Welcome to today's round-up of business news from The Times: what we're saying, what they're saying, from Michael Beh
Tuesday, October 28, 0730 GMT
Top stories
The Times: TPG, the US private equity house, sold its last shares in Debenhams, the UK retailer, taking its total profit to nearly £500 million ($820 million).
http://tinyurl.com/yz29ff8
The Daily Telegraph: The City watchdog launched a review of the £35 billion ($57 billion) structured products market as a result of Lehman Brothers' collapse.
http://tinyurl.com/yhyxtmu
Wall Street Journal: Kenneth Feinberg, the US Treasury pay czar, cut total compensation at companies under his control but increased base pay.
http://tinyurl.com/yzpf3oe
Comment
David Wighton in The Times: Tony Hayward, the boss of BP, may be at the limit of internal cost cuts, but he believes there is further to go in the supply chain.
http://tinyurl.com/yhvxb35
John Kay in the Financial Times: It is impossible for regulators to prevent business failure, and undesirable to pursue that objective.
http://tinyurl.com/ykmzuqf
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Daily Telegraph: McDonald's is being undercut in Iceland. The weak krona is doing exactly what it should do. Simple as that.
http://tinyurl.com/ylpvo8m
Upside
The Times: The European Commission will approve the Government's plan to split off the viable part of Northern Rock, the troubled bank, and sell it.
http://tinyurl.com/yftrjzn
Wall Street Journal: US real-estate prices increased for the fourth consecutive month.
http://tinyurl.com/yfz5bzx
The Daily Telegraph: Shares of BP rose to a 16-month high after the energy giant reported profits above analysts' expectations and greater cost cutting.
http://tinyurl.com/yhcthbd
Downside
The Times: Credit card companies warned that lower-income applicants would be denied cards if the Government went ahead with its crackdown on the industry.
http://tinyurl.com/yh66lwh
The Daily Telegraph: Bank lending to firms and households in the eurozone fell for the first time, raising fears of an economic relapse and deflation.
http://tinyurl.com/yl5b44m
The Times: British Airways cabin crew could have their pay docked by up to £5,000 ($8,200) each as part of plans by the airline to cut costs.
http://tinyurl.com/ykn6er9
Mergers and shakers
The Times: Robin Budenberg, a UBS banker, was appointed chief executive of UK Financial Investments, the body that oversees the taxpayers' stake in banks.
http://tinyurl.com/ykfuaqu
Financial Times: First Quench, the troubled owner of the Threshers off-licence chain, is at risk of entering into administration.
http://tinyurl.com/yk7xj4h
The Times: Barclays, the investment bank, hired Thomas King, a heavyweight Citigroup banker, and reshuffled its upper echelons.
http://tinyurl.com/yjwb33v
Around Asia
Bloomberg: Japan's retail sales fell 1.4 per cent from a year earlier, the smallest drop in 10 months and less than economists forecast.
http://tinyurl.com/yfyxtwm
Wall Street Journal: India's central bank held interest rates steady, but in a surprise move it also required banks to set aside more bonds as reserves.
http://tinyurl.com/yk8w6p8
Bloomberg: National Australia Bank, the country's biggest lender to businesses, slumped to a second-half loss after charges for bad debts climbed.
http://tinyurl.com/ygp2qr3
Look ahead
The Times: London Lite, the London freesheet owned by Daily Mail and General Trust, is expected to close next month.
http://tinyurl.com/ykxqdtb
The Independent: UK data suggest that retailers may enjoy good Christmas trading as shoppers bring forward purchases to beat the increase in VAT on January 1.
http://tinyurl.com/yfkzes4
The Times: Boeing, the aerospace group, will announce next week if it will create a non-unionised production line for the 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina.
http://tinyurl.com/yhvwn9j
MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,200.97 up 0.2% (Tuesday close)
Dow 9,882.17 up 0.1% (close)
S&P 500 1,063.41 down 0.3% (close)
Nasdaq 2,116.09 down 1.2% (close)
Nikkei 10,144.55 down 0.7% (latest)
Hang Seng 22,104.31 down 0.3% (latest)
Currencies
Sterling $1.6372/1.1048 euros (latest)
Euro $1.482 (latest)
Commodities
Brent crude $78.04 up 12 cents (latest)
West Texas crude $79.76 up 21 cents (latest)
Gold $1042.10 up $6.70 (latest)
New York
Reuters: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell as investors booked profits but the Dow Jones industrial average eked out a slim gain. Baidu, the Chinese Web Search company, fell 11.4 per cent on a disappointing outlook. iPhone maker Apple fell 2.5 per cent and Google, the world's leading web search company, fell 1.1 per cent. IBM rose 0.5 per cent after the computer maker raised its share repurchase plan. Among energy companies, Exxon Mobil rose 2.3 per cent and Chevron rose 1.5 per cent on the back of BP's strong earnings and higher oil prices. After the bell, Visa, the world's largest payment network, rose 1.3 per cent on stronger-than-expected results.
http://tinyurl.com/yhfz2uh
Asia
Bloomberg: Most Asian stocks fell in morning trade led by technology companies. Toshiba, Japan's biggest memory chipmaker, fell 4.4 per cent and Canon, the world's largest camera maker, fell 3.9 per cent on lower earnings. BlueScope Steel, the Australian steel maker, fell 2.9 per cent on fears of oversupply. Honda, Japan's second-largest car maker, rose 3.9 per cent after it tripled its full-year profit forecast and rival Toyota rose 0.6 per cent. Drug maker Astellas Pharma rose 2.4 per cent in Tokyo after agreeing to pay for global rights to develop and sell an experimental drug for prostate cancer. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2 per cent to 117.68 in early trade.
http://tinyurl.com/ykw845u
Michael Beh
michaelwbeh@gmail.com
London
Laird was one of the biggest fallers in the FTSE 250 yesterday amid rumours that the electronics group could unveil a rights issue alongside its trading update later this week.
Shares in the group, which makes antennas for mobile phones, fell 5.1 per cent, with brokers noting that such a move would likely be more opportunistic than absolutely necessary.
Overall, the FTSE 100 edged up 9.23 points to 5,200.97 as gains for the index's heavyweight oil groups offset falls for the banks. BP gained 4.8 per cent after reporting better than expected third-quarter results. Royal Bank of Scotland lost 8.1 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group fell 6.2 per cent amid continuing fears about what measures the European Commission may impose on the banks for receiving state aid.
Peter Stiff
Peter.Stiff@the-times.co.uk
