Tuesday Papers: tips and comment

Tue Dec 2, 2008 6:47am GMT

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FT Lex Column:

* Cyber Monday -- is the biggest internet shopping day of the year, and rush to the computers Americans did - to sell on their share trading accounts - sending the S&P500 tumbling

* Expanding in equities -- there is a lot about trading equities that is unappetising, but still the banks can't seem to get enough of it

* Hopec -- in response to the collapsing oil price, members of Opec have decided to do nothing

* J&J perks up -- Johnson & Johnson is betting that room for expansion remains in the market for aesthetic medicine with it announcing an agreed takeover of Mentor for $1.1 billion in cash

* Asian banks -- unlike their western peers, Asian banks are mostly bystanders whose main sin was lending to fast-growing economies

* Ryanair's low cost bid -- this time the bid for Aer Lingus has a better chance because the financial crisis is throwing up combinations that wouldn't have passed muster six months ago

* UK share suspensions -- as awkward as New Star's apparent mis steps for its request for its shares to be suspended, they may not matter much in the end

* Sacyr Vallehermso -- time is running out for Sacyr Vallehermoso, even as the deal with Citi helped shrink the debt pile to 12.5 billion which allowed it to buy a reprieve from its financiers

* Cerberus and Daimler -- what more can Cerberus ask of Daimler, which would gladly unload its stake in Daimler for pennies?

Lombard (p.18):

* John Duffield must try to keep the New Star glow alight -- FSA: more and heavier hands -- Royal Bank of Scotland's new chief: a starter of humble pie

Other comment:

* Bankers cast around for work as Rio Tinto bid failure leaves BHP Billiton bruised and cautious (p.20)

* Candy Bros ride setbacks via £200 million development plan

* Goldman Sachs questions national Grid financing (p.40)

* Rumours that Cybit Holdings has received an offer from a private equity group

THE TIMES

Tempus:

* Pubs: dividends run dry (Punch, M&B, Greene King, Marston's) -- Worth holding Reed Elsevier -- Hold Aberdeen Asset Management

Business Editor:

* New Star: first, put your own house in order -- Sumner Redstone: my kingdom for a debt refinancing -- Citigroup: a $115 million question of responsibilities

Other comment:

* Shoppers leave Tesco for Asda and Morrisons at record rates

* Chinese and BHP Billiton bid rumours lift Fortescue Metals

* Bet of the Day: Marks & Spencer

* Silence Therapeutics a tiddler to watch

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Questor:

* Buy Pennon Group

Comment:

* Michael O'Leary will have to pull out all the stops to make Aer Lingus deal fly -- New Star looks very different as it dives

Other comment:

* Profile Felix Dennis, magazine owner and publisher