Germany CONTINENTAL was up €3.02 to €95.99. Credit Suisse said it appears a good strategic fit as the company continues to turn itself from a low-tech auto supplier into a high growth integrated systems supplier.
LANXESS was down €1.06 to €29.95. The company reported a 30% rise in 2005 core profit before special items to €581 million on sales 5.6% higher year-over-year at €7.15 billion - as expected. The company is aiming to table a net profit this year, improve profitability further in 2007 and is considering paying a dividend for 2006.
Netherlands ING GROEP (ING) was down €0.47 to €32.13. Credit Suisse raised its weightings in European insurance to 50% overweight from 20% (via P&C and life). The broker said life insurance has the best combination of earnings momentum and valuation of all European sectors.
TNT was up €0.03 to €28.89. UBS lifted its fair value to €35 from €30. The broker said that the sale of Logistics should raise €1.2 billion-€1.5 billion.
Nordics NORSK HYDRO was down NOK22.00 to NOK900.00. Lehman Brothers downgraded the company to underweight from equal weight, but raised its target to NOK860 from NOK720 following strong share price performance.
Spain ARCELOR was up €0.04 to €32.47. The company announced measures designed to defend itself from the Mittal (MT) bid. The company is to raise the dividend to €1.85 per share from €1.20. In order to protect its holding in Dofasco, the company is to place its shares in Dofasco into a Dutch fund called Strategic Steel Stichting.
Switzerland NOVARTIS (NVS) was down CHF0.45 to CHF72.45. After the close Monday, the company increased its offer for the 56% of Chiron (CHIR) that it does not already own to US$48/share (about US$5.33 billion vs. about US$5.1 billion previously) to persuade shareholders who saw the previous price as too low. This is the second time the company has improved the offer.
UK BHP BILLITON (BHP) was up £0.03 to £11.22. Metals traded at historic highs, with the gold price at a 25 year peak and copper at an all time high.
TATE & LYLE was down £0.10 to £5.65. Shares fell on claims that the sweetener Splenda may cause stomach pains and other digestion problems.
SEVERN TRENT was up £0.71 to £11.97. The company said it will spin off its UK integrated waste management business, Biffa, and expects the demerger to be completed by the end of 2006. It is also currently considering options for Biffa Belgium, including possible disposal.
France SANOFI-AVENTIS (SNY) was down €1.15 to €77.00. LANMET trial findings demonstrated evidence supporting the use of Lantus (insulin glargine) in combination with oral anti-diabetes drugs (OADs) in people with type 2 diabetes. The findings showed that both Lantus plus metformin and NPH plus metformin provided good glycemic control with a better dinnertime glycemic control for Lantus plus metformin.
Prepared by Zaida Espana, Valerie Vidal, Michael Sanderson, Mariella Mongio, Alexander Wisch, Holly Cook, Emma Stevenson, Pawan Girglani, Julien Manrique, and Rocio Opazo-Aniotz (Standard & Poor's); Alex Halperin (BusinessWeek Online)
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