Eurozone factory-gate prices rose 0.1 per cent in December in line with economists’ expectations. This was down from a 0.8 per cent rise in November, and represented an annual increase of 4.3 per cent.
US factory orders rose 2.3 per cent in December, against 1.7 per cent in November. This was slightly above economists’ expectations of a 2.1 per cent increase.
Industrial disputes will increase this year, driven by public sector unrest, the economic downturn and concern over pensions, according to the head of Acas.
Banking & finance
Northern Rock last night seemed to be heading into Sir Richard Branson’s control after a rival consortium pulled out less than 15 minutes before a Treasury deadline for bids for the troubled bank.
Private equity chiefs have teamed up to try to develop a “common hymn sheet” for their controversial industry.
Soci?t? G?n?rale’s chairman, Daniel Bouton, was pushed closer to the exit door yesterday when he was accused of ignoring warnings that could have prevented its rogue trader scandal.
Noor Islamic Bank, Dubai’s newest Islamic bank, is set to go on a buying spree for UK financial institutions in a drive to become the world’s largest sharia lender within five years. It aims to buy controlling stakes in British banks to gain a foothold in European markets, in which sharia-compliant banking is increasingly in demand. Hussain al-Qemzi, its chief executive, said: “We would like to take the Noor brand outside the UAE by acquiring other financial institutions.”
Construction & property
Construction activity hit a 16-month low in January reflecting weaker expansion in the commercial property sector, adding to the downward pressure on growth in the rest of the economy. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said its purchasing managers index for the construction sector fell to 53.9 in January from 56.0 in December, a peak of 64.8 in August 2007 and last year’s monthly average of 58.9.
Speymill Macau Property, the AIM-listed developer of the former Portuguese colony of Macau, has struck a deal to sell its stake in three towers of luxury waterside flats for HK$1.25 billion (£81 million), a 2 per cent premium to the June 30 valuation, giving a gross profit of HK$343.6 million.
Public Service Properties Investments, the property investment company, said it expects year-end valuations for its care home assets in the UK, representing about 85 per cent of its investment property portfolio, to be in line with those on June 30. The company added that it is on track to make more acquisitions in Germany in the first half of this year.
Consumer goods
Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant, has signed an agreement to acquire Inmarko, a Russian ice-cream company, for an undisclosed sum. The deal is subject to regulatory approval. Inmarko, with a turnover of about €115 million (£86 million) in 2007, has three factories, in Novosibirsk, Omsk and Tula, and employs more than 4,500 people.
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Engineering
Rolls-Royce Group, the engine maker, said it has won orders for its jet engines and maintenance services worth more than $1.5 billion (£759 million) at list prices. The company said that four customers in Europe, Asia and the US had chosen three versions of the Trent aero engine family to power passenger and freighter aircraft. All the engines will be supported by the company’s TotalCare service contracts.
FKI, the engineering group, has received an approach from Melrose, the turnaround investment company, about a possible takeover valuing FKI at about £412 million, Melrose has confirmed. Melrose, which specialises in engineering investments, said it was considering making an offer at 70p a share for Loughborough-based FKI, in a mixture of cash and shares.
Health
Whatman, the DNA diagnostic specialist and one of the oldest companies on the London Stock Exchange, is to be bought for £363 million by GE Healthcare, part of the American conglomerate General Electric, to boost its life sciences business.
AstraZeneca’s MedImmune biologics division has submitted a licence application to the US Food and Drug Administration for Motavizumab, an investigational antibody derived from recombinant DNA technology. The company expects the submission to result in the division’s first new medicine since it was acquired in June.
NeutraHealth said that its Brunel Healthcare unit has acquired the herbal product brands Gerard House and Galloway from Potters for £400,000.
Industrials
ArcelorMittal, the steel group, has bought the remaining 50 per cent of its Costa Rican long carbon steel producers Laminadora Costarricense and Trefileria Colima from Pujol Group’s Clarion Del Norte.
Tata Steel has made its biggest investment at Port Talbot Steelworks since it bought Corus. The company will spend £60 million on energy management technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the site.
Wynnstay Group, the agricultural and retailing group, has appointed Ken Greetham as its chief executive, effective May 21.
Leisure
Punch Taverns, Britain’s largest pub company, dismissed suggestions that it might agree to a property deal with Robert Tchenguiz as the price for securing the entrepreneur’s backing for its proposed £11 billion merger with Mitchells & Butlers.
Northern Racing, the racecourse operator taken private last year by the Reuben brothers, has appointed Michael Howard, the former Home Secretary, as a non-executive director.
