Last week’s cut in UK interest rates provoked plenty of debate in the weekend press. On one extreme the Independent, quoting from the British Chambers of Commerce and the Institute of Directors, is calling for more cuts before it’s too late. David Smith in the Sunday Times ponders on where the neutral interest rate for Britain is and reckons that it’s not too far off 5%. He also states that some of those calling for UK rates at 4% are the same people who were calling for 7-8% last year. And the Sunday Telegraph argues that the UK economy is not suffering to the same extent as the US and that expectations of rates falling to 4.25% are overdone.
Friends Provident last week rejected talks with private equity firm JC Flowers. According to the Sunday Times, Friends Provident refused talks to discuss the take-over or part sale of the company because Flowers’ plans were too vague.
Staying with takeover talk, the Sunday Telegraph suggests that the much anticipated deal in Xstrata could be some weeks away. Glencore, Xstrata’s 35% shareholder, is thought to be playing hardball on price. It also has concerns over tax issues and how liquid its holding in the new group would be.
The Sunday Business Post has learned that the US has requested the renegotiation of its double-taxation treaty with Ireland. The paper feels that this will have major implications for US firms in Ireland and Irish investors in the US, and that a new treaty won’t be as generous to Ireland as the existing one.
Royal Bank of Scotland is being pressed to launch a fund-raising rights issue, even if it means saying goodbye to its chief executive. The Observer quotes unnamed investors who reckon the bank needs to raise funds to repair its balance sheet. However, the chief exec’s departure would be the price demanded by shareholders.
Just when you thought the cupboards were becoming skeleton-free the Sunday Telegraph has produced a new sub-prime worry. Japan, the land of the rising default-rate could be hiding up to $300 billion of debts, the paper reckons.
If you’ve a bit of spare time the Telegraph provides an interesting read on commodities and why the price of peak crude oil is famine. With oil production failing to meet increasing supply, agricultural land is being diverted to the production of biofuels, a strategy encouraged by subsidies and tax incentives.
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'Spread Trading News w/c 11 Feb' by paddy power trader, updated 11-Feb-08
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