Financial News

CHICAGO (Dow Jones) -- Analysts said Friday that they see a number of factors that will lead to further revenue and cash-flow growth at Univision Communications, making the company a more attractive target now that it may be up for sale. Los Angeles-based Univision (UVN) said last month that its board of directors has decided to explore a series of strategic alternatives, including a possible sal ...

By Richard Milne in Frankfurt and Lina Saigol in London Published: March 3 2006 21:57 | Last updated: March 3 2006 21:57Linde is close to an agreed takeover of UK rival BOC for £8bn ($13.9bn) in a deal that would create the largest industrial-gases group. BOC's management is understood to be discussing a price of £16 a share with the German group, according to people close to the situation.

By Friedel Rother LONDON (Reuters) - Stocks ended higher on Friday after a volatile day as investors cheered news that Vodafone's planned to quit Japan, and BT Group rose on bid talk. But the market was shaken by a revenue warning from chip maker Intel . Vodafone jumped 6 percent late in the session as the world's biggest mobile operator said it was in discussions to sell its struggling Japanese business to Internet communications group Softbank . "I think it's a hugely positive signal," sai ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- United States Steel Corp. has opened talks to acquire AK Steel Corp. in a deal aimed at forging a stronger market presence amid contraction in the global steel industry, according to a Friday media report. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that U.S. Steel (X) approached the board of AK Steel (AKS) earlier this week with an initial offer in hopes of wrapping up by ...

By Friedel Rother LONDON (Reuters) - Stocks ended higher on Friday after a volatile day as investors cheered news that Vodafone's planned to quit Japan, and BT Group rose on bid talk. But the market was shaken by a revenue warning from chip maker Intel . Vodafone jumped 6 percent late in the session as the world's biggest mobile operator said it was in discussions to sell its struggling Japanese business to Internet communications group Softbank . "I think it's a hugely positive signal," sai ...

Jane Padgham, Evening Standard3 March 2006 CITY punters are increasingly confident of rising house prices this year, despite the setback suffered by homeowners in February. WANT TO KNOW MORE? GUIDES: Mortgages and homes DEAL FINDER: Shop for a new mortgage EXPERTS: Mortgage questions answered POLL: Are we heading for a house price crash? OTHER STORIES Households owe £2.6bn We eac ...

Mickey Clarke, Evening Standard3 March 2006 SHARES of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports operator BAA flew higher today with Spain's Grupo Ferrovial poised to make an offer worth 920p a share as early as next week. WANT TO KNOW MORE? POLL: What do you expect the level of the FTSE 100 to be at the end of 2006? OTHER STORIES Metal, oil and minerals prove a gold mine Smaller compan ...

By Santosh Menon LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in BT Group jumped over 5 percent on Friday on a newspaper report that the company could attract a 20 billion pound bid from private-equity firms. The Times cited an unidentified senior telecoms adviser for a venture capital firm as saying his firm had been "running a slide rule over BT". BT (BT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) dismissed the report, but it comes in the wake of rising private-equity activity in the European telecoms sector. A clutch of f ...

By Matt Falloon LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 rose on Friday, edging back towards last Friday's closing level and buoyed by talk that several companies are set to receive bids for all or part of their operations. That speculation helped the FTSE 100 index shrug off concerns over inflation and interest rates in the world's biggest economies which have weighed on other global equity markets. "There is a lot of corporate action," said Cazenove strategist Tristan Hanson. "Mergers and acquisiti ...

London equities advanced on Friday as bid talk helped lift shares in BT Group, Cairn Energy and BAA. // BT Group rose 4.5 per cent to 217¼p following reports that a number of private equity houses were looking at joining forces to launch a £20bn bid for the fixed-line telecoms operator. BT called the reports “highly speculative”, saying the company had received no approaches. Analysts at Cazeno ...