Whitbread, the FTSE 100 leisure group, plans to double the size of its Costa Coffee chain and open hundreds more Premier Inn budget hotels over the next five years Source: Telegraph Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 1:50 pm
Confectionary giant Mars has agreed to buy chewing gum maker Wrigley's for $23bn in a deal that is partly financed by Warren Buffett's investment group Berkshire Hathaway. Source: Telegraph Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 1:30 pm
Confectionery giant Mars is set to buy US firm Wrigley's, best known for its chewing gum, in a deal worth $23bn. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 1:25 pm
The maker of M&Ms and the eponymous chocolate bar has teamed up with one of the most famous names in investing to buy Wrigley, the maker of chewing gum, for $23bn Source: FT.com - US homepage | 28 Apr 2008 | 1:24 pm
CHICAGO (Reuters) - M&M's candy maker Mars Inc has teamed up with billionaire Warren Buffett to buy Wm Wrigley Jr Co , the world's largest chewing gum maker, for $23 billion, creating the world's largest confectionary company.
Kirk Kerkorian on Monday bid $8.50 a share for up to 20 million shares of Ford, valuing the struggling car giant’s shares at a 13% premium to their closing level on Friday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Health insurer Humana Inc said on Monday that first-quarter profit rose nearly 13 percent, beating dramatically reduced expectations, helped by its commercial plans for employers and a lower-than-expected tax rate.
Larger than expected gains in mobile subscribers helped Verizon Communications, the second largest US telecommunications group, report a 9.8 per cent increase in first quarter net profits on sales that grew by 5.5 per cent to $3.8bn Source: FT.com - US homepage | 28 Apr 2008 | 1:09 pm
Stocks futures rose early Monday as investors eyed a $23 billion deal for chewing gum giant Wrigley, an investor's $170 million bid for more shares of Ford, and turned their focus to this week's Federal Reserve meeting.
Reuters - M&M's candy maker Mars Inc has teamed
up with billionaire Warren Buffett to buy Wm Wrigley Jr Co
, the world's largest chewing gum maker, for $23
billion, creating the world's largest confectionary company.
Billionaire investor acquires 100m shares in Ford Motor and is bidding for another 1% of America's second-largest domestic carmaker at a significant premium to the current stock price Source: FT.com - US homepage | 28 Apr 2008 | 1:06 pm
Reuters - Verizon Communications Inc
reported on Monday a higher quarterly profit on
stronger-than-expected growth in wireless subscribers, showing
resilience in the face of a U.S. economic slowdown.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc reported on Monday a higher quarterly profit on stronger-than-expected growth in wireless subscribers, showing resilience in the face of a U.S. economic slowdown.
U.S. stock futures advanced on Monday, with attention focusing on the Federal Reserve ahead of this week’s interest-rate decision, oil futures nearing $120 a barrel, Kirk Kerkorian’s move for part of Ford Motor Co. and a buyout of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
US stocks were set for to build on last week's hesitant gains after chewing gum giant Wrigley became a takeover candidate and record high oil prices looked set to boost related stocks Source: FT.com - US homepage | 28 Apr 2008 | 12:59 pm
Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) has been on CNBC this morning discussing his Wrigley's bid this morning. Interestingly enough this interview was more of a general discussion about the current economic climate and strategy since he said, "We are in a recession." The call in the last few minutes also noted that the classic definition of a recession being negative GDP for two consecutive quarters and a 0.1% growth may keep the classic definition from being there. He also noted that the National Bureau of Economic Research is the one who officially calls the classic recession, and...
Verizon Communications Inc. posts a 10% increase in first-quarter profit as the carrier adds 1.5 million wireless customers and more than 250,000 video subscribers.
As oil prices continued to hover around $110 a barrel, Opec's president, Chakib Khelil, Algeria's energy minister, warned that oil prices could hit $200 a barrel and there would be little the cartel could do to help Source: FT.com - US homepage | 28 Apr 2008 | 12:56 pm
Alcatel-Lucent, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications equipment, is expected to report a narrower first-quarter loss Wednesday. Industry observers also hope it will start showing some tangible benefits from its merger.
Billionaire financier Kirk Kerkorian announced Monday that he's offering $170 million for 20 million shares of Ford Motor, which - combined with the 100 million shares he purchased earlier this month - would boost his stake in the automaker above 5%.
