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
Wednesday, November 18, 0730 GMT
Top stories
The Times: The Ferrero family, which owns Ferrero Rocher, is divided over a possible deal with Cadbury, the UK confectioner, and Hershey, the US candy maker.
The Daily Telegraph: UK housing affordability peaked in the second quarter of the year and is now deteriorating as property prices rise.
The Times: Goldman Sachs apologised for its role in the global financial crisis and announced a $500 million (£299 million) pledge to small businesses.
Comment
David Wighton in The Times: The exuberance in the commercial property world may not be irrational, but there are reasons to be cautious.
Edmund Conway in the Daily Telegraph: It would be unwise to dismiss the rise in inflation as mere volatility.
Matthew Lynn on Bloomberg: Ending the dollar's reign will boost the European economy.
Upside
The Times: The "banana wars", the longest-running dispute in the history of the World Trade Organisation, is close to being settled.
New York Times: More than 14,700 US taxpayers disclosed secret foreign bank accounts under a tax evasion amnesty program.
The Times: The Financial Services Authority's planned new remit that will allow it to seize data from hedge funds will be outlined in the Queen's Speech.
Downside
The Times: T-Mobile, the phone giant, is being investigated for illegally selling the private details of millions of mobile phone customers.
Wall Street Journal: US manufacturing activity slowed sharply last month, rising by only 0.1 per cent.
The Independent: The UK annual inflation rate rose sharply to 1.5 per cent in the year to October, raising fears that quantitative easing will be reversed.
Mergers and shakers
The Times: VT Group, the support services provider, is considering bids for the Met Office and for DSG, the Ministry of Defence's spares and vehicle logistics division.
The Independent: Lazard, the Wall Street financial advisory firm, appointed an insider, Kenneth Jacobs, as its new chairman and chief executive.
Financial Times: ITV, the UK broadcaster, named Archie Norman, the former chief executive of Asda, as its new chairman.
Around Asia
Wall Street Journal: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Japan's largest bank, and Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank, will merge their brokerage units in Japan.
Bloomberg: A-Power Energy Generation Systems, the Chinese energy company, plans to build a wind-energy turbine factory in the US.
Wall Street Journal: An explosion of public share offerings in Japan is raising questions about whether these companies have viable plans for the money they look to raise.
Look ahead
The Times: Cable & Wireless set a March deadline for the long-awaited demerger of the UK telecoms group's two businesses.
Financial Times: Apollo Management, the big US private equity firm, may list on the New York Stock Exchange as early as this week.
Wall Street Journal: The output capacity of OPEC, the oil cartel, is expected to increase by around one million barrels a day in 2010.
MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,345.93 down 0.7% (Tuesday close)
Dow 10,437.42 up 0.3% (close)
S&P 500 1,110.32 up 0.1% (close)
Nasdaq 2,203.78 up 0.3% (close)
Nikkei 9,716.35 down 0.1% (latest)
Hang Seng 23,044.66 up 0.6% (latest)
Currencies
Sterling $1.6797/1.1287 euros (latest)
Euro $1.4882 (latest)
Commodities
Brent crude $79.50 up 53 cents (latest)
West Texas crude $79.62 up 48 cents (latest)
Gold $1139.40 steady (latest)
New York
Reuters: US stocks rose to 13-month highs as upbeat broker views offset disappointing holiday spending outlooks. On the Nasdaq, software maker Microsoft rose 2 per cent on an analyst's upgrade. Energy giant Exxon Mobil rose 0.8 per cent on an analyst's upgrade. Home Depot, the leading US home improvement chain, fell 2.4 per cent on weaker results forecasts. Target, the No. 2 US discounter, fell 3 per cent on worse-than-expected forecasts.
Asia
Bloomberg: Asian mining stocks rose in morning trade on gains in commodity prices, overshadowing concern that share sales will reduce the value of equity investments in Japan. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, rose 1.2 per cent on higher oil and metal prices. STX Pan Ocean, South Korea's biggest bulk carrier, rose 2.4 per cent in Singapore on higher shipping rates. Property developer Tokyo Tatemono fell 19 per cent on plans to sell shares. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2 per cent to 118.86 in morning trade.
Michael Beh
michaelwbeh@gmail.com
