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US stock markets jump on robust Q3 economic growth
New York: US stocks soared sharply Friday, with the Dow gaining 172 points, boosted by robust third-quarter economic growth, a development that overshadowed news of an indictment in the Bush administration.

The Commerce Department announced that US economic growth quickened to a 3.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter as the economy overcame negative results brought about by higher energy costs and Hurricane Katrina.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 172.82 points, or 1.69 percent, to 10,402.77, which makes it the fifth time in seven sessions that the blue-chip gauge has swung more than 100 points.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, added 19.51 points, or 1.65 percent, to 1198.41. The Nasdaq Composite, which shed 1.7 percent on Thursday,rose 26.07 points, or 1.26 percent, to 2089.88.

The Dow Jones industrials ended the week up 187.55, or 1.84 percent, finishing at 10,402.77. The S&P 500 index gained 18.82, or 1.6 percent, to close at 1,198.41.
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London Stock Exchange sell-off: Watchdog body set to rule on bids
London: The Competition Commission is expected to issue its long-awaited ruling on the possible takeover of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as early as Tuesday, but industry sources say the fate of the LSE may eventually be decided only by next year.

The board of Euronext, the Dutch-French exchange, regarded as the most likely bidder for the LSE, has yet to decide to proceed with an offer, while Deutsche Börse, which kick-started the bid process by tabling a 530p-a-share offer last December, is thought unlikely to bid at all after shareholders forced out its chief executive, Werner Seifert.

A third possible bidder, the Australian bank Macquarie, is believed to have lined up finance for the move but again appears to be in no hurry to make an offer.

The LSE is set to declare its Q3 results on Thursday.

The London market appears to be setting a high price on a takeover. Clara Furse, the LSE chief executive, is said to have let it be known the LSE will agree to be taken over only if a bidder offers more than 700p a share. This is considerably more than Deutsche Börse tabled in December and well above the 555.5p at which the LSE's shares were trading on Friday.
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P&O on the block as Dubai Ports World makes an approach
London: Hot on the heels of Ericsson acquiring the old British firm of Marconi, a bidding war is all set to erupt for another venerable British institution, P&O, which is the country's biggest ports and ferries operator.

P&O confirmed on Sunday, that it had received an initial takeover approach, believed to be from Dubai Ports World (DPW), which is owned by the Government of the tiny Gulf state.

It is thought that a formal bid for P&O, valued at as much as £3 billion, could be made by DPW within days, a move likely to spark off bids from other rival groups.

In a brief statement yesterday afternoon, P&O said that it had received what it described as a "very preliminary contact from a third party", which it declined to name.

P&O shares, closed on Friday at 310¼p, substantially below their high for the year of 348p. At Friday's closing share price the company was valued at £2.3 billion.

DPW was created only a month ago when Dubai's Government merged its Ports Authority and Dubai Ports International Terminals. A takeover of P&O, the world's fourth-largest ports operator, would bolster DPW's competitive position in a rapidly consolidating industry. P&O owns and runs 27 container terminals, as well as sites worldwide, from Africa to Australia.

Potential challengers to the DPW bid include AP Moeller-Maersk, the Danish shipping and oil group, which bought P&O Nedlloyd, the container shipping operation, from P&O this year. Temasek, the Singaporean state investment agency, which owns the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), is also a potential rival.

A takeover of P&O would mark the end of an era for one of Britain's most venerable corporate institutions. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company was born in 1837 and incorporated by Royal Charter three years later. During Victorian times P&O flourished as a provider of a link to Britain's empire east of Suez. It also invented passenger cruises as early as 1844.
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GM and China's SAIC Motor in agreement for development of hybrids
Shanghai: General Motors Corp., the world's largest carmaker, and China's SAIC Motor Corp. have signed an agreement to study joint production of gasoline-electric hybrids and other low-pollution vehicles in China.

The companies will also consider expanding a hybrid-bus demonstration project in Shanghai and produce low-pollution models for China by 2008, GM said in a statement today. The first model will be a vehicle using a belt-alternator starter system similar to the hybrid Saturn VUE sport-utility vehicle that GM will sell in the U.S. next year, spokesman Kyle Johnson said. The companies already jointly build GM vehicles in China.

GM, struggling to lift sales and earnings in its main North American market, is growing in China, where it raised sales 28 percent this year through September to 472,468. China is the world's third-largest market for cars and trucks and also the fastest-growing. Chinese auto sales rose 15 percent last year, after surging 76 percent in 2003 and 50 percent in 2002.

GM's partnership with SAIC Motor will also include hydrogen fuel cells. Fuel cells create electricity in a chemical reaction that combines hydrogen and oxygen, ideally with only water vapor as a byproduct.

SAIC Motor, which had a 17 percent share of the Chinese market in 2004, makes GM's Excelle, Regal, Sail, Chevrolet Epica and Aveo models.
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