Chrysler, UAW agree deal The United Automobile Workers union said Sunday it had reached an agreement with Chrysler that meets the US government's criteria for the automaker to receive more financing, reports the NYT. The deal also brings Chrysler closer to prospects of an alliance with Italy's Fiat ahead of Friday's deadline. The agreement, which must be ratified by union members by Wednesday, modifies the union's 2007 contract and reduces the amount Chrysler must pay into a health fund for retirees. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55142/chrysler-uaw-agree-d
| Kirin acquires Lion Nathan for $2.4bn Kirin, the Japanese brewer, will pay A$3.3bn ($2.4bn) to buy the 53.9% of Lion Nathan it does not already own in a deal valuing Australia's second largest brewing group at A$6.5bn. The Japanese group said Monday it will pay A$11.50 a share plus interim and full-year distributions worth A$0.72 lifting the total pay-out to A$12.22. That compares with Lion Nathan's share price of A$8.31 last week before Kirin's proposal was made public. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55140/kirin-acquires-lion-
| AIG's aircraft unit draws bids International Lease Finance Corp has drawn closer to separating from AIG, its troubled parent, with three groups submitting bids to acquire the aircraft lessor for less than $5bn. The groups include a consortium led by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Carlyle Group, and one led by Onex and Greenbriar Equity. While the three bids look low given ILFC's book value of $7.6bn, they reflect the industry's uncertain outlook, tough funding markets and AIG's need to unload assets to repay $100bn in debt and equity to the US government. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55139/aigs-aircraft-unit-d
| 3i in plans for rights issue The board of 3i will meet on Monday to discuss plans for the UK's oldest private equity group to raise £500m-£700m from a rights issue as Michael Queen, its new chief executive, steps up his debt-reduction efforts. The share sale, to be underwritten by JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch, 3i's brokers, follows a sharp rebound in the group's share price. But it also follows a string of large equity capital raisings by large UK companies including HSBC, Land Securities and Xstrata. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55141/3i-in-plans-for-righ
| Allianz, Amex to cash in ICBC stakes Two more foreign investors in Chinese banks are expected to cash in lucrative stakes and raise in excess of $2bn this week as lock-in periods end for their holdings in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Allianz, the German insurer, holds nearly 2% of ICBC, while American Express owns 0.4%. Each is free from Tuesday to offload half their stake, which would raise a combined $2.1bn based on ICBC's HK share price on Friday. The remaining shares can be sold in October. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55138/allianz-amex-to-cash
| Dissidents move against Fortis sale Dissident Fortis shareholders are continuing their efforts to derail the sale of Belgium's Fortis Bank to BNP Paribas, ahead of Tuesday's general assembly that is expected to approve the deal after months of uncertainty. Modrikamen, a Brussels law firm representing 2,300 retail shareholders, is considering a last-minute lawsuit to obtain a list of registered voters for the meetings, set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55137/dissidents-move-agai
| Branson eyes Northern Rock Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Money has revived its interest in possibly buying parts of Northern Rock, the mortgage lender it tried to buy last year before the government nationalised it. Alistair Darling, chancellor, ordered Northern Rock to be split into a "good" and "bad" bank, with the separation to be completed by the year's end. Credit Suisse, the Treasury's adviser, has sounded out potential purchasers about buying the "good" part of the bank, including its 70 branches and a business that includes about £20bn in customer savings and home loans. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55136/branson-eyes-norther
| Warning on UK derivatives backlash London's status as a financial centre risks damage if policymakers regulate OTC – or privately negotiated - derivatives without distinguishing between products that contributed to the financial crisis and those that did not, according to a report commissioned by the City of London Corporation from consultancy, Bourse Consult. The report, to be issued Monday, urges caution over recent calls for greater clearing and regulatory scrutiny of OTC derivatives markets. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55135/warning-on-uk-deriva
