(MKS.L) Marks & Spencer Group PLC Buy/Sell

The Times

DIC FORCED TO PLOUGH IN 53 MILLION POUNDS TO PROP UP

DONCASTERS

Sovereign wealth fund Dubai Investment Capital has injected 53 million pounds into its 700 million pound engineering business Doncasters, in order to prevent a breach of banking covenants. DIC has been hit hard by the credit crunch after buying at the top of the market and, of its six portfolio companies, only Merlin has survived this year without an injection of capital. DIC has paid almost 100 million pounds in total into Doncasters, German industrial packaging business Mauser and UK hotel business Travelodge.

TREASURY SAYS NORTHERN ROCK MAY LOSE SAVERS AS GOVERNMENT

PULLS OUT

The Treasury expects the withdrawal of government guarantees protecting 100 percent of deposits at government-backed bank Northern Rock will precipitate the withdrawal of billions of pounds of retail deposits. Treasury insiders have indicated that the government intends to removes the 100 percent guarantees in the spring in order that the "good bank" part of the business can be valued and sold back to the private sector.

RISE IN ADVERTISING SPENDING HIGHLIGHTS RENEWED PUSH FOR

VOLUME BY UNILEVER

There are signs that advertising spending -- regarded as a significant indicator of economic activity -- is rising. Unilever announced Thursday that its spending on advertising rose 13 percent in the three months to Sept. 30 while ITV reported a 4 percent year-on-year rise in advertising sales for December, the first rise since June 2008. Marks & Spencer is to screen nine different advertisements over the Christmas period on a budget of 10 million pounds. General advertising spending in the UK is expected to be down by around 15 percent this year. Internet advertising is expected to fall by a much smaller percentage.

TEMPUS

Invensys (Buy)

Segro (Hold)

Catlin (A buy for the brave)

Daily Telegraph

RBS TO LIFT VEIL ON TOXIC LOAN BOOK

Royal Bank of Scotland will reveal on Friday the full details of the 240 billion pounds of corporate and commercial loans that it intends to insure under the government's asset protection scheme (APS). The bank is also expected to report operating losses for the third quarter in line with those reported in its second quarter in August. RBS had originally intended to protect 325 billion pounds of assets in the APS but decided to withdraw some assets from the scheme. This coupled with significant writedowns in the value of other loans has significantly reduced the headline figure and the entry fee to the APS that RBS will have to pay.

PRU STARTS SHARIA-COMPLIANT FUND MANAGEMENT BUSINESS

Prudential has launched a new fund management business in Malaysia aimed at the Southeast Asian Muslim population. The business, called Prudential Al-Wara' Asset Management Berhad, will be compliant with sharia law -- meaning that none of the funds invested into it will accrue interest. Instead investors will be able to benefit from the fund's returns as Islamic law allows profit when the risk is shared by the investor and the company. The business will begin with around 267 million pounds under management.

MAN INCHES FORWARD ON ROAD TO RECOVERY

Man Group reported better-than-expected interim profits of 302 million dollars, a figure around 8 percent higher than profits flagged by the company in its pre-close statement in September. The alternative investment manager reported an increase in assets in managed accounts during the six months to the end of October from 4 billion dollars to 6 billion dollars. Man Chief Executive Peter Clarke said the move towards managed accounts (MAC) was one of the biggest current trends in the industry. Analysts predict that 30 percent of the industry's assets could move into MAC products.

QUESTOR

Unilever -

Vedanta Resources -

The Independent

CABLE & WIRELESS PLANS SPLIT AFTER UNVEILING SHOCK PROFITS

WARNING

The telecoms group Cable & Wireless has surprised the market by releasing a profits warning caused by a slump in the number of tourists going to the Caribbean. Revenues rose by 13 percent to 1.8 billion pounds in the six months to the end of September and total profits after tax increased 42 percent to 163 million pounds, but these results were still considered weak by many analysts. Cable & Wireless also announced that it was pressing ahead with its plans for a demerger between its Worldwide business and its regional telecoms arm CWI.

ITV BUOYED BY PREDICTED RISE IN AD REVENUE

Revenue from advertising is expected to rise for ITV in December, bringing an end to 18 consecutive months of decline. The broadcaster expects growth of 4 percent in advertising revenue during December, due largely to increased spending by food retailers and telecommunications companies. There was, however, no word on ITV's search for a new chairman following the collapse of talks with the favoured applicant for the post, Tony Ball.

EAST COAST LINE BACK IN STATE HANDS EARLY

The Department of Transport is to renationalise the East Coast railway line next week after announcing that it was taking the 1.4 billion pound London-to-Edinburgh line away from National Express earlier than expected. A new state-run company known as Directly Operated Railways will commence running the railway for at least the next 18 months, operating under the leadership of the former FirstGroup executive Elaine Holt. The previous date for the takeover had been Dec. 12, but this was changed after National Express pleaded that its funding for the struggling franchise had nearly run out.

INVESTMENT COLUMN

Unilever (Buy)

BTG (Buy)

Millennium & Copthorne (Take profits)

The Guardian

BA CABIN CREW NUMBERS REDUCED AS STAFF FAIL TO GET HIGH

COURT BLOCK

British Airways management have clashed with the Unite union over proposed changes to employment policy that could lead to thousands of jobs being lost or having their hours reduced to part-time. Unite has been unsuccessful in its attempt to obtain an injunction from the High Court that would prevent these changes going ahead. Unite is to hold a strike vote for its BA members who make up the majority of BA's staff. Industrial action during December could cripple BA at Heathrow during the Christmas season. BA says that job cuts are necessary to ensure the financial future of the company.

ADMINISTRATORS AXE 1,700 STAFF AND SHUT 373 STORES AT

OFF-LICENCE CHAIN FIRST QUENCH

Off-licence group First Quench is to close 373 stores and shed 1,700 jobs. The chain went into administration on Oct. 29 and has 1,200 outlets and 6,300 staff. Eighty one redundancies have already occurred at its head office. Off-licences have performed poorly due to price promotions from big supermarkets. Richard Fleming, joint administrator of First Quench, said the remaining stores were performing well and there had been interest in buying the remainder of the business from a variety of fields.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants. Keywords: BRITAIN PRESS/BUSINESS

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