| Treasury’s five-year Rock loan
Update 08:00 Northern Rock's shareholders have had a huge dose of bad news this morning. The company says that the preliminary bids for the business all value it at significantly less than the current market value. And the Treasury has said that neither bidders or the company should assume that the £24bn of loans made to it by the Bank of England will be kept in place after February. The Treasury has also warned that the support it has provided to the Rock represents state aid under EU rules and may therefore turn out to be illegal. It means that Northern Rock's battered share price will fall further this morning. And it also means that the future of the Rock, for its 6000 employees, remains highly uncertain. However the Treasury has reiterated that the Rock's depositors have nothing to fear.
Microsoft's Yahoo bid sends Softbank's stock into orbit
Japan's retail investors didn't waste too much time mulling over the likely impact of Microsoft's huge $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo. In Monday morning trading in Tokyo, stock in Softbank, a tech conglomerate which has a 41% share in Yahoo Japan and a 3.9% in Yahoo in the US, soared 13% to $20.30, its biggest daily gain in nearly two years. Trade in Yahoo Japan, which Yahoo has a 33% stake, though, was nonexistent but only because a glut of "buy" orders halted dealing. Making sense of Softbank stock price movements isn't always easy. Softbank, headed by charismatic CEO Masayoshi Son, has long been a favorite of retail investors even when analysts have raised questions over the company's accounting policies and strategy. It's likely that a large part of today's stock rise is individuals piling in hoping for a quick profit rather than backing for the deal.
Crew wins deadly pirate battle off Somalia
When the battle aboard the Dai Hong Dan was over, two pirates were dead and five were captured, the Navy said. Three wounded crew members from the cargo ship were being treated aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams. The captured pirates were being held aboard the North Korean vessel, the Navy said. The bandits had seized the ship's bridge, while the crew kept control of the steering gear and engines, the Navy said. The Koreans moved against the attackers after the Williams -- responding to reports of the hijacking -- ordered the pirates to give up their weapons, according to the Navy. When the crew members stormed the bridge, the deadly battle began. After the crew regained control, Navy sailors boarded the Dai Hong Dan to help with the injured.
Oil slips as Opec gathers in Saudi Arabia
Commodities came under pressure on Monday as a wave of risk aversion swept across markets, dragging energy, metals and agricultural prices lower. Oil fell sharply at the start of a crucial week with crude prices in sight of the key $100 level as delegates began to gather for a historic meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. .
Wrigley Company Foundation Awards Special Grants to Address Critical ...
CHICAGO, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Foundation (NYSE: WWY) today announced that it will give a total of $5 million to two organizations in recognition of crossing the $5 billion threshold in global sales. These special grants build on the Wrigley Company's longstanding history of philanthropy and community involvement and will help to nurture two resources that are crucial to the world's future -- today's youth and the natural environment. The International Youth Foundation -- which prepares young people to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens -- and Conservation International -- which applies innovation in a wide range of disciplines to conserve the environment -- will each receive a $2.5 million grant. Both organizations are working with the Wrigley Company Foundation to implement signature programs that will positively impact the global community, including a number of geographies where Wrigley has a strong business presence.
Rule change opens whole new world to investors
Not everyone is as bullish. Laura Wallace, managing director of the Coleford Investment Fund in Toronto, believes the Canadian market's recent performance has lulled investors into the mistaken belief that they don't need much foreign content. She says it's important to diversify - not just geographically, but by industry. "A lot of industries just aren't available here," she says. "I'm referring to health care and large global pharmaceuticals, and consumer-staples companies. We focus on large multinational corporations, and we just don't have companies that size here at home." Multinationals do business around the world - they give investors exposure to foreign markets and currencies without the risk of direct investment. It also means these companies have a better chance of doing well even if the American markets do not.
Citi buys 14.5 pc of Globe Capital for Rs 168 cr
Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI), the private equity arm of Citigroup, has picked up around 14.5 per cent in the Delh-based Globe Capital for Rs 168 crore. At this price the company is being valued at over Rs 1,000 crore. While confirming the deal, Ashok Agrawal, chairman of Globe Capital, said Citi had invested $42 million for a minority stake in the company.. The company would use the proceeds for expanding into the retail segment and margin financing, he added. Globe Capital had reported a net profit of Rs 70 crore on a gross income of Rs 130 crore in the first nine months of 2007. Last fiscal, the company posted a net profit of Rs 50 crore. One of the leading clearing members in the futures and options (F&O) segment, the company plans to expand overseas and has already established operations in Dubai through a subsidiary and plans to acquire ICON Capital, a member of the London Stock Exchange.
Platinum sets lifetime high on SA output woes
Platinum prices hit a record high for the ninth straight trading day on Tuesday as concerns deepened over output losses in top producer South Africa due to a power crisis, analysts said. The rally, which has sent prices up 30 percent in just three weeks, gained pace after Anglo Platinum, the world's biggest producer, said on Monday the power problem alone would cut output by as much as 120 000 ounces in 2008. It had already cost 30 000 ounces in lost output this year. Platinum rose to a high of $1 965 an ounce before falling to $1 940/1 950 by 1304 GMT, against $1 933/1 941 in New York late on Monday. The market nervously awaited financial results of Northam Platinum on Tuesday and Impala Platinum, the world's second-biggest producer of the metal, on Thursday for more cues on production losses.
Morgan Stanley and Trading Technologies Enter Into Global Software and ...
CHICAGO, Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgan Stanley's Client Listed Derivatives business and Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT) announced today that they have entered into a global software licensing agreement and TTNET distribution agreement in which Morgan Stanley will make available TT's high speed X_TRADER(R) order-entry software to its customers and internal trading desks globally. This agreement will allow Morgan Stanley to expand its open platform electronic trading business by enabling clients to have access to TT's X_TRADER order-entry software platform and technology solutions including TT's FIX connectivity and high-speed exchange gateways. These technology solutions will be fully integrated with Morgan Stanley's leading proprietary technologies and other third-party solutions to provide front-to-back full service for client listed derivatives activities.
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