Sycamore Networks (NASDAQ: SCMR) is showing the risks of being a small technology company with the bulk of orders coming from a few companies. The bandwidth management solutions company has issued a revenue warning that is pretty dismal, with the blame being put on lower than expected orders associated with one of the company's major customers. The target for this quarter (fiscal Q3-2008) is approximately $21 million in revenues, down from $41.45 million sequentially and down from $43.54 million in the same quarter in 2007. First Call had estimates at $45.6 million. This will also bring down the company's goal...
U.S. stock futures advanced on Monday, with attention focusing on the Federal Reserve ahead of this week’s interest-rate decision, oil futures nearing $120 a barrel, Kirk Kerkorian’s move for part of Ford Motor Co. and a buyout of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
Tracinda's surprise move to tender for Ford shares stole the early spotlight, though investors were also focused on the Fed before Wednesday's decision on interest rates.
Verizon Communications Inc.'s first-quarter earnings met Wall Street expectations Monday on strong growth in sales of domestic fiber-optic services and strong wireless customer additions.
Jilted by Chrysler, disappointed by General Motors, investor Kirk Kerkorian has now turned his loving gaze toward Ford Motor.
Kerkorian's investment vehicle Tracinda Corp. has built a 4.7 percent stake in Ford and has announced its intention to buy as many as 20 million more shares, or nearly another 1 percent, at a premium of 13.3 percent over Ford's closing stock price on Friday.
The announcement comes just days after Ford showed signs that it was turning a corner by announcing an unexpected profit for the first quarter. (For an interactive look at Ford's bumpy road to profitability, click here.)
And indeed, unlike some past auto investments, the stake being taken by Kerkorian is an endorsement of the changes that Ford is making.
"Tracinda believes that Ford management under the leadership of chief executive officer Alan Mulally will continue to show significant improvements in its results going forward," the company said in a statement.
At a time when few believe that Detroit can save itself, Kerkorian's faith in the industry, at the age of 90, is remarkable.
In 1995, he made an unsuccessful takeover bid for Chrysler. After Chrysler agreed to be acquired by Daimler-Benz in 1998, Kerkorian sued but lost in a Delaware court. When Daimler later put Chrylser up for sale last year, Kerkorian tried to present a bid.
Between Chrysler engagements, Kerkorian became the biggest individual shareholder in General Motors in 2005. He successfully pressed G.M. for a seat on the board, but he was less successful in trying to persuade the automaker to enter into an allianace with Renault of France and Nissan Motor of Japan.
The European Commission has again trimmed its forecast for growth, citing weakening investment growth and slowing personal consumption amid the ongoing global credit crunch.
You might be listening to the symphony of financial experts extolling the virtues of a 401(k) plan, often touted as the best way to save for your golden years. But that's not necessarily the case.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Loews Corp said on Monday first-quarter profit fell 14 percent, as declining results from its insurance and tobacco units offset improved results from drilling operations.
Kirk Kerkorian, billionaire and elder statesman of takeovers, said he will make a tender offer for another 20 million shares of Ford (F). The price will be $8.50 a share. His timing is odd. Ford rose to $8.76 last week after posting a surprise profit. It dropped the next day to $7.50 after it was downgraded by brokers. Analysts still see several quarters of losses and thought the stock had run too high too fast. Kerkorian appears to think that is bunk. Douglas A. McIntyre
Now that milk and gasoline can cost $3.50 each, filling up your grocery cart or SUV has become an exercise in pain. Most people just wince, pay, and get along as best they can. But someone like me can't help but see these price spikes as a nasty side effect of America's ethanol program. How nasty? Think of the recent film starring Will Smith, " Am Legend."
The quiet period has ended for Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) after its IPO. The underwriters have thus initiated their coverage ratings this morning on the credit card payment processing company. Shares of Visa have risen by about 40% since its IPO. These are not yet all of the calls that will be out this morning, but these are the coverage initiations seen so far early this Monday morning: SunTrust Robinson Humphrey at Buy; Goldman Sachs at Buy with $90 target; UBS at Buy; JPMorgan at Overweight; Citigroup at Hold with $78 target; Credit Suisse at Neutral; Morgan Stanley at Equal-Weight...
