Only registred members can create thier own customized alerts.
Newspaper Briefing, including 'Banks warned over threat to lending' - Financial Times
The Times
Gilts: Gilt Futures staged a late rally in a turbulent session as investors repositioned before the end of the year and the appetite for safe-haven assets fluctuated on uncertainty about how the Eurozone crisis will be solved. March gilt Futures settled 40 ticks higher on the day at 113.90, having been as much as a full point down earlier at a one-month low.
Tiddler to watch: Agriterra rose 0.44p to 2.72p, after the AIM-listed African agriculture business run by Phil Edmonds and Andrew Groves bought a palm oil operation in Sierra Leone. The business has also raised $15 million in a share placing at 3p to fund the expansion of its existing operation, which include cattle ranching, cocoa buying and maize farming.
Deal of the day: After many disappointments, could now be the time for Future finally to come good? Peel Hunt think so, with analysts at the broker telling clients to buy shares in the media group, unchanged at 9p, citing its successes in adapting to new electronic formats and the fact that the publisher of Classic Rock has only recently started to address its cost structure.
Wheels driving the worlds industry are grinding to a halt: Production lines across the world are slowing down as the malign influence of the Eurozone crisis hammers confidence in Britain, continental Europe and as far afield as China. Activity in Britains beleaguered manufacturing sector tumbled to its lowest level in two and a half years last month, fuelling fears that the country is about to tip back into recession. In its latest health check of the flagging sector, Markit said that its manufacturing index dropped to 47.6 last month, from 47.8 in October.
High-speed rail deal takes British freight links out of Victorian age: The Future of cross-Channel freight has taken a giant leap forward after a new rail deal involving the Channel Tunnel raised the prospect of goods travelling from Britain to the south of Spain or even central Russia.
Glocer signs off at Thomson Reuters: The Chief Executive of Thomson Reuters is stepping down, becoming the last of the old guard to leave the newswire. Tom Glocer will depart on 01 January and will be replaced by James Smith, the Chief Operating Officer and a long-serving Thomson Executive, the company said. Reuters has carried out a sweeping overhaul of its management and structure over the past six months after a disastrous performance by its markets business, which provides information to financial companies.
Another Chief is shown the door at crisis-hit UBS: UBS parted company with its head of risk as it continued to cull staff in the wake of a 1.5 billion rogue trader scandal. Maureen Miskovic has left the Swiss bank after less than a year in her post. Sergio Ermotti immediately replaced her with Philip Lofts, who had been moved aside by Mr Ermottis predecessor to make room for Ms Miskovic.
Funding delay raises doubts over Comet takeover: The sale of Comet faces a big hurdle because its prospective buyer has yet to secure a key part of its financing. OpCapita, the turnaround group that secured a deal to buy the lossmaking electrical chain from Kesa three weeks ago, is relying on a 40 million loan secured against Comets stock.
M&G fund to back social housing projects: M&G Investments has raised a 200 million fund to lend to social housing associations the second time it has intervened directly to get capital to organisations starved of bank loans. The fund manager, a specialist in debt investing, said that it hoped the fund would be the first of many.
Capital ratios failing to measure strength: Regulators are beginning to have serious doubts about the reliability of the measure of bank balance sheet strength at the very heart of efforts to restore financial stability. The Bank of England said that risk-weighted capital ratios were an imperfect guide to bank solvency.
M&G fund to back social housing projects: M&G Investments has raised a 200 million fund to lend to social housing associations the second time it has intervened directly to get capital to organisations starved of bank loans. The fund manager, a specialist in debt investing, said that it hoped the fund would be the first of many. Drawn from third-party investors, the fund will enable pension funds and insurers to make long-term loans to the sector, M&G said.
High-end London homes coming off the boil: The seemingly unstoppable rise in the value of Londons most expensive homes could finally be losing momentum, with one chain of estate agents reporting a slowdown in the rate of price increases to 1.1% this quarter. Cluttons said that price increases across Central London had slowed sharply from 3.5% in the second quarter of this year.
The Independent
Lloyds bows to Treasury Committee pressure over ATM access: The Treasury Select Committee has forced one of the major high street Banks to partially rethink its policy of restricting access to cash machines for vulnerable basic bank account customers. In response to pressure from Andrew Tyrie Lloyds TSB has decided to extend cash machine access for its basic account customers people who do not normally qualify for standard bank accounts to all machines in the Lloyds Banking Group.
