(PFC.L) Petrofac Ltd Buy/Sell

The Times

BP POISED TO BATTLE US RIVAL EXXONMOBIL FOR GHANA OIL

BP has held talks with Ghana National Petroleum over a possible joint bid for a stake in the Jubilee deepwater field in Ghana, which reportedly contains up to 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

The oil group has hired the investment bank Goldman Sachs to advise on a possible bid for a 23 per cent stake in the offshore oil field held by the private equity-backed energy company Kosmos Energy.

Kosmos unveiled plans on October 12 to sell all of its Ghana assets to BP's rival Exxon. BP could face problems in completing the deal as Exxon's agreement to buy the assets is believed to be exclusive.

VIRGIN WON'T TAKE COPYING LYING DOWN

Virgin Atlantic has had a patent application upheld in a High Court Appeal judgement and could now block other airlines from using copies of its Upper-Class seat design.

The herringbone shaped seat, introduced in 2003, was designed by Welsh seat manufacturer Contour, which subsequently sold seats to airlines including Delta, Air Canada and Jet Airways.

Cathay Pacific is facing legal action after buying a similar seat from another manufacturer. Paul Charles, a spokesman for Virgin, said: "It has always been and will remain, a key strategic objective of Virgin Atlantic to protect its intellectual property rights from misuse."

BEIJING MUST 'PLAY WITH THE BIG BOYS', SAYS BHP CHAIRMAN

Don Argus, the outgoing chairman of BHP Billiton, has admitted that the mining group's relations with China, its biggest customer, have at times been strained.

Argus urged China to 'get over' any hostility regarding a proposed 116 billion dollar iron ore joint venture between BHP and its rival Rio Tinto. China is said to oppose the deal, announced in June, as it could undermine the country's position in negotiations over the price of iron ore.

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Smiths News (Buy)

Pinewood Shepperton (Hold on)
The Daily Telegraph

LLOYDS PROPERTY BOSSES LEAVE AS BANK CALLS IN LAND

SECURITIES

Nick Robinson and John Moran are to leave Lloyds Banking Group as it prepares to unwind its 60 billion pound UK commercial property loan book.

Lloyds said the pairs' departure was due to "personal reasons", but comes as the bank attempts to finalise its decision whether to enter the government's Asset Protection Scheme or not.

Lloyds is believed to have established a list of preferred partners - including British Land, Land Securities and Valad - to advise on working out its property portfolio.

TEMPLEMAN SEES CUT-PRICE CHRISTMAS

Rob Templeman, chief executive of Debenhams, has said the retailer will be "at the heart" of discounting and predicted price-cutting will be as deep this Christmas as it was last year.

82 of the top 100 British retailers held sales in the weeks before Christmas last year. Debenhams reported a 14.1 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the year to August 29, although like-for-like sales fell by 3.6 per cent.

However, like-for-like sales have increased by 0.6 per cent in recent weeks.

CADBURY INVESTOR BACKS 820 PENCE OFFER

A top-10 shareholder in Cadbury has indicated that they would consider an 820 pence-per-share offer from Kraft.

The investor believes Cadbury may struggle to meet its earnings targets should it remain independent, while an offer at the 820 pence level would reflect the synergy benefits of a takeover.

Kraft's original offer valued Cadbury at 745 pence a share, which Legal & General - Cadbury's second-largest investor - claimed "materially undervalued" the company.

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