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, March 1, 0730 GMT
Top stories
The Times: Prudential, the UK's second-largest insurer, plans to buy American International Group's Asian assets for about $30 billion (£19.6 billion).
The Daily Telegraph: Royal Bank of Scotland, the state-backed bank, paid its bankers £1.3 billion ($2 billion) in bonuses on profit of just £1 billion ($1.5 billion).
The Times: Microsoft, the software giant, encouraged other companies to complain about Google to antitrust regulators in its most outspoken attack on its rival.
Comment
David Wighton in The Times: It is great to see a British company like Prudential taking such a bold and risky move. This is a monster deal.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Daily Telegraph: The West risks a slow grind into debt-deflation unless central banks offset fiscal tightening with monetary stimulus.
Stephen King in The Independent: At this stage, we can't be sure we haven't been staring at a phantom recovery.
Upside
The Times: Factories exporting British innovation will outperform the rest of the economy, the EEF manufacturers' organisation said.
Wall Street Journal: The bailout plan for Greece is taking shape and may include €30 billion (£27 billion, $41 billion) in aid amid intense discussion over timing and terms.
The Daily Telegraph: Pomegreat, the UK drinks firm, signed a £3 million ($4.5 million) a year deal to buy pomegranate juice from Afghanistan.
Downside
Financial Times: British Telecom's £8.8 billion ($13 billion) pension deficit is of its own making, rival telecoms groups told UK regulators.
The Independent: Non-executive directors in FTSE-100 companies awarded themselves inflation-busting rises of 5 per cent or more last year.
Financial Times: Hollywood's hopes for a future built on digital film downloads were severely undermined as consumer demand for online movies fell last year.
Mergers and shakers
The Times: Peter Sands, the chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank, decided to hand his annual bonus to charity.
Wall Street Journal: Merck, the German pharmaceutical and chemical company, agreed to buy Millipore, the US biotech-equipment maker, for $7.2 billion (£4.7 billion).
The Daily Telegraph: Royal Dutch Shell, the oil and gas giant, will sell its liquid petroleum gas assets and North Sea fields to finance its capital spending programme.
Around Asia
Wall Street Journal: China's manufacturing activity grew for the 12th straight month in February.
The Daily Telegraph: China is in the middle of a property bubble with prices leaping 20 per cent a month in some regions.
Wall Street Journal: Malaysia's central bank governor indicated that it is nearly time for interest rates "to be normalised".
Look ahead
Wall Street Journal: Car makers are expected to report disappointing US sales for February on Tuesday, mainly due to snowstorms that kept customers away.
The Independent: Increases of 20 per cent in business rates are being forecast for next year, as local authorities seek to make up shortfalls in funding.
Reuters: The US and Japan will see the biggest rise in distressed property sales in the first quarter, predicts the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Unfinished business - last week wrapped up
Last Monday
Eric Daniels, Lloyds' chief executive, waived his bonus for second year in a row, following bonus refusals by other banking chiefs.
A US congressional panel accused Toyota of misleading the public about safety problems as the car giant received subpoenas from a federal grand jury.
Tuesday
Santander, the UK's second-biggest mortgage bank, increased the size of loans for first-time buyers.
Strikes across Europe threatened to cause paralysis as workers rejected government attempts to cut spending and wages.
Wednesday
Bidders lined up as HSBC put its £2 billion ($3 billion) train leasing company up for sale, signalling a boost in the buyout market.
US stocks bounced on a promise by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke of interest rates staying low.
Thursday
Stock markets fell as fear of contagion from Greece's debt disaster combined with depressing economic data.
British Gas was accused of fleecing millions of vulnerable customers as the utilities firm revealed record-breaking profits for last year.
Friday
Lloyds Banking Group, the part-nationalised bank, announced annual losses of £6.3 billion ($9.6 billion).
William Hill, the bookmaker, reported a 9 per cent fall in profits.
MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,354.52 up 1.5% (Friday close)
Dow 10,325.26 steady (close)
S&P 500 1,104.49 up 0.1% (close)
Nasdaq 2,238.26 up 0.2% (close)
Nikkei 10,174.44 up 0.5% (latest)
Hang Seng 20,889.75 up 1.4% (latest)
Currencies
Sterling $1.5154/1.1143 euros (latest)
Euro $1.36 (latest)
Commodities
Brent crude $77.99 up 40 cents (latest)
West Texas crude $80.10 up 44 cents (latest)
Gold $1116.00 down $2.90 (latest)
New York
Reuters: US stocks rose as data showed the economy grew a tad better than expected in the fourth quarter. Trading volume was light as Wall Street was buried in a snowstorm. Financials and industrials led the way up and Dow component and diversified manufacturer 3M rose 0.5 per cent. JP Morgan Chase, one of the biggest US banks, rose 3.3 per cent. Health insurer Cigna rose 1.2 per cent as healthcare stocks rose. Insurer American International Group fell 10 per cent after it reported a loss. For February, the Dow rose 2.6 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 2.9 per cent and the Nasdaq climbed 4.2 per cent. Even so, all three major stock indexes were down for the week.
Asia
Bloomberg: Asian stocks rose in morning trade for a second day as higher metal prices boosted mining companies. Oz Minerals, an Australian producer of copper and gold, rose 5.3 per cent as copper prices climbed after an earthquake in Chile halted production at the world's largest producer of the metal. Among financial companies, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rose 2.5 per cent and Mizuho Financial Group rose 1 per cent after JPMorgan Chase upgraded Japanese banks. Toll Holdings, Australia's largest trucking and freight company, rose 5.7 per cent on good Australian manufacturing data. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5 per cent to 118.69 in morning trade.
Michael Beh
michaelwbeh@gmail.com
