850 million management buyout of the group to be completed in January.
Half-year pre-tax profits rose by 1.4 per cent to £28.1 million but Lord
Harris said trading was “challenging”.
Game Group, the computer games retailer, said demand for the Nintendo
Wii console was likely to continue to outstrip supply in the run-up to
Christmas. Like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland were up by 46.1 per
cent in the 45 weeks to December 8.
Support
services
Ashtead Group, the rental equipment company, reported a 53 per cent
increase in its second-quarter pre-tax profits and added that its activity
levels in Britain and the United States remained good.
Intertek Group, the provider of safety and quality testing services,
said it expects a strong full-year performance and also announced the
appointment of Mark Loughead, of its oil, chemical and agricultural
division, as its new chief operating officer.
Technology
NCipher, the American group, has acquired the majority of intellectual
property and assets of NeoScale Systems, the California-based provider of
encryption and management products within the storage security market, for
$1.95 million (£956 million).
Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone maker, said that it had sold 50.5
million mobile phones in China during the nine months to September, a 38 per
cent year-on-year gain.
Telecoms
Ofcom, the communications watchdog, said that it is to launch an
investigation into Britain’s multibillion-pound mobile phone sector amid
fears that regulation is not keeping track of radical changes in the
industry. The inquiry could lead to cheaper mobile calls and new wireless
services for consumers.
Transport
Ryanair, the low-cost airline, has announced five new routes from
Brussels Charleroi airport for next summer and also said that its
Brussels-Stansted service will end on March 5.
Utilities
British Energy said that it plans to spend an extra £90 million above
the current investment programme to extend the lives of its Hinkley Point B
and Hunterston B nuclear power stations by five years to 2016.
Economics
Trade deficit The global trade in goods deficit narrowed in October to
£7.1 billion, from a record £8 billion in September, according to data from
the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The main reason for the
improvement was a decline in imports, with underlying goods volumes falling
by 2.4 per cent over the month. However, exports rose by 0.3 per cent.
Foreign investment ONS figures on foreign direct investment into
Britain showed foreign companies investing £80.3 billion in 2006, down by
£16.5 billion from the previous year. Investment from Europe nearly halved,
but flows from Asia picked up from a deficit of £4.2 billion in 2005 to
£11.8 billion last year.
Mortgage payments David Cameron, the Tory leader, urged banks and
building societies to ease the burden on homeowners facing a sharp increase
in their mortgage interest payments in the coming months. An estimated 1.4
million households are expected to reach the end of fixed-rate mortgage
deals during 2008 and face an average rise of £200 in their monthly payments
as they move to higher rates.
German business confidence The German ZEW business sentiment indicator
fell to minus 37.2 in December, from minus 32.5 in November, worse than
economists’ forecasts and the index’s lowest level since 1993. In its
statement, the ZEW sounded negative about prospects for growth and exports
as the strong euro increases uncertainty and erodes competitiveness.
US interest rates The US Federal Open Markets Committee cut interest
rates by a quarter-point to 4.25 per cent. In reaction, global markets
hungry for more aggressive action to shore up a vulnerable American economy
caused the Dow Jones industrial average to slump by almost 300 points.
Japanese consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level in
nearly four years because of rising energy costs and grocery prices, a
government survey showed.
China’s consumer price index rose to 6.9 per cent in November, an
11-year high, official figures showed, up from 6.5 per cent in October.
Oil prices rose by more than 2.6 per cent to above $90 a barrel as a
storm paralysed parts of the most important crude storage hub in the United
States. US crude oil prices rose by $2.29 to $90.15 per barrel in early
evening trading, while London Brent crude traded up $1.90 at $89.94 a
barrel.
Banking
& finance
FTSE 100 The biggest upheaval of the FTSE 100 since the dot-com days of
2001 is expected today as fears over a consumer slowdown and heightened
volatility have led to seven companies being relegated in the quarterly
reshuffle of the index.
Northern Rock The battle for Northern Rock, the troubled mortgage
lender, has been whittled down to two bidders after Cerberus, the American
private equity group, dropped out of the running. Virgin Group allegedly
remains the board’s preferred bidder, but shareholders incline to a proposal
from a consortium led by Luqman Arnold, the former chief executive of Abbey,
the banking group.
ABN Amro and Rothschild said that they would dissolve their joint
vehicle, which was set up in 1996 to do equity offerings for clients of both
banks.
Citigroup, the world’s largest bank, has promoted Vikram Pandit, a
former Morgan Stanley investment banker who joined Citigroup just eight
months ago, to be its new chief executive following the departure of Chuck
Prince last month under the weight of multi-billion-dollar losses on
sub-prime mortgage investments.