FarmVille creator Zynga plans $10 billion New York IPO: Zynga could pitch its shares at a float price valuing the company as low as $10 billion, half some estimates from earlier this year, it has emerged. The company plans to sell about 10% of its shares in an initial public offering on 15 December, raising approximately $900 million at the mid-point of the proposed $8-$10 per share range.
OMGs profits sink after Stan Lee project hits the rocks: OMG, the British company whose technology is used in top-selling films and video games including Call of Duty, saw it full year profits fall 80% after a project drawn up by Stan Lee of Marvel Comics hit the rocks. The Oxford-based company, which provides three-dimensional, mapping software used in special effects for films and games, said its full year pretax profits fell to 700,000 from 3.7 million a year earlier.
Triumph sales accelerate in tough market: Despite the ill winds blowing through the wider sector, Triumph, the Leicestershire-based motorcycle manufacturer with a heritage that stretches back over 100 years, showed that it was continuing to race ahead, with turnover up by 11% in the year to June. The company said it had sold 48,684 bikes over the period, up from 45,501 last year, notching up a turnover of 345.3 million, against 312.4 million in 2010.
Public-sector strike raises retail footfall: The public sector strike on Wednesday delivered a much-needed fillip to the high street after footfall surged by nearly 40%. Many parents who were forced to take the day off work to look after their children opted to go Christmas shopping after the walk out by 1.5 million public sector workers closed hundreds of schools.
MCC stumps Almacantar development: The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has ended three years of speculation surrounding the expansion of the Lords ground after it rejected plans to build luxury residential flats at the Nursery End. Property developers Almacantar had proposed the 400 million plan to expand the spiritual home of cricket, but it was opposed by senior members on the MCC committee.
Icap takes on Pettit: Icap has recruited MF Globals top Futures broker, Gary Pettit, as global head of financial Futures and options. The London-based interdealer broker has also hired another 25 former MF Global staff in London, New York, Chicago and Sydney from the defunct Futures broker.
Premier strikes it rich: Premier Oil has struck oil at its Erne exploration well in the North Sea. Further exploration work will continue, as a sidetrack well is drilled from the pilot hole to delineate further the reservoir. Premier has a 50% stake in Erne alongside Canadas Antrim Energy.
EU meets WTO deadline over Airbus subsidies: The European Union said it had met a deadline for complying with a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling against billions of Euros of illegal subsidies for the aircraft maker Airbus and outlined its actions in a letter to the U.S. and the WTO.
Financial Times
May Gurney expects boost from spending lift: May Gurney said it hoped to benefit from the governments announcement on Tuesday that more money would be pumped into infrastructure. Philip Fellowes-Prynne said the group should be the recipients of some of the additional 1 billion investment in regional growth funds, used by local authorities to build business parks and transport links, as well as the 300 million extra spending on improvements to rail bridges and stations.
Thomas Cook accuses Tui of unfair jibe: Thomas Cook has filed a complaint about an online advertisement published by Tui Travel accusing its rival of drawing consumers attention unfairly to its financial problems. The advert was run following last weeks collapse in Thomas Cooks share price. The travel operator was forced to seek a new 200 million loan from lenders to cover a cash crunch brought on by deterioration in trading.
Strike action gets tills ringing: Strike proved a boon for Britains battered high streets, with official figures recording a 38% increase in shopper numbers on Wednesday as public sector employees and parents of school-age children hit the stores. The fillip to trade was welcomed as the equivalent of an extra Saturday by retailers, who reported full car parks and large crowds. An estimated 2 million public sector workers enjoyed a day off and two-thirds of state schools closed.
Strategic review at K3 after approach: K3 Business Technology Group, the Aim-quoted software group, has launched a strategic review following an approach from Per Johan Claesson, its largest shareholder. Mr Claesson has been a Non-Executive Director of the company for more than 10 years and owns a 19.5% stake.
Banks warned over threat to lending: The ability of Britains Banks to lend to households and businesses will be curbed if investors remain fearful of a potential collapse of the financial system, the Bank of England has warned. The Bank, in its financial stability report, said lenders would be unable to roll over existing debts and make new loans if they failed to attract enough fresh money from investors.
Barclays hit with 82 million lawsuit: Barclays faces an 82 million ($110 million) lawsuit in London for allegedly misusing confidential information from a potential client to seal the 2010 takeover of a Swedish carbon trading company. CF Partners claims it came to Barclays in September 2008 to explore whether the British bank could provide financing for a potential deal with Tricorona, a Stockholm company that had a vast portfolio of carbon credits in the niche area of hydro power projects.
