KILL THE COMPETITION
Welcome to today's round-up of business news from The Times: what we're saying, what they're saying, from Michael Beh
Tuesday, August 25, 0730 GMT
Top stories
The Times: The stock market surged and investors celebrated the biggest rally in world share prices for 50 years.
Reuters: The "cash-for-clunkers" program ended and is expected to boost the US economy by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points in the third quarter.
The Times: Centrica, the UK energy giant, won its hostile bid for Venture Production, the oil and gas business.
Comment
Ian King in The Times: So long as the bears stay sidelined and volumes are low, the market will go only one way.
Damian Reece in the Daily Telegraph: Debt deals might be a short-term tonic, but they risk distorting a market and stop the weak being replaced by the strong.
David Prosser in The Independent: There is plenty of reason to fear that interest in new cars will die off with the end of the US scrappage scheme.
Upside
The Times: Lloydspharmacy, the high street chemist, will offer online doctors and other services in its stores to reinvent itself as a "healthcare provider".
Daily Telegraph: Business confidence in the UK has risen to its highest level since the start of the financial crisis.
Daily Telegraph: Landlords will back Focus DIY's plan to avoid administration and save 5,000 jobs at the home improvement retailer.
Downside
The Times: As British Airways turns 90, it is facing its worst crisis so far.
Bloomberg: The Bank of Israel became the first central bank to raise interest rates since signs the global recession was easing, risking a surge in the shekel.
The Times: Jim Chanos, the famed billionaire short seller behind US hedge fund Kynikos is now targeting big pharmaceuticals companies.
Mergers and shakers
The Times: General Motors is trying to formulate a $4.3 billion (£2.6 billion) financing plan that would allow it to keep the Opel and Vauxhall brands.
Financial Times: Santander, Spain's largest bank, will buy back bonds with a face value of €16.5 billion (£14.4 billion, $23.6 billion).
The Times: A group of City grandees is among the bidders for Kleinwort Benson, the private banking group that Germany's Commerzbank has been ordered to sell.
Around Asia
The Times: Toyota recalled 690,000 cars in China because the window controls could short-circuit and catch fire, delivering a blow to its reputation there.
Financial Times: China's exports edged ahead of Germany's in the first half of the year, putting Germany's status as the world's leading exporter at risk.
Daily Telegraph: China is drawing up plans to restrict exports of rare earth metals that are vital for hi-tech manufacturing.
Look ahead
The Times: Bovis Homes plans to start buying new sites for housing development before the end of the year, and expects to pick up some bargains.
Daily Telegraph: ITV is "weeks away" from signing a deal with Hulu, the US-based web TV service, to syndicate its content in exchange for equity in the company.
Reuters: China's economic growth is likely to be 8 per cent in 2010 as private investment and rising exports take up the slack from government stimulus.
MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,896.23 up 0.9% (Monday close)
Dow 9,509.28 steady (close)
S&P 500 1,025.57 down 0.1% (close)
Nasdaq 2,017.98 down 0.1% (close)
Nikkei 10,540.34 down 0.4% (latest)
Hang Seng 20246.79 down 1.4% (latest)
Currencies
Sterling $1.6407/1.1483 euros (latest)
Euro $1.4288 (latest)
Commodities
Brent crude $73.95 down 31 cents (latest)
West Texas crude $73.91 down 46 cents (latest)
Gold $946.40 up $2.70 (latest)
New York
Reuters: US stocks ended the day barely changed as investors took a break from a four-day rally. Financial stocks lost momentum. SunTrust Banks fell 3.8 per cent and JPMorgan Chase fell 1.5 per cent. On the Nasdaq, Cisco Systems fell 0.6 per cent and chip maker Intel fell 0.7 per cent. Drugmaker Warner Chilcott rose 27.1 per cent after agreeing to buy Procter & Gamble's pharmaceuticals business. Fannie Mae, the largest US home funding company, rose 41.7 per cent and smaller rival Freddie Mac rose 18.5 per cent on news they were selling bills.
Asia
Bloomberg: Most Asian stocks declined on predictions of further credit losses for banks. Suncorp-Metway, Australia's third-largest insurer, fell 4.2 per cent after a slump in profit. KB Financial Group, which operates South Korea's largest bank, fell 2.3 per cent. Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's third-biggest bank, fell 0.9 per cent. Daiwa Securities, Japan's second-largest brokerage, fell 2.1 per cent. The MSCI Asia Pacific fell 0.3 per cent to 113.38 in early trade.
Michael Beh
michaelwbeh@gmail.com