Highland Gold Mining, the Russian miner part-owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich, swung to a net profit of $18.1m (£9m) in 2007 last year as increased production and sharply higher prices reversed the previous year's loss. Source: Telegraph Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 12:00 pm
Highland Gold Mining, the Russian miner part-owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich, swung to a net profit of $18.1m (9m) in 2007 last year as increased production and sharply higher prices reversed the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 12:00 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil hit a new record near $120 a barrel on Monday, boosted by a string of bullish factors that include big disruptions to Nigeria's output and a UK refinery strike, highlighting anxieties over threats to supply.
Reuters - Oil hit a new record near $120 a barrel
on Monday, boosted by a string of bullish factors that include
big disruptions to Nigeria's output and a UK refinery strike,
highlighting anxieties over threats to supply.
Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian is making another run at building a significant investment in a U.S.-based automotive company, announcing Monday that it plans to offer $8.50 per share in cash... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:51 am
Deutsche Bank is set to raise €9 billion (£7 billion) by issuing bonds to
finance an expected acquisition spree after Josef Ackermann, the chairman at
Germany's largest lender, reiterated his interest in buying Postbank,
majority owned by Deutsche Post. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:49 am
Reuters - Stock futures rose on Monday, helped
by news of a likely $22 billion takeover of chewing gum maker
Wm Wrigley Jr Co and record crude oil prices, which
could lift shares of energy companies.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures rose on Monday, helped by news of a likely $22 billion takeover of chewing gum maker Wm Wrigley Jr Co and record crude oil prices, which could lift shares of energy companies.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc on Sunday unveiled its first computer brand, aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, with design and sales help from its major chip customers such as Dell Inc.
The European Commission downgrades eurozone growth forecasts again, blaming financial market turmoil. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:43 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications said on Monday quarterly profit rose on strong growth in wireless subscribers, weathering a U.S. economic slowdown. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:41 am
Verizon (VZ) had a quarter which indicated that no matter what is wrong with the economy people are still subscribing to cellular service. Revenue at the phone company rose 5.5% to $23.8 billion. Operating income rose 14.1% to $4.3 billion. The most important number was from Verizon Wireless, which is 80% owned by Verizon and 20% owned by Vodafone (VOD). The company claims it had the highest net subscriber adds in the industry -- 1.5 million net additions taking it to 67.2 million total customers. Who needs that iPhone. Verizon's fiber-to-the-home business seems to still be taking a lot of...
Asos, the internet fashion retailer, has proved itself immune to the lagging
fortunes of the high street with a 90 per cent lift in sales and promises of
higher than expected profit for the year. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:39 am
Pakistan says it has cleared the way with Iran to finalise an agreement on a $7.5bn gas pipeline to India. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:37 am
These are ten of the top analyst calls we see affecting shares in pre-market indications this Monday morning: Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) Raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. Cash America (NYSE: CSH) Cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) Raised to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns. Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) raised to Neutral from to Sell at Goldman Sachs; downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America. Goodyear Tire & Rubber (NYSE: GT) cut to Neutral at JP Morgan. Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) raised to Outperform at FBR (stock indicated +2%). McMoRan Exploration (NYSE: MMR)...
Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's company says it plans to make a cash offer of $8.50 per share for up to 20 million shares of Ford Motor Co. The offer price represents a 13.3 percent... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:32 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tracinda Corp said on Monday it intends to make a cash tender offer for up to 20 million shares of common stock of Ford Motor Co at a price of $8.50 per share.
Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's company says it plans to make a cash offer of $8.50 per share for up to 20 million shares of Ford Motor Co. The offer price represents a 13.3 percent... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:21 am
Reuters - Tracinda Corp said on Monday it
intends to make a cash tender offer for up to 20 million shares
of common stock of Ford Motor Co at a price of $8.50 per
share.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tracinda Corp said on Monday it intends to make a cash tender offer for up to 20 million shares of common stock of Ford Motor Co at a price of $8.50 per share. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:19 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland Plc is set to cut hundreds of jobs as it pushes ahead with the integration of Dutch bank ABN AMRO's investment bank and slashes headcount in divisions hit by the credit crunch.