CVC in Swiss Orange bidder talks: CVC Capital Partners has started to make its mark on the auction of Orange Switzerland by talking to one of the bidders about a potential merger with Sunrise, the Swiss telecom groups bigger rival. The private equity group has held preliminary talks with Providence Equity Partners about a merger should the latter win the sales process for France Telecoms Swiss mobile operations, three people close to the situation said.
Lex:
Enron 10 years later: Enron and its leaders utterly transformed the buying and selling of electricity and natural gas, leaving a lasting legacy. Tens of billions of dollars in lasting benefits that trickle down to utility customers were also unlocked through its innovations. This is because risks were taken and infrastructure fully utilised that would not have been otherwise for lack of financial techniques to do so. And, though Enron is blamed for the fallout from energy deregulation such as Californias brownouts and soaring commodity prices, much of the fault lies elsewhere with short-sighted politicians, for example. A decade on, companies formed out of their unwanted assets such as EOG Resources and Kinder Morgan are success stories while Messrs Lay, Fastow and Skilling are dead, disgraced and incarcerated, respectively. And companies such as Dynegy and Reliant that mimicked Enrons swashbuckling, asset-light strategy nearly went bust as a result.
Barnes & Noble: Barnes & Noble reported that in the same quarter that its main bricks and mortar competitor, Borders, closed up shop, its retail sales were nonetheless slightly down. Sales on the web site and of ebook downloads were up 17%, but that is a sharp slowdown from the previous four quarters, which averaged 50% growth. Sales of e-readers and content fell to $220 million, from $277 million in the prior quarter. Investors sent the shares, which had enjoyed a sharp rally in November, down by nearly a fifth. Over the past year, they have generated $400 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, up from the year before. The company has an enterprise value of just 3 times that. That leaves the electronic business, of course, where aggressive investment has led to $225 million in losses over the same period.
Shire: sky-high valuation fair for now: The British drugmaker has delivered investors a 40% return this year the second best performer on the FTSE 100 after Arm, the chip technology group. One reason is that each quarter this year earnings per share have grown by between 10 and 25% year on year. Only 8% of its revenues are exposed to patent expirations before 2015, compared with the industry average of 35%, says Goldman Sachs. The U.S. biotech company, bought by Sanofi-Aventis this year for $20 billion, was affected by production problems two years ago. Shire jumped in to fill part of the gap and now has a 25% share of the market for the treatment of Gauchers, a disease that harms organs. Next year, its drug Vpriv should gross about $300 million, almost 10% of revenues. Genzymes production plants, however, should be back online in 2012.
Lombard:
Moralist Merv reproves ratio riggers with Dexias fate: Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King whose resemblance to a stern Victorian papa grows daily is using cautionary tales to instruct his wayward charges, the Banks. The moral tome of choice on Thursday was the Banks winter financial stability report, a kind of prudential Struwwelpeter, but with more graphs and fewer pictures of children having their fingers cut off. Dexia had a core tier one capital ratio of 12.1%, a level of financial strength above recommended minima. Leverage, as measured by assets to equity, topped 60 times. The story highlighted the potential deceptiveness of capital ratios held up as tokens of robustness by everyone from Barclays to Socit Gnrale.
A man for all seasons: Retailers generally use the weather as an excuse for poor sales, so it is refreshing that Kingfisher is making money from climatic unpredictability, writes Claer Barrett. On Thursday, the DIY group ascribed a 13% boost in operating profits to soaring sales of garden furniture at its B&Q chain, which rose 68% in the third quarter to the end of October as balmy autumn temperatures tempted Britons to relax in their gardens. Chief Executive Ian Cheshire said that B&Q sold as many barbecues in the last week of September as in the whole of June. Kingfishers French DIY chain Castorama meanwhile recorded a 17% jump in sales of lawnmowers, suggesting counter-intuitively that Gallic customers are pursuing less leisurely lifestyles than Anglo-Saxon peers.
The Daily Telegraph
British Banks could ask taxpayers for more cash: Warning that the cost of borrowing is set to soar and given the current exceptionally threatening environment, the Bank of Englands Financial Policy Committee (FPC) instructed lenders to limit distributions code for bonuses and dividends.
