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
Monday, November 16, 0730 GMT
Top stories
The Times: More than £11 million ($18 million) of spending was switched from J Sainsbury to the UK retailer's main competitors in the 12 weeks to November.
The Daily Telegraph: Britain's bankers warned that planned new laws on pay and bonuses could trigger a loss of talented workers and stifle economic growth.
The Times: Asking prices for UK property fell for the first time in three months in November.
Comment
George Magnus in The Times: We have to think about new economic strategies that will require commitment, patience and, above all, jobs.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Daily Telegraph: Far from taking over as the engine of growth from an exhausted West, China is making matters worse.
Hamish McRae in The Independent: Phew! Europe is growing again. That gives a base from which to think about the coming months.
Upside
The Daily Telegraph: US President Barack Obama assured Asian nations that US borrowing would not spiral out of control.
The Times: Wealthy investors took £2 billion ($3.3 billion) out of cash and moved it into stock and bond funds in September.
The Daily Telegraph: BAE, the UK defence firm, handed over the first of a new class of nuclear submarine to the Royal Navy, four years late.
Downside
The Times: British Airways staff were urged to contact employment solicitors hired by Unite, their union, as new working practices come into force.
Wall Street Journal: A potential candidate for CEO of Bank of America spurned a feeler because the US pay czar must approve any pay deal.
The Times: An increasing number of small and medium-sized UK businesses are finding it harder to gain critical loans to grow.
Mergers and shakers
The Times: Authorities launched an investigation into Gilher, financier John Hirst's fund, which is alleged to have defrauded UK expatriates in Mallorca.
Financial Times: JPMorgan Chase, the US investment bank, will pay £940 million ($1.6 billion) to take ownership of Cazenove, the 190-year old stockbroker.
The Daily Telegraph: The personal belongings of convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff sold for nearly $1 million (£600,000) at an auction in New York.
Around Asia
New York Times: Japan's economy expanded at an annual pace of 4.8 per cent in the third quarter.
Wall Street Journal: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's largest bank by assets, is may raise capital of ¥1 trillion (£7 billion, $11 billion).
Bloomberg: Hitachi, the Japanese technology manufacturer, announced plans to raise ¥400 billion (£2.7 billion, $4.5 billion), and its shares fell.
Look ahead
The Times: A series of biomass-fired power plants being built in the UK will need timber imports to rise from 20 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes by 2015.
Wall Street Journal: As many as six companies will launch initial public offerings in the US this week.
The Times: Pay freezes will be imposed across half of British industry next year, according to a survey by CBI, the business leaders' organization.
Unfinished business - last week wrapped up
Last Monday
Cadbury rejected a £9.8 billion ($16.4 billion) hostile bid from Kraft, the world's second largest food company, branding the offer as "unattractive" and "derisory".
The UK Government named 10 proposed sites, nine in England, for nuclear power stations with the first to be operational by 2018.
Tuesday
Two former hedge fund managers of Bear Stearns, the US investment bank, were acquitted of fraud charges.
HSBC and Barclays, Britain's biggest banks, reported significant improvements in underlying profits.
Wednesday
Better UK unemployment figures indicated the worst of the recession was over as Mervyn King predicted a long, hard haul to recovery.
Ian Smith was forced out of Reed Elsevier, the information giant, after eight months as chief executive, leaving with a £1.1 million ($1.8 million) payoff.
Thursday
British Airways and Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier, announced a deal to create Europe's largest airline.
Intel, the computer-chip giant, agreed to pay Advanced Micro Devices $1.25 billion (£755 million) to settle all disputes over competitive and licensing issues.
Friday
China blamed ultra-low US interest rates for fuelling speculation in overseas asset markets and threatening the global economic recovery.
A US judge ruled in support of a bid by Grupo Mexico, the country's largest mining company, for Asarco, the US copper miner.
MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,296.38 up 0.4% (Friday close)
Dow 10,270.47 up 0.7% (close)
S&P 500 1,093.48 up 0.6% (close)
Nasdaq 2,167.88 up 0.9% (close)
Nikkei 9,782.69 up 0.1% (latest)
Hang Seng 22,842.33 up 1.3% (latest)
Currencies
Sterling $1.6714/1.1181 euros (latest)
Euro $1.4949 (latest)
Commodities
Brent crude $76.94 up 63 cents (latest)
West Texas crude $77.06 up 71 cents (latest)
Gold $1124.20 up 7.50 (latest)
New York
Reuters: US stocks rose in light volume as upbeat retail news reinforced hopes for strong sales in the holiday season. For the week, the Dow rose 2.5 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 2.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq rose 2.6 per cent. Entertainment giant Walt Disney rose 4.8 per cent after it posted better-than-expected quarterly profits. Among retailers, JC Penney rose 6.2 per cent and Abercrombie & Fitch rose 10.7 per cent on better-than-expected results. Chipmaker Qualcomm rose 2.1 per cent and technology networking firm Juniper rose 5.9 per cent on analysts' upgrades.
Asia
Bloomberg: Asian stocks fluctuated in early trade as mining companies gained on higher gold and copper prices, while financial and technology shares fell on concern share sales will dilute the value of existing holdings. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, rose 1.5 per cent and Lihir Gold rose 3.6 per cent in Sydney. Fast Retailing, Japan's biggest clothing retailer, rose 2.6 per cent after the nation's economy grew more than expected in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's largest bank by market value, fell 4.3 per cent on reports it may announce the nation's biggest secondary share sale. Hitachi, the large Japanese technology manufacturer, fell 8.5 per cent on reports it may raise as much as 400 billion yen ($4.5 billion) through the sale of new stock and convertible bonds. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed at 118.15 in early trade.
Michael Beh
michaelwbeh@gmail.com