The Office of Fair Trading targets the UK's top four supermarkets as part of an investigation into price-fixing. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:17 am
Europe's main stock markets advanced Monday, with the energy sector moving higher on the back of record oil prices and after earlier gains in Asia, dealers said. In late... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:17 am
Exxon-Mobil, the world's largest energy group, is as secretive as its Russian and Chinese rivals, a report says. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:16 am
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc on Sunday unveiled its first computer brand, aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, with design and sales help from its major chip Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:11 am
Electrolux posts a loss for the first three months of 2008 as hard-up consumers bought fewer appliances. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:09 am
Stocks headed for a higher open Monday amid more speculation about mergers and acquisitions, and ahead of a handful of earnings reports on tap for the session. Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:08 am
Annual house price growth in England and Wales falls for the seventh straight month, the Land Registry says. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:05 am
The European Union expects inflation to rise by more than a full point this year to 3.2 percent, pushed higher by soaring energy and food prices. Record-high prices for food, oil and... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:01 am
Online fashion retailer Asos expects to buck the trend on the high-street, with profits "significantly" ahead of market expectations. Source: Telegraph Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
Online fashion retailer Asos expects to buck the trend on the high-street, with profits "significantly" ahead of market expectations. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
Warren Buffett's investment group Berkshire Hathaway and the chocolate giant Mars are expected to announce plans to acquire Wm Wrigley for $22bn, in deal that would unite two of America's largest confectionary... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
Even in hard times, life, for a moment anyway, can still taste sweet with a mint. The desire to capture a global market in cheap impulse purchases is helping drive a huge deal in the candy business.
Mars has reached a deal acquire the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for $23 billion. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway would provide financing for Mars and get a stake. Mars will pay $80 cash for each share of common stock and Class B stock of Wrigley. Mars will provide $11 billion of the funding for the buyout. Goldman Sachs is providing $5.7 billion in a debt facility, and Berkshire Hathaway is providing $4.4 billion in subordinated debt.
Berkshire has also agreed to buy a minority stake in the Wrigley business for $2.1 billion.
"Those of you who know me, know that I have been a big fan of Wrigley's business model for many years, and I love their products," Buffett said. "When you think of a business that's easy to understand—with favorable long-term economics, and able and trustworthy management—you think of Wrigley. "
The buyout team matches the world's most famous, most media-savvy investor with perhaps the world's most secretive consumer company. Mars, maker of M&M's and Snickers, is a tightly controlled family-owned company. Or as Fortune put it more than a decade ago: "Mars is an enigma inside a mystery tied up in a bright candy wrapper."
The deal could spark other mergers. Wrigley had sought a merger with Hershey, but that fell apart. More recently, Hershey and Cadbury Schweppes, which has spun off its soda and beverage business, have held discussions over a possible combination, according to various reports.
Douglas McIntyre of the blog 24/7 Wall St. says a deal for Wrigley looks expensive: "On a per-share basis, Wrigley would be going for almost $80. The company's stock has not been that high, ever."
A combination of the two candy kings could certainly find cost savings in raw materials, especially at a time when commodity prices are rising, and it would have greater global marketing and distribution heft.
Candy is an attractive market because while there are only a few global brands, it is relatively fragmented with no one having much more than a 10 percent global share.
Warren Buffett's investment group Berkshire Hathaway and the chocolate giant Mars are expected to announce plans to acquire Wm Wrigley for $22bn, in deal that would unite two of America's largest confectionary groups, according to reports in the US pres Source: Telegraph Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
Nationwide, the UK's biggest building society, and Abbey, the third-biggest
lender, announced a raft of new rules today that will squeeze out borrowers
who do not have a deposit of at least 10 per cent of their property's value,
after chopping the maximum loan size from 95 per cent to 90 per cent for the
majority of deals. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 28 Apr 2008 | 10:53 am
Uniq, a maker of trifles and puddings for supermarkets, has unveiled plans to slash up to 390 jobs. Source: Telegraph Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 10:45 am
HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) - Vietnam moved to quell panic over rice supplies on Monday, banning speculation in the market after a "chaotic" buying binge at the weekend highlighted growing global fears about food security.