James Murdoch on FTSE 350 least wanted list: James Murdoch is one of the least supported Directors in the FTSE 350, Pirc, the powerful shareholder group, has claimed - days after damning new claims that BSkyB used hacked information to advance its commercial interests.
RBS and Santander fear bank reform costs are understated: The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) estimates that the changes it proposed in September will cost the industry between 4 billion-7 billion. Under the ICB proposals, Banks will have to ring-fence their retail banking arms, hold more loss-absorbing debt that could be written down in a crisis and make it easier for customers to switch to rivals.
Chairman Sir Michael Lyons earns pay rise as Mouchel struggles: Sir Michael Lyons has enjoyed a ten-fold increase in his salary for stepping up to the role of Interim Chairman at crisis-hit support services group Mouchel. The annual report for Mouchel reveals Sir Michaels salary increased to 300,000 per year from 37,500 when he stepped up from senior Independent Director to Interim Chairman in October.
Lloyds in 4.9 billion bond swap offer: Lloyds Banking Group has offered to exchange 4.9 billion of its outstanding bonds in order to raise new capital. The part-nationalised lender has asked investors in the Tier 2 securities to swap their holdings for new bonds at a discount to face value of as much as 30%.
Vitruvian circles Healthcare at Home: Private equity firm Vitruvian Partners has emerged as one of the preferred bidders for Healthcare at Home, a provider of in-home medical care. Sources involved in the auction suggested the business may change hands for between 150 million to 200 million.
AT&T and Deutsche Telekom mull joint venture: AT&T and T-Mobile U.S.As parent, Deutsche Telekom, are understood to be considering a joint venture should their ambitious $39 billion (24 billion) merger plan fall apart.
The Questor Column:
Gem Diamonds approves expansion: Gem Diamonds has also seen its shares slide but the long-term fundamentals of the industry are intact. Gem revealed that it had approved the expansion of its 70%-owned Letseng mine in Lesotho a move that could potentially double diamond output to about 200,000 carats a year by 2014. The total cost for doing this will be about $280 million (177 million) and it will be funded out of the companys cash flow. Graff Diamonds is believed to be in the process of preparing an initial public offering in Hong Kong, in which it could raise about $1 billion. The initial recommendation to buy into Gem was given too early and the shares are now down 31% from the tip in January 2009, compared with the FTSE 100s 23% rise over the same period. Trading on a current year earnings multiple of 9.1, falling to just 7.7 next year, the shares remain a hold until diamond prices stabilise. Gem Diamonds at 200p -1.1p. Questor Says Hold.
Plastic fantastic RPC is geared for growth in recovery: The Company is Europes leading supplier of rigid plastic packaging, with operations in 18 countries. It makes products such as paint cans, vending machine cups, phone cards and pots for face creams. In the six-month period to 30 September, revenues soared by 53% to 586.7 million and pretax profit jumped 95% to 35.1 million. Excluding the purchase, revenues rose 11% on a like-for-like basis on overall volumes that were similar to last year. The good financial performance meant the group will increase the interim dividend by 24% to 4.2p a share. This will be paid on 27 January and the shares trade without this payment from 28 December. The prospective yield on the shares is 4.1%, rising to 4.6% next year, which is quite healthy. In the first half of this year ROCE came in at 18.1% compared with 15.1% in the last full year. RPC is looking to improve this measure to 20% by 2014. RPC shares were first recommended on 26 July, 2009. Adjusting for the rights issue when Superfos was purchased, the entry price was 240p. The shares are now 40% higher, compared with a FTSE 100 up 20%. The highest the shares have been tipped is 354p. RPC at 336.3p -1.3p Questor Says Buy.
The Guardian
Sarkozy calls for new European treaty as Euro enters make-or-break week: President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a new European treaty to save the single currency and to revive a European Union from fragmenting in its worst ever crisis. Kicking off a week of high stakes politics that many say could decide the fate of the Euro, Sarkozy delivered a major hour-long speech in the southern port of Toulon devoted to his vision of Europes Future.
U.K. factory slowdown fans recession fears: Bleak news from manufacturers battling lackluster demand around the world has intensified fears that a global economic slowdown is gathering pace. British factories suffered the sharpest slowdown in business last month since the last recession; manufacturers in the Eurozone suffered falling orders while even Chinas usually buoyant manufacturing sector slowed, according to surveys released on Thursday.
