See Search Box
lower down this column for searches of Finfacts news pages. Where there may be
the odd special character missing from an older page, it's a problem that
developed when Interactive Tools upgraded to a new content management system.
Welcome
Finfacts is Ireland's leading business information site and
you are in its business news section.
Markets News Afternoon: Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo considering bid for Allied Irish Bank's stake in Polish bank Bank Zachodni WBK
By Finfacts Team
Jul 28, 2010 - 5:03:03 PM
French actor Gerard Depardieu points the way for Bank Zachodni WBK, the Polish bank that is 70% owned by Allied Irish Banks. AIB has to sell it stake to raise capital. It's is a bitter experience to have to withdraw from the emerging East European economy, which was the only EU27 country to report positive growth in 2007.
Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo said today it is reviewing the books of
Bank Zachodni WBK and the head of the Polish bank said there had
been four meetings with potential buyers discussing the sale of
Allied Irish Bank's stake.
BZ WBK said today that four meetings had been held with
possible buyers of AIB's 70% stake in the bank, which has a
market value of $3bn, but would not elaborate. It was reported
last week that France's BNP Paribas was also interested, while
Poland's top bank PKO BP and Spain's Santander are also said to
the other two short-listed bidders.
BZ WBK reported a 2% fall in
second-quarter net profit today after bad loan provisions were
worse than analysts expected but it is believed that the weaker results should
have little effect on the sale negotiations. The bank said its second-quarter net profit was 250 million
zlotys ($81.3 million) compared to estimates of 262 million.
Provisions for bad loans was 146 million zlotys, some 20m more than analysts had forecast.
Poland, which is seeking to cut the 70% participation of foreign
firms in its banking system, is backing an expected bid by
State-controlled PKO BP.
Arnotts: Arnotts Holdings Ltd today confirmed that it is working with its banks (Anglo
Irish Bank and Ulster Bank) as part of the ongoing process agreed last February
to restructure the group’s financing.
Arnotts said it strongly emphasises that trading continues as normal. The
management claimed Arnotts is
performing very strongly with trading for the first half of the year ahead of
the Irish retail market. Jobs within Arnotts remain secure and Arnotts continues
to invest in the future of the store. "We would like to reassure our customers
that it is business as usual at Arnotts," the firm said in a statement.
Strong earnings will help the
equity markets but the concern about the economy is not going to help, Aaron
Gurwitz, head of Global Investment at Barclays Wealth, told CNBC:
The Irish Independent reported this morning that State-owned
Anglo Irish Bank is to take control of Arnotts, the historic
Dublin department store struggling to pay huge debts of
€260m.
In a surprising twist to the banking saga, Anglo,
which was bailed out by taxpayers, is now set to control the
iconic department store, which opened in 1843.
The newspaper said Anglo, which is receiving €22bn of
taxpayers' money, has informed the EU Commission it intends
to have "joint control" over Arnotts, along with
fellow lender Ulster Bank.
Aldi: Theo Albrecht, the
reclusive retail
billionaire who built the no-frills German Aldi supermarket
chain with his elder brother Karl, has
died at the age of 88.
Albrecht, who was
Germany's second-richest man - - after his brother - - with a
fortune worth of about €17bn, had kept a low profile after
being kidnapped at gunpoint in 1971. The businessman is reported to have died on Saturday. Today it was confirmed that
his burial had taken placed in his native Essen.
"Aldi mourns a person who was always decent with his business
partners and employees and always treated them with respect,"
the company said. "We are losing in him our highly respected
founder and an upright person."
Discussing whether Europe is
still a problem, with Paul Larson, Morningstar and Jeffrey Palma, UBS:
US
In
New York Wednesday, the Dow Jones fell 7 points or 0.07% to
10,530.
The
S&P 500 dipped 0.29% and the Nasdaq lost 0.48%.
New orders for US manufactured durable goods - - items
expected to last at least 3 years - - in June fell $2.0bn or 1.0% to
$190.5bn, the US Census Bureau announced today. This was the second straight
monthly decline and followed a 0.8% May decrease. Excluding transportation, new
orders decreased 0.6%. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.7%.
Transportation equipment, down four of the last five months, had the largest
decrease, $1.1bn or 2.4% to $45.9bn. This was due to nondefense aircraft and
parts, which decreased $1.8bn.
Discussing
whether the bailout averted a depression, with James Pethokoukis, Reuters
BreakingViews; Diane Swonk, Mesirow Financial; and CNBC's Steve Liesman:
The
pan-European Dow Jones 600 fell 0.43% Wednesday.
The ISEQ has
dipped 0.95%.
CRH which
accounts for about 30% of the market cap, is down 1.95%. Elan has risen 2.41%; AIB has
slid 2.11% and BoI has slipped 1.67%.
On the
New York Mercantile
Exchange, oil for September delivery is trading at $76.82, down 68 from
Tuesdays close. In London,
Brent crude for
September delivery is trading at $75.80 a barrel.
Currencies
The euro is
trading at $1.3004 at £0.8336.
For live
currency updates, check the right-hand column of the
Finfacts home page. The dollar
traded at a record low $1.6038 per euro on July 15, 2008.