Stagecoach, the bus and train group, upgraded its earnings forecast by 18 per
cent as passengers concerned about the rising cost of fuel abandon cars and
aircraft in favour of trains and buses. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 28 Apr 2008 | 10:18 am
Eurotunnel shares are suspended amid reports that the firm will announce a 900m euros rights issue. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 10:10 am
London equities continued to rise on Monday, helped by series of upbeat corporate earnings news and a sustained recovery in the banking sector. The FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent higher at 6,130.2, a rise... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 10:03 am
The head of OPEC says that he can see oil hitting $200. OPEC's President Chakib Khelil refuses to blame supply. His theory is that the price of the dollar is what will drive crude. According to Reuters "Questioned about a possible rise which would go to $200, the minister did not rule out this eventuality, explaining that this rise is from now on indexed to the fall in the dollar or to the rise in the dollar." Khelil is a sophist of the first order. He refuses to admit that the price of crude is based on several variables and...
The Oracle of Omaha and Mars, the big privately-held chocolate company, will buy gum concern Wrigley (WWY) for $22 billion. The price is a 27% premium over where Wrigley traded in the last session. On a per-share basis, Wrigley would be going for almost $80. The company's stock has not been that high, ever. The one comparable company worth a look for valuation is Tootsie Roll (TR). It has a price-to-sales ratio of 2.6. With the premium offer for Wrigley, it will go for 4x, an unusually high valuation. The deal is hard to fathom for other reasons. Costs savings...
The dollar hit a two-month high against the yen and held on to last week's sharp gains against the euro on Monday amid speculation that the Federal Reserve was approaching the end of its interest rate... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 9:37 am
The dollar hit a two-month high against the yen and held on to last week's sharp gains against the euro amid speculation that the Federal Reserve was approaching the end of its interest rate cutting cycle. Source: FT.com - US homepage | 28 Apr 2008 | 9:37 am
Oil neared $120 a barrel on Monday amid supply concerns following the start of a strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland and further violence in Nigeria. Nymex June West Texas Intermediate hit a... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 9:35 am
In what may be the last great act of his presidency, George Bush is sending many Americans tax rebates. The checks begin to go out today. Some households may get as much as $1,200. What is not clear is how many citizens will go out and buy a new washer-dryer set and how many will simply stuff the money in their mattresses. One would cause inflation, while the other would only serve to hoard money as many families are beginning to hoard food. The Fed has several reasons not to cut rates again. First among those may be that inflation...
Banking stocks stole the limelight in Asian stock markets on Monday as the perception of receding credit-market worries prompted some heavy buying across the region. However, declines in other sectors... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 9:29 am
United Nations agencies meet in Switzerland to come up with solutions to ease the escalating global food crisis. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 9:18 am
Whitbread on Monday laid out plans to double the size of its Costa Coffee chain and aggresively expand its Premier Inn chain of hotels as it revealed pre-tax profits grew by a quarter last year. The group,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 9:17 am
Whitbread on Monday layed out plans to double the size of its Costa Coffee chain and aggresively expand its Premier Inn chain of hotels as it revealed pre-tax profits grew by a quarter last year. The company... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 28 Apr 2008 | 9:17 am
Africa and Latin America should adopt their own versions of the Common Agricultural Policy as a response to the rising demand for food, according to France's farm minister Source: FT.com - US homepage | 28 Apr 2008 | 7:49 am
According to Reuters, oil price moved toward $120 on fear for supply interruptions. Reuters writes that Chrysler is trying to sell two of its North American plants. Reuters reports that many Wall St. analysts believe that Microsoft (MSFT) will launch a hostile bid for Yahoo! (YHOO). Reuters writes that Continental (CAL) will not merge with United (UAUA). Reuters writest that the Fed will probably cut rates but pause from any further reductions. Reuters reports that Qantas will raise fare due to higher fuel prices. The Wall Street Journal writes that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) and Mars are near at $22 billion...
Mars, the world's largest chocolate maker, and investor Warren Buffett
confirmed today that they will pay $23 billion ($£11.5 billion) for Wrigley
in an agreed deal with America's largest chewing gum maker. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 28 Apr 2008 | 7:34 am
The $22 billion deal could force other snack companies to merge to compete with the new confectionary giant. But sources say the deal could still fall apart.
NEW YORK — Mars Inc. and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway were close to a deal to acquire the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for more than $22 billion, a deal that could transform the confectionary industry, people familiar with the agreement told newspapers.