A pint in the local pub is an indulgence, says Greene King Boss: Suffolk-based brewer and Pub Owner calls drinking out an everyday luxury as profits rise 5.6% to 77.2 million. A simple visit to the local pub has become luxury to be savoured because of the financial crisis, according to the Boss of Greene King, the Suffolk brewer and Pub Owner.
Mox plant U-turn by coalition stuns anti-nuclear campaigners: The government has astonished the anti-nuclear lobby by outlining plans to spend 3 billion of public money building a new mixed-oxide fuel (Mox) plant months after announcing the closure of a similar facility that lost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds.
New Yahoo bid ups price to $25 billion: Private equity firms Blackstone Group and Bain Capital are preparing a bid for all of Yahoo with Asian partners in a deal that could value the web portal at about $25 billion (16 billion), a source told Reuters on Wednesday. The plan follows smaller bids made by consortia including Microsoft tabled earlier this week which valued the web portal at just $20 billion.
Daily Mail
The sun is setting on solar panel jobs, warns Carillion: Services Company Carillion has warned 4,500 staff that their jobs are at risk due to government plans to halve subsidies on solar power. The axe is hovering over its energy services division, formed from a 306 million takeover earlier this year of Newcastle-based green energy company Eaga.
Britain should prepare for an eight-year hangover from the financial crisis, warns Lloyds Chairman Bischoff: Britain could be feeling the after-effects of the financial crisis in eight years time, the Chairman of Lloyds Banking Group has warned. Sir Win Bischoff said the hangover from the banking crash could still be reverberating through the economic system in 2019, when government reforms of the Banks are supposed to be implemented.
B&Q-Owner Kingfisher feeds off collapse of rival Focus DIY while strong food sales boost Greene King: The financial whirlwind wreaking havoc on Britons finances was responsible for a dramatic boost in fortunes at two of the countrys best-known firms. B&Q-Owner Kingfisher said it benefited from the collapse of rival Focus DIY as it attracted extra shoppers to beat third quarter forecasts.
First-time homebuyers are boosting St Modwen profits: A fresh wave of first time house-buyers will boost takings for St Modwen Properties, Britains largest regeneration firm. The group said full year profits would be at the top end of expectations, with City analysts predicting pretax earnings as high as 48.5 million a 30% rise on last years figures.
Oil prices to rocket for two years, says Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs has predicted at least two years of sky-high oil prices, in a forecast that would pile even more inflationary pressure on household finances if proven correct. The Wall Street giant predicted Brent crude the benchmark applied to two-thirds of global oil supplies could rise as high as $135 in 2013 and $127.50 next year.
Broker Views:
BP: Investec initiated the stock with Buy rating and a target price of 595.00p
Cable & Wireless Worldwide: AlphaValue maintained a Buy rating on the stock, with a target price of 68.30p
Talvivaara Mining Co: Seymour Pierce maintained a Buy rating on the stock, with a target price of 605.00p
Dixons Retail: AlphaValue maintained a Buy rating on the stock, with a target price of 22.00p
International Personal Finance: HSBC upgraded the stock to Overweight and increased the target price to 250.00p
Metminco Ltd: BGF Equities Pty Ltd downgraded the stock to Buy and decreased the target price to 22.13p
Daily Express
Banks told to raise cash as crunch looms: Banks were urged to give serious consideration to raising more money from shareholders in the face of a looming credit crunch by Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King.
BP sell-off raises 1 billion for spill fund: BP has agreed the 1 billion sale of a Canadian business as part of its efforts to raise billions of pounds to pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It is selling its natural gas liquids (NGLs) operations to New York-listed Plains All American Pipeline.
Olympus faces battle: The former Chief Executive of disgraced Japanese camera maker Olympus launched a campaign to oust the board, reclaim his old job and bring in his own team. Michael Woodford, who lost his job as Boss after blowing the whistle on a $1 billion (640 million) accounting scandal, said he was putting together a team of candidates for a new board and talking to investors about replacing the current leadership.
Capita renews its contract for TV licence fee: Support services firm Capita has scooped a 560 million renewal of a deal to manage the BBCs television licence fee. Capita will handle the broadcasters licensing collection and administration for another eight years under the agreement, which begins in July.
The Scottish Herald
Exports of Scotch whisky surge to hit record levels: Scotch whisky exports have surged to record levels, helped by the drinks popularity as a status symbol among members of the middle classes in emerging markets like Brazil and China. Overseas sales of Scotch rose 23% in the first nine months of the year to almost 3 billion, contributing 125 per second to the U.K.s balance of payments.