Construction
& property
Bouygues, the French conglomerate, said that its construction unit has
acquired Warings, the UK construction company, for an undisclosed sum.
Warings has annual sales of almost €150 million (£107.9 million).
PowerFilm, the US solar panel maker, said that production delays will
result in next year’s revenue being about 20 to 25 per cent below
expectations.
Consumer
goods
Cadbury Schweppes, the confectionery and soft drinks group, raised
forecasts for its confectionery business, saying that revenue in the
division would increase more than 6 per cent this year, beating its
forecast, thanks to higher sales of chocolate in Britain and of chewing gum
in the United States.
Vin & Sprit The Swedish Government opened the formal auction of Vin &
Sprit, the drinks company behind Absolut vodka, and said that its adviser
Morgan Stanley would be inviting bids for the whole company with a view to
completing a sale next year.
Engineering
Laird Group, the supplier of products for wireless and other advanced
electronics applications, said that it had enjoyed an “outstanding” year in
2007 and expects its full-year results to be at the top end of market
estimates.
BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest defence group, has entered due diligence
negotiations to buy Tenix, Australia’s second-largest defence company, in a
deal that could be worth more than A$1 billion (£431 million).
Health
Inverness Medical Innovations, the US group, is to take over BBI
Holdings, the AIM-listed maker of diagnostic and healthcare products,
valuing BBI at 195p per share, or £83.7 million.
Pfizer Exclusive drug distribution deals that cut out wholesale
suppliers, such as Pfizer’s agreement with Alliance Boots, the high street
health and beauty chain, could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of
pounds, according to a report by the Office of Fair Trading.
Industrials
Bayer, the German chemicals and pharmaceutical group, said that its
material science unit is raising the prices for several polyurethane raw
materials in Europe, the Middle East and Africa because of “a tight demand
and supply situation”.
Leisure
Cineworld, the cinema chain operator, has been approached by Carlton
Screen Advertising, which is owned by ITV, to amend the terms of its
contract.
Whitbread, the leisure group, reported robust third-quarter trading and
announced the signing of a joint venture in Russia to open at least 200
Costa coffee shops over the next five years.
Thomas Cook, the tour operator, accompanied the report of its higher
than expected full-year profits with the announcement of a €375 million
(£270 million) share buyback programme.
Sportingbet, the internet gambling operator, reported a 110 per cent
rise in comparable first-quarter operating profits to £4.2 million on the
back of a 27 per cent increase in European sports betting revenues.
Media
Aegis Group, the media and market research company, said that it has
acquired Solution Products Systems, the provider of footfall analysis.
Natural
resources
Cambrian Mining saw its shares suspended temporarily from London’s
junior AIM because of a delay in releasing the company's accounts for the
year to June 2007. Cambrian said it has decided to reissue its accounts for
the year to the end of June 2006 after it found a number of mistakes and
missing disclosures.
Royal Dutch Shell, the oil and gas group, said it will construct a
testing facility in Hawaii to develop biofuels using vegetable oil from
marine algae and is teaming up with HR Biopetroleum, the Hawaii-based
developer of microalgae production technology, for the project.
BP, the oil and gas group, will spend €100 million (£72 million) to
build a photovoltaic solar modules plant in Spain. It will produce 300
megawatts a year, enough to supply electricity for up to 200,000 homes.
Retailing
Tesco is rumoured to have made a £145 million bid for a chain of
discount stores in the Czech Republic. Reports claim that the supermarket
giant is front-runner for the Plus business which is being put up for sale
by Tengelmann, the German retailer.
Carpetright Lord Harris of Peckham, the founder and chief executive of
Carpetright, the UK’s largest floor coverings retailer, said he expects his
£850 million management buyout of the group to be completed in January.
Half-year pre-tax profits rose by 1.4 per cent to £28.1 million, but Lord
Harris said trading was “challenging”.
Game Group, the computer games retailer, said demand for the Nintendo
Wii console is likely to continue to outstrip supply in the run-up to
Christmas. Like-for-like sales in the UK and the Irish Republic were up 46.1
per cent in the 45 weeks to December 8.
Support
services
Ashtead Group, the rental equipment company, reported a 53 per cent
increase in its second-quarter pre-tax profits and added that its activity
levels in Britain and the United States remained good.
Intertek Group, the provider of safety and quality testing services,
said it expects a strong full-year performance and also announced the
appointment of Mark Loughead, of its oil, chemical and agricultural
division, as its new chief operating officer.
Technology
NCipher, the American group, has acquired the majority of intellectual
property and assets of NeoScale Systems, the California-based provider of
encryption and management products within the storage security market, for
$1.95 billion (£956 million).
Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone maker, said that it had sold 50.5
million mobile phones in China during the nine months to September, a 38 per
cent year-on-year gain.
Telecoms
Ofcom, the communications watchdog, said that it is to launch an
investigation into Britain’s multibillion-pound mobile phone sector amid
fears that regulation is not keeping track of radical changes in the
industry. The inquiry could lead to cheaper mobile calls and new wireless
services for consumers.
Transport
Ryanair, the low-cost airline, has announced five new routes from
Brussels Charleroi airport for next summer and also said that its
Brussels-Stansted service will end on March 5.
Utilities
British Energy said that it plans to spend an extra £90 million above
the current investment programme to extend the lives of its Hinkley Point B
and Hunterston B nuclear power stations by five years to 2016.
Economics
Trade deficit The global trade in goods deficit narrowed in October to
£7.1 billion, from a record £8 billion in September, according to data from
the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The main reason for the
improvement was a decline in imports, with underlying goods volumes falling
by 2.4 per cent over the month. However, exports rose by 0.3 per cent.
Foreign investment ONS figures on foreign direct investment into
Britain showed foreign companies investing £80.3 billion in 2006, down by
£16.5 billion from the previous year. Investment from Europe nearly halved,
but flows from Asia picked up from a deficit of £4.2 billion in 2005 to
£11.8 billion last year.
Mortgage payments David Cameron, the Tory leader, urged banks and
building societies to ease the burden on homeowners facing a sharp increase
in their mortgage interest payments in the coming months. An estimated 1.4
million households are expected to reach the end of fixed-rate mortgage
deals during 2008 and face an average rise of £200 in their monthly payments
as they move to higher rates.
German business confidence The German ZEW business sentiment indicator
fell to minus 37.2 in December, from minus 32.5 in November, worse than
economists’ forecasts and the index’s lowest level since 1993. In its
statement, the ZEW sounded negative about prospects for growth and exports
as the strong euro increases uncertainty and erodes competitiveness.
US interest rates The US Federal Open Markets Committee cut interest
rates by a quarter-point to 4.25 per cent. In reaction, global markets
hungry for more aggressive action to shore up a vulnerable American economy
caused the Dow Jones industrial average to slump by almost 300 points.
Japanese consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level in
nearly four years because of rising energy costs and grocery prices, a
government survey showed.
China’s consumer price index rose to 6.9 per cent in November, an
11-year high, official figures showed, up from 6.5 per cent in October.
Oil prices rose by more than 2.6 per cent to above $90 a barrel as a
storm paralysed parts of the most important crude storage hub in the United
States. US crude oil prices rose by $2.29 to $90.15 per barrel in early
evening trading, while London Brent crude traded up $1.90 at $89.94 a
barrel.
Banking
& finance
FTSE 100 The biggest upheaval of the FTSE 100 since the dot-com days of
2001 is expected today as fears over a consumer slowdown and heightened
volatility have led to seven companies being relegated in the quarterly
reshuffle of the index.
Northern Rock The battle for Northern Rock, the troubled mortgage
lender, has been whittled down to two bidders after Cerberus, the American
private equity group, dropped out of the running. Virgin Group allegedly
remains the board’s preferred bidder, but shareholders incline to a proposal
from a consortium led by Luqman Arnold, the former chief executive of Abbey,
the banking group.
ABN Amro and Rothschild said that they would dissolve their joint
vehicle, which was set up in 1996 to do equity offerings for clients of both
banks.
Citigroup, the world’s largest bank, has promoted Vikram Pandit, a
former Morgan Stanley investment banker who joined Citigroup just eight
months ago, to be its new chief executive following the departure of Chuck
Prince last month under the weight of multi-billion-dollar losses on
sub-prime mortgage investments.
Construction
& property
Bouygues, the French conglomerate, said that its construction unit has
acquired Warings, the UK construction company, for an undisclosed sum.
Warings has annual sales of almost €150 million (£107.9 million).
PowerFilm, the US solar panel maker, said that production delays will
result in next year’s revenue being about 20 to 25 per cent below
expectations.
Consumer
goods
Cadbury Schweppes, the confectionery and soft drinks group, raised
forecasts for its confectionery business, saying that revenue in the
division would increase more than 6 per cent this year, beating its
forecast, thanks to higher sales of chocolate in Britain and of chewing gum
in the United States.
Vin & Sprit The Swedish Government opened the formal auction of Vin &
Sprit, the drinks company behind Absolut vodka, and said that its adviser
Morgan Stanley would be inviting bids for the whole company with a view to
completing a sale next year.
