Business Headlines.
Markets gain as Obama elected
Stocks rose from the US to Asia as Barack Obama beat John McCain to become the new US President. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.1 per cent in yesterday's trading - its biggest election day move for 24 years - and Asian markets followed suit, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index adding 4.1 per cent. Every Asian market moved ahead, except for Taiwan, as investors celebrated the Democrat victory. In Japan the Nikkei 225 rose over four per cent, with Toyota shares adding eight per cent and Mizuho Financial up 15 per cent. The FTSE-100 was down two per cent in early trade on profit-taking.
Alexander Cockburn: America is eager to stand tall again 
BOE pressured for 1 per cent cut
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is facing "fresh calls" from UK business to cut interest rates by a full percentage point, said the Daily Telegraph. David Smith, the chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, was among the business figures pressing the MPC for a one per cent cut to stimulate demand, after announcing "regrettable" redundancies. The CBI, the Home Builders Federation and the Federation of Small Businesses all joined the calls for a one per cent reduction, "vital" to recovery hopes.
The banking collapse is all your fault
Broker says bear market over
Analysts at US investment bank Morgan Stanley issued a report recommending that its clients move back into the equity market, said the Independent. Its advice centres on the fact that the four indicators it uses to forecast the market's direction are now starting to indicate an upturn. The "catalyst" for the change in view is that all investors are now thought to have "capitulated" to negative sentiment, leaving stockprices at their lows. However the report's authors concede "there is a chance it is wrong".
After the credit crunch, what next for the world?
UK car sales worst for 17 years
British car sales are likely to have fallen at their sharpest rate for 17 years, when figures for October from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders are revealed tomorrow, reported the Times. Sales are likely to have been even worse than in September, when the fall was 21 per cent. A drop of as much as 25 per cent is expected, which would be the "steepest decline since 1991". 4x4s and premium brands have been the worst affected by the slowdown, but there has been a "sharp downturn" across the board.
How Porsche took the hedge funds to the cleaners
New RBS chief on £1.2m salary deal
Stephen Hester, the new boss "parachuted" into Royal Bank of Scotland has been given a salary of £1.2m and awarded shares worth more than £6m, reported the Guardian. The pay policy is designed to "incentivise" management of the partially state-owned bank. Yesterday Hester warned that RBS is heading for its first-ever full-year loss, but he indicated he is working on a new strategy which will reverse the expansionary policy of previous boss Sir Fred Goodwin. Goodwin will leave the bank on January 31 and Hester joins on November 21.
RBS: a failure made in Scotland
Carlyle warns of weak returns
Private equity company Carlyle Group has warned of sharply lower returns for investors, reported the Financial Times. Bill Conway, the group's co-founder and chief investment officer said in a call to 400 investors that they should expect "very few new deals" and "very few distributions". The warning came as investors are becoming more wary of the companies that have been private equity’s meat and drink in past years. Carlyle indicated that the fortunes of companies it has investments in such as Hertz and Dunkin Brands are "flagging".
Edward Luttwak: Private equity will suffer the least from downturn
...in brief..................
BMW looks at bail-out and HBOS chief exec becomes consultant
BMW has become the first European carmaker to "consider tapping" the German government's financial rescue fund, reported the Financial Times. The company's interim chief financial officer said no decision has been made but that it is looking at it "very closely"…………
Troubled Swiss bank UBS warned investors that as a result of weak markets and debt concerns, it could be in line for losses in the fourth quarter. No specific figures were mentioned, but its chief financial officer said a loss could be recorded in spite of cost-cutting measures…………
Cable provider Virgin Media and satellite broadcaster BSkyB have ended their year-and-a-half long dispute. Following a disagreement over charges on some of Sky's most popular programmes, Sky channels were removed from Virgin but they are now scheduled to begin again on November 13th…………
Pub group Punch Taverns moved into the red, reporting a £80m loss, before tax, after being forced to write down the value of 491 pubs at a cost of nearly £300m. The company is now planning to sell off or convert five per cent or so of its pub portfolio…………
Broadcaster ITV reported a five per cent drop in revenues in the first nine months of the year, said the Guardian. Total sales declined one per cent year on year in the period and the company announced that it expected a nine per cent drop in TV advertising revenues in the fourth quarter…………
Lloyds TSB is to offer outgoing HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby a £60,000 a month consultancy job in the new Lloyds Banking Group. Hornby will be in the role for an unspecified period of time after the takeover, which is scheduled to take place next year…………
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