FT Alphaville

Comment, analysis and other offerings from Friday's FT, Samuel Brittan: A framework for economic stability The reduction to 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent of the Bank of England's and European Central Bank's respective official interest rates may be historically unprecedented, but it is the least the two central banks could have got away with....

The proposed C$34.8bn ($27.3bn) buy-out of BCE, the Canadian telecoms giant, appeared less likely on Thursday as the private equity firms that agreed to the takeover debated instead whether to buy a minority stake in the company. Providence Equity Partners and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, which had originally agreed to purchase a combined 84% equity stake in BCE,...

BMB Group, a Middle East investment group, on Thursday acquired a US-based private equity house focusing on emerging markets, which was co-founded by a former prime minister of Pakistan. The merger of BMB and Washington-based EMP Global - a rare example of consolidation in private equity - will turn the Brunei-based group into one of the biggest investors in nascent private equity markets,...

Yep, the share prices of the two mining giants have crossed. After suffering another sickening fall on Thursday, Rio shares (down 10 per cent) are now trading at £10.40, about 4p lower than BHP's. This is seriously embarrassing for Rio. After all, BHP's abandoned bid was pitched at a ratio of 3.4:1....

Elsewhere on Thursday: - Merriam-Webster's dictionary chose "bail-out" as its word of the year for 2008. Next year it might well be "refinance". - Analysts fight back - Should the US Treasury issue 100-year bonds? - Maximum risk didn’t hurt these investors - The real reason Google walked away from Yahoo search deal - AIG:...

Comment, analysis and other offerings from Thursday's FT, Jonathan Guthrie: Let us call off the bank-burning posse The problem with lynch mobs is that they sometimes get the wrong guys. It must have been great fun back in the Old West, stringing up some ornery hombres you suspected of cattle rustling....

Apax Partners has joined a handful of private equity groups running the rule over the cash-strapped Irish banking sector, as the UK-based buy-out house considers a politically sensitive investment in Bank of Ireland. Other buyout groups considering investments in Bank of Ireland include Carlyle Group,...

Commerzbank’s investment-banking chief on Wednesday laid out his plans for the integration of Dresdner Kleinwort, including closing the UK M&A; business and abolishing trading with the bank’s own capital. Michael Reuther, head of Commerzbank Corporates and Markets, met 30 senior managers in London to outline how the combined company would provide services to companies doing business in Germany and serve German clients....

A last-ditch legal challenge to Lloyds TSB’s takeover of HBOS will be heard next week by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, just days before HBOS shareholders are due to vote on the contentious tie-up. The three-member panel on Wednesday decided that the challenge, being brought by an alliance of Scottish businessmen,...

British Airways must choose between Qantas or Iberia as its future merger partner, the chief executive of the Spanish carrier said Wednesday, adding it would be “too complex” to pursue both deals. Iberia’s Fernando Conte said he was to meet Willie Walsh, BA chief executive, “pretty soon” to clarify where their talks were going,...

Warren Buffett’s grip on Constellation Energy appeared less certain Wednesday after EDF, France’s state-controlled energy group, launched a final bid to preserve its strategic position in the US with a rival $4.5bn offer for 50% of its partner’s nuclear assets.The French group made the offer despite investor concerns about the rising costs of its nuclear investments that have weighed on its shares in recent months....

Japan’s top refiner Nippon Oil and sixth-ranked Nippon Mining said Wednesday they are considering a merger to create the world’s eighth-largest oil major to better compete amid sliding prices and slower demand, reports Reuters. The two firms said they would hold board meetings Thursday to discuss the merger....

Guy Hands, one of the hardest taskmasters in UK private equity, is losing some top executives at his Terra Firma private equity house. Those leaving Terra Firma - including Chris Roling, Riaz Punja and Ashley Unwin - were appointed by Hands to senior positions within EMI, the music group he acquired last year for £4bn....

The Times was reporting on Wednesday afternoon that French oil group Total has decided against bidding for Nexen, the Canadian oil company. The decision follows a meeting of Total's board in Paris yesterday, apparently. We're not 100 per cent sure whether that's right. What we are sure of is that the briefings of analysts going on over the past 24 hours fall some way short of a full picture....

From Bloomberg: The U.K.'s Competition Appeal Tribunal will review a challenge to Lloyds TSB Group Plc's 6.4 billion- pound ($9.4 billion) takeover of HBOS Plc that was filed by a Scottish group opposed to the deal. The antitrust tribunal said today in London that it would hold a two-day hearing on the merits of the claim on Dec....

More misery for shareholders in Rio Tinto on Wednesday. The shares were off a further 89p to £11.82 - their lowest level since April 2004 - as speculation of a rights issue continued to swirl round the London market. These rumours have circulated since BHP Billiton effectively pulled the plug on its $62bn offer by announcing that it would not offer assets disposals or structural remedies to secure EU merger clearance for the proposed deal....

Elsewhere on Wednesday, - "Treasurys are clearly the belle of the investment ball." - The model made me do it. - The M&A; buyers' market. - Surprised there's a recession? - "If the TARP were a private company, it would have a Sarbanes-Oxley problem." - Commodity traders' pay falling faster than oil prices......

Comment, analysis and other offerings from Wednesday's FT, Nouriel Roubini: How to avoid the horrors of stagflation The US and the global economy are at risk of a severe stag-deflation, a deadly combination of economic stagnation/recession and deflation. Martin Wolf: Global imbalances threaten the survival of liberal trade The world has run out of willing and creditworthy private borrowers....

British Airways and Qantas are exploring a potential merger that could greatly accelerate consolidation of the global airline industry. After an initial approach from Qantas, BA said it was studying a merger with the Australian flag carrier “in a dual-listed company structure”. BA shares rose 12% to 157p in London on the news while Qantas surged nearly 10% on Wednesday in Sydney before closing up 6.7% at A$2.40....

It is wise if you're heading into air turbulence to have a parachute, notes Lex, and British Airways “has three tucked under its seat”: ongoing merger talks with Iberia, a potential tie-up with American Airlines, and now a possible merger with Qantas. Completing just one of these deals would be pretty good;...