Engineering
Laird Group, the supplier of products for wireless and other advanced
electronics applications, said that it had enjoyed an “outstanding” year in
2007 and expects its full-year results to be at the top end of market
estimates.
BAE Systems, Britain’s biggest defence group, has entered due diligence
negotiations to buy Tenix, Australia’s second-largest defence company, in a
deal that could be worth more than A$1 billion (£431 million).
Health
Inverness Medical Innovations, the US group, is to take over BBI
Holdings, the AIM-listed maker of diagnostic and healthcare products,
valuing BBI at 195p per share, or £83.7 million.
Pfizer Exclusive drug distribution deals that cut out wholesale
suppliers, such as Pfizer’s agreement with Alliance Boots, the high street
health and beauty chain, could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of
pounds, according to a report by the Office of Fair Trading.
Industrials
Bayer, the German chemicals and pharmaceutical group, said that its
material science unit is raising the prices for several polyurethane raw
materials in Europe, the Middle East and Africa because of “a tight demand
and supply situation”.
Leisure
Cineworld, the cinema chain operator, has been approached by Carlton
Screen Advertising, which is owned by ITV, to amend the terms of its
contract.
Whitbread, the leisure group, reported robust third-quarter trading and
announced the signing of a joint venture in Russia to open at least 200
Costa coffee shops over the next five years.
Thomas Cook, the tour operator, accompanied the report of its higher
than expected full-year profits with the announcement of a €375 million
(£270 million) share buyback programme.
Sportingbet, the internet gambling operator, reported a 110 per cent
rise in comparable first-quarter operating profits to £4.2 million on the
back of a 27 per cent increase in European sports betting revenues.
Media
Aegis Group, the media and market research company, said that it has
acquired Solution Products Systems, the provider of footfall analysis.
Natural
resources
Cambrian Mining saw its shares suspended temporarily from London’s
junior AIM because of a delay in releasing the company's accounts for the
year to June 2007. Cambrian said it has decided to reissue its accounts for
the year to the end of June 2006 after it found a number of mistakes and
missing disclosures.
Royal Dutch Shell, the oil and gas group, said it will construct a
testing facility in Hawaii to develop biofuels using vegetable oil from
marine algae and is teaming up with HR Biopetroleum, the Hawaii-based
developer of microalgae production technology, for the project.
BP, the oil and gas group, will spend €100 million (£72 million) to
build a photovoltaic solar modules plant in Spain. It will produce 300
megawatts a year, enough to supply electricity for up to 200,000 homes.
Retailing
Tesco is rumoured to have made a £145 million bid for a chain of
discount stores in the Czech Republic. Reports claim that the supermarket
giant is front-runner for the Plus business which is being put up for sale
by Tengelmann, the German retailer.
Carpetright Lord Harris of Peckham, the founder and chief executive of
Carpetright, the UK’s largest floor coverings retailer, said he expects his
£850 million management buyout of the group to be completed in January.
Half-year pre-tax profits rose by 1.4 per cent to £28.1 million, but Lord
Harris said trading was “challenging”.
Game Group, the computer games retailer, said demand for the Nintendo
Wii console is likely to continue to outstrip supply in the run-up to
Christmas. Like-for-like sales in the UK and the Irish Republic were up 46.1
per cent in the 45 weeks to December 8.
Support
services
Ashtead Group, the rental equipment company, reported a 53 per cent
increase in its second-quarter pre-tax profits and added that its activity
levels in Britain and the United States remained good.
Intertek Group, the provider of safety and quality testing services,
said it expects a strong full-year performance and also announced the
appointment of Mark Loughead, of its oil, chemical and agricultural
division, as its new chief operating officer.
Technology
NCipher, the American group, has acquired the majority of intellectual
property and assets of NeoScale Systems, the California-based provider of
encryption and management products within the storage security market, for
$1.95 billion (£956 million).
Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone maker, said that it had sold 50.5
million mobile phones in China during the nine months to September, a 38 per
cent year-on-year gain.
Telecoms
Ofcom, the communications watchdog, said that it is to launch an
investigation into Britain’s multibillion-pound mobile phone sector amid
fears that regulation is not keeping track of radical changes in the
industry. The inquiry could lead to cheaper mobile calls and new wireless
services for consumers.
Transport
Ryanair, the low-cost airline, has announced five new routes from
Brussels Charleroi airport for next summer and also said that its
Brussels-Stansted service will end on March 5.
Utilities
British Energy said that it plans to spend an extra £90 million above
the current investment programme to extend the lives of its Hinkley Point B
and Hunterston B nuclear power stations by five years to 2016.