Media
EMI’s chairman, Guy Hands, is planning to make a second-round bid for Chrysalis by today’s deadline.
News Corporation’s American television network shrugged off the writers’ strike to double profits and help its parent company, the owner of The Times, to better than expected 24 per cent growth in operating profits.
Lovefilm International, the online DVD rental business, is to acquire Amazon’s DVD rental arm in Britain and Germany in a deal that will make Amazon its largest shareholder.
Natural resources
ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhilips and Shell are in talks with Iraq’s Government about a plan to boost the country’s oil and gas output before the introduction of a new law governing distribution of the country’s oil wealth.
BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, has rebuffed an approach from Chinalco to discuss the Chinese company’s acquisition of a stake in Rio Tinto.
Anglo American said that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with China Development Bank to identify jointly and develop a pipeline of natural resources projects in China, Africa and elsewhere. The company said that it is actively seeking further projects in China, and the strategic relationship will enhance its project potential in the country, as well as in other key markets.
Soco International said that it has agreed to sell its operations in Yemen to China’s Sinochem Petroleum for $465 million (£235 million) in cash. The agreement, once approved by shareholders and regulators, will allow Sinochem to take over Soco’s wholly owned unit Soco Yemen, which holds the company’s interest in the East Shabwa Development Area project.
Roc Oil said it has started a two well exploration and appraisal drilling programme in WA-286-P, in the North Perth Basin, off the state of Western Australia.
BowLeven said that redrilling at offshore Cameroon’s Block MLHP 7 is currently expected to start in late April or early May. The African oil and gas company said that it has signed a drilling contract with Sedco Forex for the drilling of one well with the jack-up rig Trident IV.
Retailing
Kingfisher’s new chief executive, Ian Cheshire, will be paid a smaller salary than his predecessor, Gerry Murphy, but could net a multimillion-pound bonus if he hits targets. Mr Cheshire will earn a yearly salary of £800,000.
Myhome International said its 2007 pre-tax profit almost doubled on higher turnover, but expects its 2008 financial performance to be “lower than initially expected”.
Support services
SThree, the recruitment and staffing business, has reported pre-tax profits of £50.3 million for its year to December 2, up from £40.3 million for the same period a year earlier, after continuing to expand internationally and enter new business sectors.
Technology
Sage, the UK’s largest software company, reported that fiscal first-quarter trading is in line with its expectations and that it is confident of meeting its organic revenue-growth target for the full year. The accounting software specialist reported good trading in the UK and on the Continent and “modest” growth in its restructured US business.
Wolfson Microelectronics has reported higher fourth-quarter profits on record revenues and said it sees solid growth in 2008 despite uncertain market conditions. The semiconductor maker said that pre-tax profits for the quarter ended December 30, 2007, rose to $13.62 million (£6.89 million), from $11.84 million a year earlier, while adjusted operating profits grew by 33 per cent to $14.3 million.
Microsoft is planning to borrow funds for the first time in its history to meet the $22 billion cash part of its offer to buy Yahoo!, which has now received other approaches, giving it hope of seeing off the software group.
Telecoms
Virgin Mobile USA, the newly floated youth mobile phone operator, said that it expects to report a net loss of $3 million (£1.5 million) to $6 million for 2007. It added 210,000 net new customers in its fourth quarter.
O2 and 3 have teamed up to launch a social networking style service that will be available to users of both networks. The move is part of efforts to expand more lucrative “data” services.
LM Ericsson said it has won an order to provide built-in HSPA mobile broadband technology for Lenovo notebook PCs. Lenovo is Ericsson’s first announced mobile broadband module customer.
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Ryanair has blamed rising airport charges at Stansted and tougher operating conditions for a 27 per cent slump in third-quarter profits. The company also said that a worsening economic environment in Europe - combined with oil at nearly $90 a barrel - could hammer next year’s results, predicting that profits might fall 50 per cent to €235 million (£176 million) in a worst-case scenario.
Stagecoach Group, the bus and train operator, said that its Scottish Citylink joint venture with ComfortDelGro, the transport group, had completed divestment of part of its inter-city coach operation in Scotland. The company said that the joint venture had sold a number of Saltire Cross services, which link Aberdeen, Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh, to Parks of Hamilton (Coach Hirers).
EDF will launch a sole bid for Iberdrola before merging the Basque utility with Union Fenosa, according to local reports. The company will then divide the new company’s assets with ACS, the core Fenosa shareholder, whose role is seen as helping EDF to get government approval for for its plan.