[IMAGE]

	 [IMAGE] 


[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
	[IMAGE]
	[IMAGE]
	
	
	Thursday?December?7th?2000
	 
	[IMAGE]
	[IMAGE]

[IMAGE]
 [IMAGE] 
[IMAGE]
 New on the site

THE GLOBAL AGENDA

Global Agenda, the new rolling analysis service from The Economist, covers  
six to eight business and political topics each day, focusing exclusively on  
the international issues that really matter, when they matter. It also  
provides links to related Economist articles, newswires and websites to keep  
you up to date. See the latest from the Global Agenda at www.economist.com

[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]




OPINION


WORLD


BUSINESS


FINANCE


SCIENCE


PEOPLE


BOOKS & ARTS


MARKETS


DIVERSIONS


[IMAGE]
[IMAGE]




PRINT EDITION
THE ECONOMIST
  [IMAGE]Full  contents
[IMAGE]Subscriptions
 


[IMAGE]
Customer  service 

To  stop receiving this newsletter, please send an e-mail with "unsubscribe" 
in  the subject line to business-off@ lists.economist.com  

If  you are a registered user at The Economist website, you can sign up for 
or  cancel the text and html versions of this newsletter or change your 
e-mail  address by amending your details.  

If  you would like to advise us of a new e-mail address and are not 
registered at  The Economist website, please send an e-mail with your 
request  to:
economist-
newsletters@
lists.economist.com 

[IMAGE]
[IMAGE][IMAGE]
[IMAGE]
 [IMAGE] 
[IMAGE]	[IMAGE]	[IMAGE]	[IMAGE]	Business this week
				Dec 7th 2000
				From The Economist print edition  
				
				
				Soft touch
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
				[IMAGE]
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
				Amid signs that America,s economy is slowing, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the 
Federal Reserve, admitted that inflation was no longer his primary concern. 
He also hinted that he would act if the economy slowed too sharply. Markets 
interpreted this as a sign that the Fed would soon cut interest rates. 
America,s tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped by 10%, its biggest-ever daily gain, and 
the Dow Jones Industrial Average went up by 3%, though both fell back a bit 
the next day.
				See article: A hard landing?
				
				The IMF offered new loans of $7.5 billion (and a total package worth $10.4 
billion) to Turkey, in an attempt to contain Turkey,s financial and banking 
crisis. The IMF is also negotiating new loans to Argentina, another troubled 
emerging economy.
				See article: Turkey and the IMFE+
				
				Gerhard Schr"der, Germany,s chancellor, said that Russian debt owed to 
Germany (around half of the total of $48 billion owed to the Paris Club of 
western governments) could be swapped for stakes in Russian companies. As a 
long-term solution, this has merits; but next year Russia is scheduled to 
repay $3.9 billion, and has so far allocated only a quarter of this sum.
				See article: Russian capital loves to travelE+
				
				Japan,s GDP grew by only 1.0% at an annual rate in the third quarter, a 
similar rate to the previous quarter, after growth had surged at the start of 
the year. Japan has introduced a new system for calculating GDP, although it 
may be no more reliable than previous methods. 
				
				Freeserve, at a price
				
				Wanadoo, France,s biggest Internet service provider, is to buy Britain,s 
biggest ISP, Freeserve, with shares worth some o1.6 billion ($2.3 billion). 
Wanadoo, 88% owned by France Telecom, will become one of Europe,s top three 
ISPs alongside Germany,s T-Online and Italy,s Tiscali. Both were also 
rumoured to have been interested in Freeserve.
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
				[IMAGE]
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
				EM.TV, a struggling German TV company, began a sell-off of assets and 
acquired a partner after announcing profits way below forecasts. Kirch Group, 
a German media firm, is to take a 17% stake in the company and will pay $500m 
for 49% of an EM.TV subsidiary that owns 50% of Formula One motor racing. 
EM.TV also sold the rights to some &Sesame Street8 TV characters for $180m. 
Its shares continued to plunge.
				See article: EM.TV,s fall from graceE+
				
				Reuters, a British media group, announced a successor to replace Peter Job as 
chief executive when he retires next July. Tom Glocer, head of Reuters, main 
information division, will become the first American (and first 
non-journalist) to run the company.
				
				The revival of Apple Computer, overseen by Steve Jobs, chief executive and 
co-founder, suffered a sharp setback after a profits warning. The company 
expects a loss in the quarter to the end of the year, and its revenues are 
trailing behind forecasts.
				
				British Telecom sold bonds worth $10 billion, offering high yields to 
compensate for its ballooning debt and rickety credit rating. Initial public 
offerings by Norway,s Telenor and Portugal Telecom both fell below their 
offer prices when trading began.
				
				Nokia, the world,s leading mobile-phone maker, said that revenues were likely 
to remain strong until 2003 and that the world would see its one-billionth 
mobile subscriber by early 2002, rather than the end of this year. Nokia also 
dismissed suggestions that WAP and other Internet-enabled devices would not 
catch on.
				
				I,m all right, Jack
				
				After losing out in the race to succeed Jack Welch at General Electric, two 
top executives departed. Robert Nardelli, in charge of GE Power Systems, will 
become chief executive at Home Depot, an American DIY retailer. And James 
McNerney, head of GE Aircraft Engines, will take up the chief executive,s 
role at 3M, a diversified manufacturer. Shares in both companies shot up.
				See article: GE and executive transplantsE+
				
				PepsiCo agreed to acquire Quaker Oats, an American food and drink company, 
for shares worth $13.4 billion. Quaker had turned down an offer from PepsiCo; 
a bid from Coca-Cola was halted by Coke,s own board. PepsiCo gets Quaker,s 
Gatorade brand, which has an 84.1% share of the &sports8 drink market in 
America.
				See article: Pepsi bags QuakerE+
				
				Corus, forged from the merger of British Steel and Hoogovens, a Dutch rival, 
abandoned its experiment of employing two chief executives. Both are to 
leave. The unwieldy compromise, needed to facilitate the merger, slowed down 
decision-making at a time of declining demand for steel, which had led to 
losses and a declining share price.
				
				Pernod Ricard and Diageo announced that they had agreed to bid jointly for 
the drinks business of Seagram, which is to be auctioned for a sum likely to 
exceed $7 billion after Seagram completes its merger with Vivendi, a French 
conglomerate. A side-deal by the suppliers of Captain Morgan, Seagram,s 
premium rum, with Allied Domecq, rivals for the rest of Seagram, has not 
deterred Pernod and Diageo. Bacardi, in alliance with Brown-Forman, an 
American firm, is also interested.
				
				Bad banks
				
				Bank of America issued a profit warning for the fourth quarter, blaming 
rising bad debts and poor investment-banking results. Its shares hit a 
12-month low. 
				
				Deutsche Bank announced that it would reorganise its five main units into 
only two, covering investment banking and asset management, and retail 
operations. The bank hopes to take advantage of cross-selling opportunities 
in both units.
				
				ING Barings, an Anglo-Dutch investment bank with a doubtful future, lost its 
chairman and his deputy. The departures may foreshadow a greater exodus. 
				
				[IMAGE]
				
				Economist.com wishes you the best for the holiday season. Please see our 
holiday e-card designed by KAL, with special offers from our partners: 
http://www.economist.com/holiday  
				
				
				[IMAGE]
					[IMAGE]	[IMAGE]
					[IMAGE]	[IMAGE]
				[IMAGE]	[IMAGE]	[IMAGE]
						[IMAGE]
						
						  GO TO ECONOMIST.COM
						 , Copyright 2000 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights 
reserved.
						Legal  disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions  
						[IMAGE]
						[IMAGE]