Mizuho Securities and Shinko Securities, the Japanese mid-size brokers,
confirmed today that they are postponing their merger for the second time in
five months after blaming the US credit crunch. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 28 Apr 2008 | 7:20 am
Whitbread plans to double the size of its Costa coffee chain and expand
Premier Inn by 50 per cent over the next five years. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 28 Apr 2008 | 7:15 am
HBOS is considering a rights issue to raise up to £4bn of extra funding from its existing shareholders. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 28 Apr 2008 | 7:12 am
The president of Opec, the cartel of oil-producing countries, has given
warning that the price of crude could hit $200 a barrel, sparking fears that
rising fuel costs will force more businesses into bankruptcy.$ Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 28 Apr 2008 | 7:08 am
Christine Brandt cranks out wedding invitations and stationery on a vintage Vandercook letterpress. It's a labor of love but also a venture she hopes to make profitable.
Abandoned in the Nevada desert for two decades, the rusty hunk of junk didn't look like much.
In a hearing about its plan to buy Countrywide, the company will promise to help 265,000 troubled borrowers keep their homes and take other steps.
Pushing to fast-track its takeover of wounded home-loan goliath Countrywide Financial Corp., Bank of America Corp. will promise today to help 265,000 troubled borrowers keep their homes over the next two years by refinancing or modifying at least $40 billion in mortgages.
On finishing this earnest and entertaining book (yes, it's possible to be both), my first reaction was to slap the author -- metaphorically -- on the back for refusing to deploy the word "Chindia" in his text.
An art management consultant offers the printer a plan to increase marketing.
Flora and Fauna Press is enjoying a burst of demand for its custom letterpress-printed products. To help ensure the boom doesn't go bust, owner Christine Brandt needs to bolster her Los Angeles company's marketing, says art management consultant Nancy Hytone Leb of the nonprofit Los Angeles-based Center for Cultural Innovation.
Investors in troubled finance company Geneva Finance have overwhelmingly approved a deal to convert some of their debt into shares - and delay repayments.
Geneva Finance says that 93.56 per cent of debenture and subordinated note... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 4:48 am
On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the trading day begins with little fanfare. As a small cluster of clerks shuffle around the mostly empty trading floor sipping glass mugs of tea, large L.C.D. boards flicker to life, displaying in green and red the movements of China's bellwether stock indexes.
Until Thursday, there was likely to be a lot more red than green. Shanghai, Asia's top-performing market last year and long a source of quick riches for investors and speculators, is on track to deliver the region's biggest losses for 2008—down more than 30 percent. And while the Chinese market's explosive growth in recent years—the S.S.E. A Share Index soared some 300 percent in only two years before stumbling last fall—made hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens wealthy on paper, its subsequent losses are likely to make many more poor in reality.
On Thursday morning, though, China’s main stock index soared nearly 8 percent after the government cut an unpopular trading tax, a move that had market pros predicting the end of the six-month bear market. Shanghai stocks finished the week up 15 percent.
"In New York, people talk about [the terrorist attacks of] 9/11. In China, the date on everyone's mind is 5/30," says William Zheng, a Shanghai-based partner with Boston law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. Zheng is referring to the day on which Chinese authorities, concerned by the speculative frenzy in the nation’s markets, tripled the tax charged on stock trading in an attempt to curb what it feared was a bubble taking shape.
The result? The Shanghai index plunged 6.5 percent—in a single day. "Until then, the market had gone almost straight up," Zheng says. True, the market rebounded briefly to set new highs by midsummer, but the events of May 30, 2007, proved to be an early warning sign for those prepared to heed it. "It was the day the world changed for Chinese investors, when they realized that stocks could go down as well as up."
Despite the violent swing, an odd assortment of housewives, students, and senior citizens flock to brokerage-company offices, where, in private rooms reserved for clients, they hunker down in front of computers to trade or just sit and watch the action on trading screens.
China's domestic stock market—the A shares of Chinese companies traded in Shanghai and also on other exchanges such as that in Shenzhen, in the Guangdong province—is very much characterized by a kind of quirky combination of naïveté and fear.
Many investors poured their family nest eggs into stocks selected almost at random, perhaps because of a tip from a friend of a friend, or perhaps only because they thought the stock's price was a lucky number. Some have even mortgaged their homes to have capital to invest.
