Eurpoean Indexes End Mixed

A rundown of trading action in key European bourses Friday

London

The FTSE 100 closed in the red as food producers weighed after TATE & LYLE (-27.80%) dished out a sour first half trading update. The sugar & sweetener maker said its sugars business will post a small loss and is cautious about the outlook. UNILEVER (-2.95%), AB FOODS (-0.31%) fell. There was a rumor of an emergency BoE rate cut, which traders said was 'total rubbish'. Also, Alan Greenspan and Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron voiced concerns of a US recession. Wall Street was lower due to skyrocketing oil prices and profit-taking. Oil fired up over US$83/bbl helping energy majors. Mining stocks ANTOFAGASTA (-3.54%), VEDANTA (-1.31%), KAZAKHMYS (-3.44%), fell on UBS downgrades. RIO TINTO (+1.80%) shareholders approve Alcan buy. LONMIN (+7.39%) gained as platinum price gained. In company news, NORTHERN ROCK (-7.39%) has borrowed a further £5 billion from the BoE, bringing its indebtedness to the bank close to £8 billion, the FT wrote. Among other fallers, COMPASS (-2.82%) fell on a Panmure cut to sell. ENTERPRISE INNS (-1.17%) lost fizz after delaying refinancing, with REIT talks put on hold. In other news, Pearl said it has made no decision on an offer for RESOLUTION (-0.29%). ASTRAZENECA (+1.20%) appointed Simon Lowth as CFO. SMG (-6.29%) has received significant interest in Virgin Radio.

Paris

The CAC 40 (-0.31%) closed lower, with the US in similar territory. A flurry of macro data failed to establish a clear rate narrative and former Fed Chair Alan 'Cassandra' Greenspan warned a US recession has become more likely. Of local note, McKinsey and HSBC, hired by the French state to advise the government on a possible nuclear industry restructuring, have recommended against pursuing a merger between ALSTOM (-4.09%) and AREVA (-2.83%), Les Echos reported. UK
's Tate & Lyle profit warning hit DANONE (-1.43%). On the upside, ALCATEL-LUCENT (+4.35%) gained following market talk CEO Patricia Russo will leave the company. The FT reported this morning that Russo has been given a month to present an emergency restructuring plan to her board and lay out where research and sales efforts should focus. BNP (+0.56%) CEO Baudouin Prot sought to reassure investors yesterday that its third quarter will not be hit hard by CIB. In broker news, Cheuvreux upgraded EADS (+2.33%) to outperform from underperform, hiking its target to €30 from €17 and lifting estimates by between 20% and 40% from 2007 to 2015. A shareholder pact for SUEZ's (+0.61%) Suez Environnement is nearly agreed, La Tribune reported, citing the draft document. France
TELECOM (+0.69%) has sold Orange Netherlands for €1.33 billion to Deutsche Telekom.

Frankfurt

Xetra-Dax closed the last session of the month and quarter on a slightly positive note, with Wall Street heading in the opposite direction after Freddie Mac's CEO said the US economy faces a 40-45% risk of recession. German macroeconomic numbers this morning revealed a surprise 1.4% m/m decline in retail sales in August. On the local corporate news front, Guy Wyser-Pratte has bought a 1% stake in TUI (+4.2%), according to Handelsblatt. The US activist investor reportedly said CEO Michael Frenzel should be ousted. LUFTHANSA (-0.88%) said it it won't exercise its right to buy Thomas Cook's 75.1% stake in Condor, clearing the way for AIR BERLIN (+3.37%) to do so. Merrill Lynch upped its voting stake in MUNICH RE (+1.66%) to 5.1%. DEUTSCHE TELEKOM (+0.36%) is buying Orange Netherlands for €1.33 billion from France Telecom. ALLIANZ's (+0.22%) Dresdner Bank is acquiring Italian broker RasBank, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Earnings-wise, IKB (+0.65%) said it will post a net loss of up to €700 million for its 2007/08 financial year. UK
's Tate & Lyle viewing its near-term outlook with caution weighed on sugar peer SUEDZUCKER (-2.08%). Key on the broker front, Deutsche downgraded MERCK (-6.00%) to hold, UBS upgraded WINCOR NIXDORF (+2.24%) to buy and a number of brokers took a red pen to their targets on BMW (-1.63%) after yesterday's strategy update.