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
Friday, October 30, 0730 GMT
The Times: About 6,500 jobs at risk after First Quench Retailing, which owns the Threshers off-licence chain, fell into administration.
New York Times: The US economy grew for the first time in a year, sending stocks up after four days of sizable declines.
The Times: Peter Norris, the former Barings boss, to head the Virgin Group board as its first non-executive chairman.
Comment
Ian King in The Times: US growth of 3.5 per cent certainly puts Britain in the shade but some of the motors of revival have run out of road.
Floyd Norris in New York Times: Washington wouldn't need a pay czar if lawmakers focused on why profit in the financial sector has soared in recent years.
James Hall in Daily Telegraph: Look to Japan if you think the January VAT rise is a good thing.
Upside
The Times: Lloyds shareholders impressed with revealed details of its rights issue; shares rise 7.5 per cent to 86p.
The Times: A tax haven report by Deloitte praised the role of Crown Dependencies in funding banks on the UK mainland.
Daily Telegraph: Diageo, the world's biggest spirits maker, to step up marketing of its vodka brands, including Smirnoff, with a £150 million ($250 million) investment.
Downside
The Times: Royal Dutch Shell stepped up restructuring drive with more than 400 British managers facing the axe at Christmas.
New York Times: Exxon's profit fell 68 per cent in the third quarter, hurt by weakness at its production and development unit.
The Times: Barclays may have lost $220 million (£130 million) from investments with K1 Group, the German hedge fund.
Mergers and shakers
The Times: Herbert Smith and Lovells, the City law firms, win coveted Treasury work advising on the stability of the financial system.
The Times: Chris Mottershead, the former Travelzest boss, set to join TUI Travel, Britain's biggest tour operator, on January 1.
The Times: Orange added its highest number of mobile customers in three years, but lost more ground in the fight for fixed-line broadband users.
Around Asia
New York Times: Japan's government told Japan Airlines, the struggling carrier, to turn to a state-backed body for assistance.
The Times: Nomura, Japan's largest investment bank, reported its biggest profit in nine quarters; hailed its purchase of the non-American portions of Lehman Brothers.
New York Times: The IMF raised its outlook for growth in Asia for this year and next, reflecting the region's rapid rebound from the downturn.
Look ahead
The Times: Plans to build a ten-mile tidal barrage across the River Severn to generate up to 5 per cent of Britain's electricity likely to be shelved.
Daily Telegraph: Ofgem to announce £300 million ($500 million) of European funding for investment in power lines from offshore wind farms.
New York Times: Three of Germany's biggest industrial companies issued sobering outlooks for the car sector, even as fresh economic data suggested a rebound in European manufacturing.
MARKETS
FTSE 100 (Thursday close)
Dow 9,962.58 up 2.1% (close)
S&P 500 1,066.11 up 2.3% (close)
Nasdaq 2,097.55 up 1.8% (close)
Nikkei 9,994.58 up 1.1% (latest)
Hang Seng 21,264.99 down 2.3% (latest)
Currencies
Sterling $1.6554/1.1158 euros (latest)
Euro $1.4836 (latest)
Commodities
Brent crude $78.03 down 1 cent (latest)
West Texas crude $80.02 up 15 cents (latest)
Gold $1046 down $1.10 (latest)
New York
Reuters: US stocks logged their best one-day percentage gain in three months on Thursday as investors saw data showing the economy returned to growth in the third quarter as brightening the outlook for profits. Equity gains were widespread, with big manufacturers, technology, financials, energy and the materials sectors all benefitting. Sentiment was also boosted by stronger-than-expected quarterly results from consumer product heavyweights Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive. P&G, which also raised its full-year revenue outlook, gained 4 per cent while Colgate-Palmolive rose 1.6 per cent. Caterpillar, whose products include bulldozers and excavators, rose 5.2 per cent as aircraft maker Boeing rose 3.4 per cent. iPhone maker Apple rose 2.1 per cent while Symantec jumped 12.8 per cent.
Asia
Bloomberg: Asian stocks advanced in morning trade, led by mining companies and electronics makers, as Japan's jobless rate unexpectedly dropped and the US economy grew faster than economists expected. Sony, which makes the PlayStation game console, gained 3 per cent in Tokyo as the yen weakened, while Panasonic, Japan's biggest maker of home appliances, rose 4 per cent. Komatsu, the world's second-biggest maker of construction equipment, advanced 3.3 per cent, even after its first-half net income plunged. Rio Tinto, the world's third-biggest mining company, rose 4 percent in Sydney as commodity prices increased and BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, gained 0.9 per cent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1 per cent to 115.79 in morning trade.
Myles McIvor
LONDON
Shares in Evolution were in demand yesterday after the broker cheered investors by forecasting that its full-year profits would be ahead of market expectations. The group was one of the biggest risers in the FTSE 250, climbing 4.9 per cent, after it said that it was experiencing strong trading across all its businesses. The FTSE 100 rose by gained 57.3 points to 5,137.72 as initially cautious investors were cheered by news that the US had come out of recession.
Banks were the biggest risers after Lloyds Banking Group, up 7.5 per cent, confirmed speculation that it was considering a fundraising to potentially exit the Government's asset protection scheme. Royal Bank of Scotland rose 9.5 per cent. Royal Dutch Shell was the biggest faller, with its "A" shares dropping 2.9 per cent, after the oil major reported disappointing third-quarter results.
Peter Stiff
Peter.Stiff@the-times.co.uk