Those investors include Zheng's friends and members of his Shanghai-born wife's family. Zheng and his wife, exhausted by the emotional roller coaster, pulled their money out of the market last year. Many of their friends, however, refuse to cut their losses.
"I think there is something in the Chinese culture or personality—we don't like to sell our possessions. We have an emotional connection to them," Zheng posits. For one of Zheng's friends, that emotional tie has produced losses of 200,000 yuan—so far. (That's $28,600—several times the average annual income of an urban resident of China.)
Mark Mobius, a portfolio manager with Franklin Templeton Investments and the dean of emerging-markets investors, began buying Chinese stocks early this decade. He says that battling human nature is going to be tough—especially in China, where the citizenry has a passion for gambling and little knowledge of the way stock markets work.
"The Chinese government could see this becoming a kind of gambling den, so for the last few years they've made developing an institutional market a priority," Mobius says.
Just how painful is China's volatility? Single-day moves of 2 percent or more—the kind of loss seen on April 17, when stocks hit their lowest level in nearly a year—are perceived as normal. On one memorable day in February 2007, the Chinese market slumped nearly 10 percent. Last week, the tax cut pushed Shanghai stocks up 15 percent.
Meanwhile, Rob Lutts, president and chief investment officer of Cabot Money Management, an investment firm based in Salem, Massachusetts, keeps as much as 10 percent of his wealthy clients' assets in Chinese stocks. One of his biggest holdings is China Finance Online, a Beijing-based company offering—more than a bit ironically—trading data and information packages to individual investors.
Even as the stock market soured in the fourth quarter of 2007, the company reported a 24 percent leap in subscribers, some paying up to $45 a month for its Tao of Wealth package.
"People are learning, slowly, that investing is a trickier business and not always a quick path to riches. And that's a bumpy process—but that is good for this company," Lutts argues. "Learning about corrections is part of the process. There is no way back: China's citizens are becoming investors." Related Links Investor Beware Shanghai Sell-Off In China, Too Much of a Good Thing?
Continental Airlines brought its merger talks with United Airlines to an abrupt end on Sunday amid concerns for the rival US carrier's financial strength in the face of record fuel costs and waning demand for air travel Source: FT.com - US homepage | 28 Apr 2008 | 1:07 am
An employee of BAA is alleged to have tried to influence consultants advising the Competition Commission on a possible break-up of the airports operator. Source: Telegraph Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 12:01 am
Support for Labour among business leaders has almost disappeared but the Conservatives are failing to make a decisive breakthrough in regaining lost ground, according to a British Chambers of Commerce poll. Source: Telegraph Business | 28 Apr 2008 | 12:01 am
Eos, the premium airline that flew between London and New York, filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last night, a move that appeared to signal
the end of cut-price executive-only flights across the Atlantic.
The American carrier’s flights were suspended last night, leaving hundreds of
passengers stranded at Stan-sted and John F Kennedy airports.
The grounding of Eos follows the collapse
of Maxjet last December and the announcement that Silverjet,
which operates from Luton, is seeking a bailout from new investors. L’Avion,
which flies from Paris to New York, is also thought to be struggling. Last
night it emerged that mainstream carrier Continental Airlines had withdrawn
from merger talks with United Airlines amid concerns about United’s
financial health in the face of high oil prices. Continental is now focused
on a possible alliance with British Airways and American Airlines.
All four of the pure business class airlines were launched over the past
couple of years to take advantage of a boom in business-class travel between
Europe and the United States. They hoped to take on the established
transatlantic carriers such as British Airways and Virgin by offering
services tailored to business-class travellers.
However, sustained high oil prices have pushed up operating costs while the
worsening economic environment has reduced demand for premium air travel and
the new carriers struggled to compete with better-capitalised rivals.
Eos occupied the top end of this niche market and flew only 48 passengers on
its Boeing 757s, styling itself a budget-first class service. Silverjet, the
last of the British all-business-class carriers, flies 100 passengers on its
larger 767 aircraft and charges from £999 for a business-class return –
about a third of a typical BA business-class fare.
None of the three premium-only carriers that operated from Britain has ever
made a profit. In regulatory filings in America, Eos said that it had lost
$37 million ($£18.6 million) in the first nine months of last year on revenue
of $53 million. Silverjet was losing about $£1 million a month and its share
price has fallen from a peak of £2.09 last March to 14p.
