| Caja Madrid tightens grip on Iberia
Spanish airline Iberia slid 5 per cent to €3.26 as bid hopes were dashed when savings bank Caja Madrid moved to build its stake in the airline to 23.4 per cent, potentially blocking a foreign takeover. Caja Madrid, which has said it would prefer to see Iberia remain in domestic hands to protect business in the Spanish capital, exercised pre-emptive rights Thursday to buy a 6.4 per cent stake from fellow shareholder Logista, the logistics arm of tobacco company Altadis. The stakebuilding move follows Caja Madrid's purchase on Monday of a 7 per cent stake from Spanish bank BBVA. Under the terms of a shareholder pact, Iberia's other major shareholders have until next week to approve the purchases. Takeover speculation was also dulled by growing talk that potential all-Spanish offers have run into financing problems.
THE FRONT ROW with Jerry Hitchcock
NASCAR enters 2008 with a "back to basics" mantra.But for the Sprint Cup (get used to it -- NEXTEL Cup is long gone) teams, none of them moved backwards -- they're all moving forward. No one stands still in the series anymore, lest they fall by the wayside (case in point, the Morgan-McClure team, which closed its operations recently due to lack of sponsorship dollars after 23 seasons and three Daytona 500 wins).This year's 500, which takes place on Sunday, will feature big teams getting bigger, what with merger mania striking the premier stock car series in the latter part of last season and throughout the offseason.Robby Gordon jumped the Ford ship and sidled up to Gillette-Evernham Motorsports (GEM) last week, particularly for the marketing/sponsorship opportunies the Dodge team can bring to the table.BAM Racing and Petty Enterprises both receive engines and technical assistance from GEM.DALE EARNHARDT Inc.
Chinese GP - Friday - Team Quotes
Fernando Alonso (2nd, 1:36.613): "A very close practice session, with no problems throughout. As usual we worked on our set-up in the morning and made some good progress there, and then in the afternoon we concentrated on the tyre comparison. It is good to be back in China as I like this circuit. I expect it should be a very interesting weekend with the top four cars being very competitive here." Lewis Hamilton (4th, 1:36.876): "Both sessions went pretty smoothly, and I was able to get a good handle on this circuit, the sixth new one for me this year and completed the planned programme for today. It is a nice track, and the car felt good to drive. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend where I expect that we have every chance for another strong result." Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "A trouble free two sessions, where we made good progress on the set up of the cars.
IT Who Needs Due Process? Senate Passes Spy Bill
U.S. Senate to telecoms -- I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine. Telecoms and many in the federal Executive branch seemed quite content with the increased usage of warrantless phone surveillance, which some people feel violates Americans' legal rights. The telecoms received large paychecks for every wiretap put in place; Comcast's rate was a modest $1,000 per tap. Meanwhile, politicians are happy because they were able to extend their surveillance programs as planned. The program may toss due process out the window, but, in their opinion, that is a necessary loss to deal with today's troubled world. Then all of a sudden the good times ended, when a few members of Congress demanded telecom's spy records for hearings on the legality of the program. The phone companies refused, and all of a sudden, their dirty laundry was aired to the public. The public exposure opened the NSA and telecoms up to legal action from civil liberties groups and citizens. Sure enough, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed for a class action lawsuit for the warrantless eavesdropping practices. Such a lawsuit could cost telecoms and the U.S.
Fall & rise of Sensex
If this persists, will local MFs, big corporates and insurance firms continue to buy?
While FIIs have been booking profits, there is no big selloff. Why? Hedge funds are holding on to PNs, fearing they may not get a chance to get back. How long will the PN charm last?
Market is getting narrower, riskier. Fewer stocks driving Sensex. And leveraged positions ballooning.
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