Welcome to today's round-up of business news from The Times: what we're
saying, what they're saying
Top stories
The Wall Street Journal: The Fed, for the first meeting since the
credit crisis began last summer, did not
lower interest rates, signalling rising worries about inflation risks.
The Times: Qatar took a near-8 per
cent stake in Britain's third-largest bank as it ploughed billions of
pounds into UK companies.
The Independent: An arms lobbyist is
gaining access to ministers by using a pass allotted to a member of the
House of Lords who benefits financially from one of his companies.
Comment
Martin Waller in The Times: By going down the placing route, Barclays
is depriving its shareholders of the
opportunity to sell their rights rather than take them up: a useful perk.
Lex in Financial Times: Wiggle-room is the most valuable commodity that
central bankers possess. So, for all the hawkish jawboning, the Fed has left
its options open.
Hamish McRae in The Independent: There is a view that the job of
central banks should merely be to pick up the pieces after a bubble bursts.
But that seems a little unambitious.
Upside
Reuters: ING Real Estate, the biggest property fund firm, has begun buying
back into UK property because it looks cheap but has cut US exposure as
it sees prices falling.
The New York Times: Oracle reported that net income in the fourth
quarter rose 27 per cent to $2.04 billion, as strong software sales eased
concerns about softening demand.
The Independent: Stagecoach revealed the extent of the resulting shift
taking place in UK travelling habits,
publishing an 8 per cent increase in annual operating profit.
Downside
The Times: Householders will be warned by the Government on Thursday to
expect five years of higher home energy
bills to pay for a green power revolution.
The Daily Telegraph: The CBI gave warning as the high street is about
to embark on its toughest six months
in 16 years as retail sales remained weak for a third month.
The Times: Consumers are increasingly turning to short-term
loans charging interest of more than 1,000 per cent to tide them over
until they get paid.
Mergers and shakers
The Wall Street Journal: Anheuser-Busch is prepared
to reject InBev's unsolicited $46.35 billion acquisition offer as early
as this week.
The New York Times: MasterCard Worldwide agreed to pay $1.8 billion to
its credit card rival American Express to settle
claims related to a 2004 antitrust lawsuit.
Reuters: The US Supreme Court threw
out the record $2.5 billion in punitive damages that Exxon Mobil had
been ordered to pay for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska.
Around Asia
South China Morning Post: Hong Kong plans to ride the oil price boom
with the launch of a commodities market trading fuel oil, but analysts have
questioned its feasibility.
Bloomberg: The Australian and New Zealand dollars
climbed after the Federal Reserve gave no indication it will start
reversing its aggressive series of interest-rate cuts.
The Nikkei: Inflation concerns in Vietnam have sent share prices
plunging to a third of the peak reached last year. The dong's value against
the dollar has also slumped.
Coming up
Financial Times: The London Stock Exchange will today unveil a new,
pan-European equities trading platform in a joint venture with Lehman
Brothers to fight rivals.
The Wall Street Journal: The auction of GE's $30 billion credit-card
business is attracting tepid interest
on concern that consumers are having trouble paying their bills.
The Times: Barclays Capital will
not join banks selling loans made to finance the leveraged buyout of
Endemol, the television producer of Big Brother, at a loss.
MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,666.10 up 0.6% (Wednesday close)
Dow 11,811.83 up 0.04% (close)
S&P 500 1,321.97 up 0.6% (close)
Nasdaq 2,401.26 up 1.4% (close)
Nikkei 13,828.74 up 0.01% (latest)
Currencies
Sterling $1.9744/1.2598 euros (latest)
Euro $1.5672 (latest)
Commodities
West Texas crude unchanged at $134.55 (latest)
Gold $887.40 up $5.10 (latest)
New York
Reuters: US stocks rose as the
price of oil declined, while the Federal Reserve held its key interest rate
steady and reduced expectations for a rate rise at its next meeting. In late
trading the Dow all but erased a 100-point gain as it failed to shrug off a
steep drop in shares of Boeing, where falling orders and high fuel
prices are feared. But a pullback in oil prices added to a generally
positive mood.
Asia
Bloomberg: Asian stocks rose
for the first time in six days after crude oil fell more than $2 a barrel in
New York and the Federal Reserve said that risks to US growth had
diminished. Nintendo, maker of the Wii video-game system, and Honda
advanced in Tokyo on speculation that demand in their largest market will
hold up. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was up 0.7 per cent in intraday trading.
Paul Larter
paul.larter@thetimes.co.uk
London
The London market rose yesterday amid a wash of money from the Gulf state of
Qatar.
The small gas-rich country put money into Barclays and J Sainsbury
and was also rumoured to be building its stake in the London Stock
Exchange (LSE).
A £4.5 billion fundraising for Barclays lifted most of the banking sector to
drive the FTSE 100 31.4 points higher to 5,666.1.
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Challenger, the company representing
the chairman of Qatar Holding, have agreed to invest up to £1.8 billion and
£533 million respectively, with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
also becoming a large shareholder in the bank.
Barclays shares rose 20.25p to 331p, with Royal Bank of Scotland up 10p
to 229.25p, and HBOS adding 17.25p at 292p. Some traders viewed the
sector’s rally as a sign that markets were starting to believe the worst of
the credit crunch is over for the blue-chip banks.
Shares in J Sainsbury rose 13.25p to 328p on the news that the QIA had
increased its stake in the supermarket group to about 25.3 per cent after it
bought two million shares on Monday and five million on Tuesday. The QIA
made a 600p per share indicative approach for the company last year and is
now free to make a fresh approach.
Furthermore, there was speculation that the QIA was increasing its stake in
the LSE. Qatar owns about 15 per cent of the exchange operator.
LSE’s shares were the index’s biggest risers up 117.5p to 952p, also boosted
by rumours that CME Group was interested in a takeover of the equities spot
market.
Anglo American’s shares were among the 100’s heaviest fallers, down
141p at £32.85. The mining group said it had decided to review operations in
Zimbabwe, after The Times revealed the group planned to invest £200
million in platinum operations in the African country.
Peter Stiff
peter.stiff@thetimes.co.uk
AGENDA
INTERIMS
Avesco
XploiTe
FINALS
DSG International
Dyson Group
Falkland Islands Holdings
Goldshield Group
James Latham
Prologic
Scott Wilson Group
DS Smith
AGMs
Addax Petroleum
Alltrue Investments
Alternative Energy
Business Direct Group
CSK Holdings Corporation
Empyrean Energy
Energy Asset Management
Hansen Transmissions International
Twenty
Hawtin
InterQuest Group
John David Group
LukOil
Polyus Gold
EGMs
Hardide
TRADING STATEMENTS
FBD Holdings
Standard Chartered
Trinity Mirror
United Business Media
Wellstream Holdings
ECONOMICS
UK Q1 business investment (0930 BST)
BoE’s King, Gieve, Tucker, Besley, Barker to appear before Treasury Select
Committee on May Inflation Report (0945 BST)
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