A spokesman for Silverjet said: “We are a different model to Eos and we remain
very confident of continuing to fly.”
Eos, which was founded by David Spurlock, a former British Airways executive,
was the first of the low-cost business operators to launch, starting flights
in October 2005, and it raised $212 million from private equity groups and
individual investors. Eos had begun to edge its way into the City$’s favours
and is thought to have been included on the preferred airline lists of a
number of big institutions. However, it still needed additional financing
and approached its original investors seeking more money this month. When
that move failed, Eos approached rival airlines, including BA and Virgin, to
propose a takeover. It found no interest.
Jack Williams, the chief executive of Eos, said: “There are times when even
though you execute your business plan, external forces prevent you from
controlling your own destiny.”
Rising oil prices are causing havoc in the airline industry and Eos is the
seventh carrier in two weeks to seek bankruptcy protection or go bust. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 27 Apr 2008 | 11:00 pm
The battle for Newsday, the Long Island-based tabloid, is expected to heat up this week since Mortimer Zuckerman, owner of the rival Daily News, joined the fray Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Apr 2008 | 10:11 pm
All but one of the 25 largest US mutual fund managers saw their long-term assets fall in the first quarter, as returns dived and investors pulled out of funds Source: FT.com - US homepage | 27 Apr 2008 | 9:26 pm
Vector is optimistic it will get approval for a $785 million deal to sell its Wellington electricity network to Hong Kong-based Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI).
The sale is subject to conditions including the approval... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 6:15 pm
MELBOURNE - Australia's top retailer, Woolworths Ltd, is still keen to bid for New Zealand's Warehouse Group even though Warehouse's financial position has worsened since Woolworths first made an offer, a newspaper reported today.
"We're... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 6:01 pm
The fallout from the failed meat industry mega-merger is becoming increasingly bitter.
One of the parties courted in the failed merger has accused PPCS of trying to make Alliance Group chairman and merger instigator Owen Poole... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 5:58 pm
LONDON - Insurance companies, one of the country's largest shareholder groups, have told the government that plans to swoop in early on ailing banks could hurt investors and hit confidence in London as a financial hub.
The government,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 5:57 pm
The costs of integrating wind power into the electricity system are relatively low, a study has found.
The study was headed by Professor Goran Strbac of Imperial College London and commissioned by Meridian Energy. It was not concerned... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
John Atkinson is a long way from both his home and his original career path.
The New Zealand chief executive of ASX-listed financial advisory group Plan B Wealth Management grew up in Dublin and began his career marketing fast-moving... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
United States stock markets, hammered by the sub-prime mortgage crisis and a slowing domesticeconomy, may recover this year and post gains of about 10 per cent by mid-2009, a group of money managers and strategists says.
"When... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
Investors in troubled NZX-listed investment product PINs are questioning why it is still being managed by the same people who were in charge when it got into difficulty.
Australian fund manager Absolute Capital Group, a firm jointly... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
SAN FRANCISCO - Google believes regulators would not bar a potential business deal with Yahoo because it would be "non-exclusive" and falls short of a merger, says a source familiar with Google's thinking.
Yahoo is exploring alternatives... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 27 Apr 2008 | 5:00 pm
Reuters - M&M's candy maker Mars Inc has teamed
up with billionaire Warren Buffett to buy Wm Wrigley Jr Co
, the world's largest chewing gum maker, for $23
billion, creating the world's largest confectionary company.
Reuters - Verizon Communications Inc
reported on Monday a higher quarterly profit on
stronger-than-expected growth in wireless subscribers, showing
resilience in the face of a U.S. economic slowdown.
AP - Tax rebates will start going out today, earlier than previously announced. President Bush announced the change in schedule on Friday.
Reuters - Oil hit a new record near $120 a barrel
on Monday, boosted by a string of bullish factors that include
big disruptions to Nigeria's output and a UK refinery strike,
highlighting anxieties over threats to supply.
Reuters - Stock futures rose on Monday, helped
by news of a likely $22 billion takeover of chewing gum maker
Wm Wrigley Jr Co and record crude oil prices, which
could lift shares of energy companies.
Reuters - Tracinda Corp said on Monday it
intends to make a cash tender offer for up to 20 million shares
of common stock of Ford Motor Co at a price of $8.50 per
share.