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, December 22, 0730 GMT
Top stories
The Times: BAA, the airport operator, won an appeal against the break-up of its monopolies in London and Scotland.
The Daily Telegraph: Retailers suffered as heavy snow across many parts of the UK prevented thousands of consumers from shopping.
The Times: BP, the oil giant, will appeal against $100 million (£62 million) of damages imposed for safety infringements at its troubled Texas City refinery.
Comment
Ian King in The Times: That BAA won its appeal is a serious embarrassment for the Competition Commission.
David Prosser in The Independent: For retailers, dreams of a white Christmas are more like nightmares, especially this year.
Gillian Tett in the Financial Times: An issue causing great unease for bankers is the matter of sovereign risk, and the related issue of collateral.
Upside
The Times: High-interest "logbook" loans secured on cars are to be outlawed under UK government proposals.
Financial Times: Lehman Brothers, the collapsed Wall Street bank, is hiring bankers and paying generous bonuses in London to retain skilled employees.
The Daily Telegraph: National Express, the travel operator, put on extra buses from London to Paris in response to disrupted train and flight services.
Downside
The Times: Transatlantic airfares could rise as much as 15 per cent if British Airways proceeds with its tie-up with American Airlines, US authorities warned.
The Daily Telegraph: The super-strong euro is causing the rift between north and south European countries to widen, says Standard & Poor's, the rating agency.
The Times: Dubai World failed to reach agreement on a suspension of its $22 billion (£14 billion) debt repayments after talks with more than 90 banks.
Mergers and shakers
Wall Street Journal: General Motors named Chris Liddell, software maker Microsoft's outgoing finance chief, as the car giant's chief financial officer.
New York Times: Sanofi-Aventis, the French drug maker, agreed to buy Chattem, the US consumer health care company, for $1.9 billion (£1.2 billion).
Wall Street Journal: Sky Deutschland will raise capital as News Corp, its major shareholder, raises its stake in the pay-TV operator.
Around Asia
Wall Street Journal: Honda, the Japanese car maker, plans to build a new plant in China to keep up with surging demand.
The Times: Japan may be spared a double-dip recession next year because of resurgent exports to China and the central bank's efforts against deflation.
Wall Street Journal: Sinochem, the Chinese trading company, revised down its proposed takeover offer for Nufarm, the Australian crop chemical firm.
Look ahead
The Times: UK house prices will rise by 2 per cent by the end of next year, predicts the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
The Independent: Almost two-thirds of UK public-sector workers expect a pay increase next year worth at least as much as this year's rises.
The Daily Telegraph: European Union regulations introduced in the UK since 1998 will cost £184 billion by 2020, predicts Open Europe, the think tank.
MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,293.99 up 1.9% (Monday close)
Dow 10,414.14 up 0.8% (close)
S&P 500 1,114.05 up 1.1% (close)
Nasdaq 2,237.66 up 1.2% (close)
Nikkei 10,287.27 up 1% (latest)
Hang Seng 21,161.95 up 1% (latest)
Currencies
Sterling $1.6057/1.1237 euros (latest)
Euro $1.429 (latest)
Commodities
Brent crude $72.80 down 19 cents (latest)
West Texas crude $73.68 down 4 cents (latest)
Gold $1094.20 down $1.80 (latest)
New York
Reuters: US stocks rose, with the Nasdaq hitting a 15-month high after a healthcare reform bill advanced in the Senate. Health insurer Aetna rose 4.7 per cent and rival Cigna rose 3.9 per cent. Chipmaker Intel rose 2.3 per cent on an analyst's upgrade. Aluminium producer Alcoa rose 7.9 per cent after it announced a joint venture in Saudi Arabia. Consumer healthcare company Chattem rose 33.1 per cent after Sanofi-Aventis agreed to buy it. Software maker Take Two Interactive fell 5.1 per cent in extended trade after it downgraded its outlook.
Asia
Bloomberg: Asian stocks rose in morning trade as the weaker yen boosted Japanese exporters. Sony, the maker of the PlayStation 3 game machine, rose 2.3 per cent. Carmaker Nissan rose 4.6 per cent and bigger rival Toyota rose 1.6 per cent. Chipmaker Toshiba rose 3.6 per cent and rival Elpida Memory rose 3.5 per cent on reports they will invest in production equipment. Alumina, partner in the world's biggest bauxite producer, rose 3.8 per cent and BHP Billiton, the world's largest miner, rose 1 per cent on higher metals prices. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5 per cent to 117.45 in morning trade.
Michael Beh
michaelwbeh@gmail.com
