Thursday 15 December, 5:00 PM GMT (Thomson Financial): European markets
ended the trading session just below parity, despite tamed U.S. consumer
inflation data. The personal and household goods sector continued to buck
the trend as Philips announced a separate legal structure for its
semiconductors business, seen as a prelude to a possible public offering,
merger or sale.
Elsewhere, Whitbread posted a third quarter trading update with total
sales growing by 8%, while Macquarie Bank launched its formal bid for the
London Stock Exchange, with an offer worth 580 pence per LSE share,
unchanged from previous announcements. In response, the LSE said the offer
was inadequate. Finally, Thales announced the combination of its French
naval businesses with DCN with the acquisition by Thales of a 25% interest
in DCN.
London's FTSE-100 Index was down 25.80 points or 0.47% to 5495.30 while
Paris's CAC-40 Index inched lower by 1.710 points or 0.04% to 4673.14.
Frankfurt's DAX Index was up 9.06 points or 0.17% to 5295.82 and Milan's
S&P MIB Index was up 19.0 points or 0.05% to 35,021. The pan-European blue
chip Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index was down 11.10 points or 0.33% to 3322.82.
* Philips Electronics said it will start the process of creating a
separate legal structure for its semiconductors business, giving the group
flexibility to pursue strategic options for further strengthening the
longer-term performance of these activities. This was interpreted by many
observers as a prelude to a possible public offering, merger or sale.
* Thales announced the combination of its French naval businesses with DCN
with the acquisition by Thales of a 25% interest in DCN, with the French
State retaining the remaining 75% in the company.
* Whitbread posted a third quarter trading update with total sales growing
by 8%. Underlying total sales, excluding the Premier Lodge acquisition,
have grown by 3.0% and like for like sales are down 0.5%. Premier Travel
Inn operations continued to perform strongly, with year to date occupancy
levels at 81.9%, having recovered well following a weaker July and August.
In Pub Restaurants, trading remains disappointing, while in David Lloyd
Leisure, the new management team have developed detailed plans for
improving operational performance and for driving future growth.
* French pharmaceuticals group Sanofi-Aventis said clinical trials of its
experimental vaccine designed to protect humans from the bird-flu virus
showed a "a good immune response" in a significant number of 300 human
volunteers.
* Macquarie Bank launched its formal bid for the London Stock Exchange,
with an offer worth 580 pence per LSE share, therefore, valuing the entire
issued share capital of the LSE at approximately 1.5 billion pounds. In
response, the LSE rejected this offer, saying it undervalued the company
given its unique franchise, attractive long-term growth prospects and
pivotal position in global capital markets.
* Swiss private banking group Vontobel is to acquire a 56% stake in
Harcourt Investment Consulting, one of the internationally established
suppliers of hedge fund products for institutional investors in
particular, from the Dutch firm NIBCapital for 80 million Swiss francs.
Harcourt reported assets under management of 4.1 billion Swiss francs as
at end-November 2005.
Simon.Tse@Thomson.com; Thomson Financial
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Europe Market Commentary.
The information herein is believed to be true and accurate. If you have
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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