| Bloomberg plans expansion Bloomberg is planning a sustained investment in its technology and news operations, arguing it can gain market share even as financial turmoil poses the biggest threat to its data terminal business in its 27-year history. Peter Grauer, chairman of the company controlled by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, told the FT that terminal numbers had fallen just over 2.5% since their peak in November, implying about 7,500 net cancellations from a subscriber base of about 300,000. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55134/bloomberg-plans-expa
| IMF warns on national deficits Budget deficits across the industrialised world will remain sky-high next year despite reduced spending on fiscal stimulus packages, the IMF warned on Sunday. It said the G20 economies taken together would run a budget deficit of 6.5% next year compared with 6.6% in 2009 – due more to weakness in their economies than to discretionary spending on stimulus packages, which is set to decline in 2010. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55133/imf-warns-on-nationa
| Johansonn set to leave UBS UBS, the troubled Swiss bank, is on Monday expected to announce the departure of Jerker Johansson, global head of its investment bank. Johansson, who joined UBS just over a year ago after 22 years at Morgan Stanley, would be one of the most high-profile changes at UBS since Oswald Grübel emerged from retirement in February to take over as CEO.Grübel, former head of Credit Suisse Group, is expected to replace Johansson with two executives, say insiders. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55132/johansonn-set-to-lea
| Swine flu triggers global alerts Governments and health authorities worldwide are on alert for a possible influenza pandemic as the death toll from a new strain of swine flu in Mexico reached 81, reports the FT. Bloomberg adds that new illnesses also were confirmed in Canada on Sunday, and suspected in Brazil, Europe and NZ. In the US, 20 people have contracted the disease in five states, and the number is likely to expand, warned US health officials. The Mexican peso meanwhile slid nearly 4% against the dollar on concerns that a swine flu outbreak will deepen the country's economic slump. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55131/swine-flu-triggers-g
| Weekend catch-up In case you missed these stories:
- Swiss ask US to drop UBS case
Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz asked US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Saturday to drop a legal case involving clients of UBS bank in return for a new tax accord between the two countries. - KKR asks for cash to help buy-out portfolio
Buyout group KKR has asked investors to contribute as much as €730m ($970m) to support struggling portfolio companies in its 2005 European buy-out fund, amid preparations for a rush of similar moves by other big private equity groups. - Nomura reports record Y700bn loss
Nomura on Friday unveiled its worst set of annual results ever, reporting a Y709.4bn ($7.3bn) net loss in the year to March 2009, as asset writedowns and the costs of its Lehman Brothers acquisition hit Japan's biggest broker. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55130/weekend-catch-up-30
| Overnight markets: (Mostly) up Asian stocks reached their highest level in more than three months on Monday, led by finance companies and drugmakers. Futures on the S&P500 Index dropped 1.4% after the gauge gained 1.7% on Friday, buoyed by better-than-expected earnings from Ford and Amex and as the Fed outlined the methods used for stress testing the biggest US banks and said most were well capitalised. Asian markets (Mon)
03:00 BST
Nikkei up 68.64 (0.79%) at 8,776.63
Topix up 8.88 (1.07%) at 838.93
Hang Seng down 386.69 (-2.53%) at 14,872.16 US markets (Fri)
S&P500 up 14.31 (1.68%) at 866.23
DJIA up 119.23 (1.50%) at 8,076.29
Nasdaq up 42.08 (2.55%) at 1,694.29 European markets (Fri)
FTSE100 up 137.76 (3.43%) at 4,155.99
Eurofirst 300 up 18.43 (2.33%) at 810.38 Currencies
04:10 BST
€/$ 1.3194 ( 1.3144)
$/¥ 96.99 (97.24)
£/$ 1.4618 (1.4669) Commodities
04:05 BST
Brent Crude (ICE) down $0.76 at $50.91
Light Crude (Nymex) down $0.93 at $50.62
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up $2.70 at $906.10
Copper (Comex) down $4.05 at $201.00 10-year government bond yields (%)
03:50 BST
US 2.96 (2.93)
UK 3.49 ( 3.51)
Germany 3.23 ( 3.16)
Japan 1.46 (1.42) Sources: FT, Bloomberg See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/27/55129/overnight-markets-mo
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