Dawson suffers 75% fall in profits: Dawson International has seen a 75% fall in half year underlying profits to 300,000, as margins were hit by cashmere costs which may also rise next year. But the cashmere specialist hopes to replace some of its lost U.S. sales by selling its garments, knitted at Barrie in the Borders from Chinese yarn, into China.
U.K. pensions help needs some time: The Chief Executive of the National Association of Pension Funds said the Government was hoping funds would release 15 billion to 20 billion but how much it eventually gets will depend very much on the nature of the platform, of the investments, and small matters such as yields.
Scottish engineering firms report slide in new orders: More Scottish engineering companies reported a fall in order intake than enjoyed a rise in the latest quarter, the first time this has happened since the opening months of 2010, a key industry survey reveals. And more companies in the sector reported a drop in optimism than declared an increase the first time this indicator has been negative for nearly two years.
I-design cashes in with its first annual profits: Ana Stewart has pleased investors by unveiling its maiden profit. I-design has struggled to grow sales amid the banking crisis but several new contracts boosted revenues by 62% to 3.5 million for the year to 30 September.
The Scotsman
Clarity on a separate Scotland is vital says SFE Chief: Alex Salmond was warned that uncertainty over independence could have a profound effect on Scotlands financial services sector. Mark Tennant, Chairman of industry body Scottish Financial Enterprise, said companies need to know whether Scotland will remain part of the European Union if it breaks away from the other parts of the U.K.
Engineering feeling the squeeze in western economies: Scotlands engineering sector has begun to feel the pinch from the slowdown in major western economies, with smaller companies suffering a slump in overseas orders, research suggests. Publishing its final quarterly review of the year, Scottish Engineering warned that the economic uncertainties that have been affecting the eurozone and U.S. for some time were now being felt in certain sectors of the manufacturing engineering industry.
Xcite shares slump on news of changed plans: Shares in Xcite Energy, the Aberdeenshire-based firm which has been among the most hotly traded by investors over the past year, dived after it said it had changed its plans for the development of its North Sea field.
Green dream trumps rivalry as car giants BMW and Toyota clinch deal: BMW and Toyota have joined forces to develop a host of green motoring technologies as car-makers face up to tougher environmental demands. Under the deal, the two firms will collaborate on research into a new generation of batteries for electric vehicles.
Renewables case has never been stronger: Niall Stuart said the renewables sector north of the Border had made significant progress over the past 12 months, with 750 million worth of projects coming on stream and positive signs from regulators that barriers such as the cost of grid connection can soon be overcome.
Wood chip firm wins 13 million U.S. deal: A Scottish technology outfit that turns wood chips into pellets that can be burned in coal-fired power stations unveiled a $20 million (13 million) deal in North America. Aberdeen-based Rotawave Biocoal uses microwave technology developed for treating mud and other drilling by-products from the oil and gas industry.
Aikens turnover up 20% to 12 million: Aberdeen-based Aiken Group revealed that annual turnover had risen by 20% to 12 million with further growth expected in the current year. The firm, which has seen its turnover double over the past three years, specialises in accommodation for offshore energy facilities.
Farmers net welcome cash: Christmas has come early for 14,300 Scottish farmers who will find their share of a 335 million EU hand-out dropping into their bank accounts over the next two weeks. The Scottish Government has confirmed that a start was made the first payment day allowed under European rules to pay out single farm payment (SFP) which was introduced under the last reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to compensate farmers for the loss of direct production support.
Lyons calls for EID action plan to ease fears: Lib Dem MEP George Lyon called for an action plan from the Scottish Government to resolve the difficulties farmers are experiencing in complying with EU rules on the electronic identification (EID) of sheep.
SABMiller deal for Fosters approved: Shareholders in Fosters have approved brewing giant SABMillers A$9.9 billion (6.5 billion) takeover bid for the Australian company. Fosters said just over 99% of shareholder votes cast at a meeting in Melbourne supported the deal. Australias competition regulator has already approved London-based SABMillers bid.
Capita wins new BBC TV licensing contract: Outsourcing firm Capita is to handle the BBCs TV licensing collection and administration for another eight years. The proposed deal, which is due to come into force in July, is expected to be worth some 560 million to Capita but will also generate savings of more than 220 million for the BBC over the contract.
