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Friday's news and tips

Created:

5 December 2008

Written by:

Tanya Malick

■ Ofcom is to allow BT's wholesale arm Openreach to raise its prices to other broadband suppliers in a move that regulator Ofcom says will help generate sustainable competition.

■ Building maintenance firm Interserve said it has been awarded the sustainable built environment workplace support (SBEWS) contract by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

■ Aer Lingus' total passenger numbers decreased by 3.6% in November 2008 compared to same month last year as long-haul passengers slumped.

■ HSBC has made £250m from the repurchase of its Canary Wharf headquarters from Spanish real estate firm Metrovacesa.

■ Illegal strike action in Mexico has stopped work at the Fresnillo and Ciénega mines run by Fresnillo, the world's largest primary silver producer.

■ There was a slither of hope today for Urals Energy today as it admitted an offer could be made for the oil exploration and production firm.

Continues below...

■ Oil & gas firm Melrose Resources signed a Heads of Agreement with Sterling Resources under which it will farm-into the Pelican XIII and Midia XV Blocks in the Black Sea, offshore Romania

■ Newly formed life insurer consolidator Resolution has raised £600m ahead of its listing on the London Stock Exchange.

■ Bloomsbury Publishing has acquired John Wisden & Co, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack , to increase its presence in reference and sports publishing.

■ Upmarket wallpaper and fabrics group Walker Greenbank has warned profits this year will be materially below forecasts due to lower than expected sales.

■ John Lewis department stores across the country suffered another dive in sales last week despite an upturn in business at the weekend following the recent cut in VAT.

■ South-east focused housebuilder Berkeley said the lack of availability of mortgages has resulted in downward pressure on transaction volumes and sales prices as it reported a 12% drop in half-year pre-tax profits.

■ Brewer and pub operators Marston's saw profits for the full year slide and said trading in the current year has continued to be very challenging.

■ Insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor expects that, due to the strong performance of its insolvency division, pre-exceptional continuing activities will perform in line with expectations

■ Speciality metal producer and recycler Metal-Tech warned that it expects to report a full-year loss due to the current crisis in the metals, construction and manufacturing sectors.

■ Retail and loyalty systems provider Universe warned that whilst revenue growth has been strong, operating profit has been impacted by slower than anticipated equipment roll-outs from the JetSet business (JAV).

■ Embattled luxury goods maker Waterford Wedgwood has won more breathing space as it seeks to complete its refinancing.

■ Recruitment group SThree expects profits the year just ended will meet forecasts but cautioned "The forthcoming year is likely to be the toughest we have faced for some time".

■ Business software maker Touchstone said it believes market conditions will continue to be testing as it swung to a half-year loss and scrapped its interim dividend.

■ IT solutions provider Electronic Data Processing said trading conditions became more challenging in the second half of its financial year.

■ AB Foods forecast no improvement in earnings over the coming year as it added its voice to the chorus of companies cautioning over the uncertainty going into 2009.

FOR A SUMMARY OF LATEST MOVEMENTS IN EQUITY, COMMODITY AND CURRENCY MARKETS, SEE FT.COM'S MARKETS PAGE.

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NEWSPAPER SHARE TIPS (05 DECEMBER 2008)

Full round-up of newspaper share tips (sourced from Sharecast)

PRESS HEADLINES:

The Bank of England is working on radical plans to inject cash directly into the economy - the nuclear option to be used only when interest rates approach zero, reports the Telegraph.

Hundreds of thousands of borrowers will be denied the full benefit of yesterday's cut in interest rates because many banks are refusing to pass on the whole one-point cut to all mortgage customers, says the Times.

Banks and building societies will be required to hold tens of billions of pounds more in highly liquid government bonds to ensure they are better equipped to withstand future panics by depositors, reports the Times.

J Sainsbury has become the first company in Britain to sign an electricity supply contract directly with a generator, agreeing to take all the power from a new 6MW wind farm to be built near Glasgow, writes the FT.

Leading figures from the UK biotechnology sector have called on the Government to invest £500m to rescue the industry, writes the Telegraph.

The administrator of Woolworths has launched a massive fire sale of the retailer's stock as it continues to talk to potential buyers of the stricken chain, according to the Telegraph.

Meanwhile, the FT says Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group is the latest company to be caught up in the collapse of Woolworths and is looking to avoid liabilities of up to £100m.

Northern Foods has won a slice of British Airways' in-flight meals business, replacing Gate Gourmet in supplying meals and sandwiches for short-haul flights from Heathrow airport, according to the FT.

EMI is in talks with rivals over a US distribution deal that could bring in tens of millions of dollars for the indebted company, after earlier talks about selling some of its labels stalled, says the FT.

STV and UTV, the two UK regional franchise holders of ITV licences, told Ofcom, the British broadcast regulator, on Wednesday that they wanted nothing to do with a single nationwide licence for Channel 3 in the UK, says the FT.

BDO Stoy Hayward and PKF have become the latest accounting firms to announce job cuts as the economic downturn begins to hit the professional services sector, reports the FT.

Up to 20,000 jobs look set to be lost as a result of the imminent merger of Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, as a further 10,000 job losses were announced across the investment banking fraternity, writes the Telegraph.

Former WorldCom chief executive Bernie Ebbers is seeking a presidential pardon for his role in the $11bn (£7.5bn) accounting fraud that brought down the company, says the Telegraph.

The future of many UK independent music labels was under threat on Thursday following the collapse of Pinnacle Entertainment, the specialist distributor, reports the FT.

Channel 4 may be denied a slice of the BBC licence fee as the communications minister shied away from major legislative changes to plug the £150m hole in the broadcaster's budget, reports the Telegraph.

Company directors are seeking legal advice about their responsibility for the crucial "going concern" judgment in annual reports, as the looming recession brings the viability of many British businesses into question, says the FT.

The chairman of China's largest sovereign wealth fund has said he "does not have the courage" to plough money into Wall Street and the City, says the Telegraph.

Our press headlines summary is sourced from www.Sharecast.com