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|  | JANUARY 24, 2006
 EUROPEAN MARKET MOVERS On the Move: Serono, Royal Dutch Shell, DaimlerChryslerPlus: Deutsche Telekom, Arcelor, Air Liquide and other European companies making headlines TuesdayFrom Standard & Poor's European MarketScope France ARCELOR was up €0.70 to €21.61 on news that the steel group signed a deal to buy Dofasco, Canada's biggest steel producer. Arcelor had received notification from ThyssenKrupp that it would not match Arcelor's CAD71 per share offer. AIR LIQUIDE was up €5.90 to €167.40. Dresdner KW said it expects to see a pick-up in momentum in underlying fiscal year sales growth on Thursday, in line with recent business updates of U.S. competitors. The broker expects fourth quarter total sales growth of 7%, vs. 8.9% in the third quarter, bringing fiscal year sales up by 10.3%. Germany DAIMLERCHRYSLER (DCX ) was up €1.62 to €44.28. The company created a new management model with the aim of cutting general and administrative costs by €1.5 billion a year. G&A staff is to be trimmed by 20% over the next three years, with one objective being to have nine members on the management board vs. 12 a year ago. THYSSEN KRUPP was up €0.54 to €19.26. The company pulled out of bidding for Dofasco as Arcelor signed a deal to buy the Canadian steel group. WINCOR NIXDORF was up €4.79 to €98.25. The company reported fiscal first quarter operating profit better than expected coming in at €39 million on sales of €488 million. The company reiterated its fiscal year 2005/2006 outlook for 10% EBITA growth and 8% sales growth. Italy MONTE PASCHI was up €0.07 to €3.90. According to Il Sole 24 Ore, the company and Banca Intesa are in talks for a potential tie-up thanks to the good relationship between the chairmen of the respective banking foundations. However, on Monday JP Morgan said it believes the company will benefit from a near-term bounce. ALITALIA was up €0.03 to €1.07. The Italian prime minister has reportedly said he is doing all he can to resolve the company's problems. Also, Berlusconi confirmed that the carrier has to push ahead with its restructuring plan and face down wildcat strikers who are paralyzing the airline. Nordics ABB was down SEK2.00 to SEK79.50. JP Morgan downgraded the company to neutral from overweight, but raised its target to CHF13.5 from CHF12.0. The broker said the company's stock is up 100% since the broker's previous upgrade to overweight. TELENOR was down NOK1.00 to NOK64.50. The company confirmed that its Ukrainian asset Kyivstar has lost a court case against Alfa Group. The company said it has appealed the ruling and is confident that it will win against this claim. Separately, the company said it has over 2 million customers in Pakistan after launching mobile communications services there 11 months ago. Switzerland SERONO (SRA ) was down CHF100.00 to CHF1006.00. Shares plunged as the WSJ reported that the company might struggle to find a buyer after several big drug firms that had held preliminary talks with it failed to bid by last Friday's auction deadline. The paper mentioned that it's still possible that a surprise contender could get involved at the last minute. The article clearly offset news that the company's Gonal-f received approval in Japan. CS GROUP was down CHF0.35 to CHF71.80. The company is cutting new ties with Iran, North Korea, and Syria after reviewing the geopolitical situation. However, relations with existing private clients will stay as they are. United Kingdom BOC was up £2.44 to £13.95. The company said it has received an unsolicited, preliminary proposal from Linde but has unanimously rejected it because of its pre-conditions and its failure to value fully the growth prospects of the company. The board said it is confident in the current strategy of the group to deliver growth and excellent returns to its shareholders as an independent company. YELL was down £0.20 to £5.08. The company argued that it is in an increasingly competitive marketplace, and regulation is no longer required, following the Competition Commission's investigation into the supply of classified directory advertising services. COMPASS GROUP was down £0.04 to £2.30. Dresdner KW downgraded the company to sell from hold and raised its target to £2.05 from £1.97, implying a 12% potential downside. IG GROUP was down £0.07 to £1.82. UBS raised its target to £1.91 from £1.85, neutral. Sources pointed to a placement of 37.7 million shares, corresponding to half of CVC's remaining stake, at £1.84. ROYAL DUTCH SHELL (RDS ) was down £2.23 to £17.07. JP Morgan upgraded the European energy sector to overweight from neutral. The broker believes attractive valuations and more realistic earnings growth expectations than for the overall market are the key supports for the sector. Merrill Lynch raised its EPS estimates to 2.11p from 1.91p in fiscal 2006 and to 1.72p from 1.57p in fiscal 2007. It rates the stock a buy.  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) All of the views expressed in this research report accurately reflect the research analyst's personal views regarding any and all of the subject securities or issuers. No part of analyst compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this research report. Standard & Poor's Regulatory Disclosure Any advice, analysis, or recommendations contained in articles labeled "Insight from Standard & Poor's" reflect the views of Standard & Poor's, which operates separately from and independently of BusinessWeek Online. It is possible that BWOL may from time to time publish information that is not consistent with advice, analysis, or recommendations that are published by Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's and BusinessWeek Online are each units of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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