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[April 17, 2007]

Daily Mail, London, business briefs column

(Daily Mail (London) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 17--NASDAQ TAKES 12.5M HIT AFTER ITS FAILED BID: American technology stock exchange Nasdaq will take a first-quarter hit of 12.5m relating to expenses from its failed bid for the London Stock Exchange.


The costs from February's lapsed 2.7bn bid for the LSE had been disclosed previously, but the exchange had not said it would expense them in the first quarter.

The US exchange expects a quarterly profit of 9.2m when it reports figures on Thursday, compared with 9m last year. It said in a statement that it expects operating income of 40.8m.

Nasdaq finance chief David Warren said: "Based on the lapse of our offer for the London Stock Exchange... it was determined that previously discussed costs incurred as a result of our bid be expensed in the first quarter of 2007."

MADONNA RANGE BOOSTS H&M'S FLAGGING SALES: Madonna's foray into the world of fashion is paying dividends for Hennes & Mauritz.

The retailer has posted a surge in sales for March as shoppers splashed out on the one-off clothing line designed by the pop star. Underlying revenues rose 17pc, beating expectations by around 9pc.

H&M plans to continue cashing in on celebrity-endorsed fashion ranges. It will start selling bikinis designed by singer Kylie Minogue this summer.

But analysts warned the latest impressive figures had been flattered by weak trading this time last year.

UNTRUSTWORTHY BOSSES: Trusted male managers are more likely to commit company fraud than any other group of employees, according to a study by accountant KPMG.

It found the average fraudster gets away with dodgy acts over five years or more.

The study revealed 85pc of fraudsters are male, aged between 36 and 55, and are, in 86pc of cases, in management. Greed and opportunity were cited as the main motivating factors.

In more than half the 360 cases examined, the culprit committed 20 or more frauds. The total financial loss caused per case was more than 680,000.

PRETTY AS PUNCH TAVERNS: Pubs giant Punch Taverns is being promoted to the FTSE 100.

It is expected to join the blue chip brigade at the start of trade tomorrow, replacing Silk Cut maker Gallaher (up 2p at 1138p) which is delisting following its 7.5bn takeover by Japan Tobacco.

Punch shares (up 13p at 1292p) have risen 48pc in the past year and the group now has a market value of 3.4bn.

It is rumoured to be close to selling off nearly 900 pubs and Admiral Taverns is seen as the likely buyer.

SECURICOR'S HOUSE -WARMING PRESENT: Bosses at Group 4 Securicor (up 1 1/2p at 209 1/4p) know a thing or two about cash handling, not least chief operating officer Grahame Gibson.

When a merger shifted the company headquarters from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire to close to Gatwick Airport, he was handed 105,000 to cover moving house from the West Midlands to Waltonon-Thames in leafy Surrey.

The hefty expense is reminiscent of the 151,000 handed to Boots boss Richard Baker to move closer to the pharmacy chain's Nottingham base. Beancounter Helen Weir famously bagged 500,000 when she shifted 40 miles closer to Kingfisher's HQ.

Gibson, who earned 829,000 last year, spends time in the US. Group4 has also stumped up almost 30,000 in the last two years to jet his wife and children out to visit him.

CITIGROUP SEES 11PC FALL AS 17,000 JOBS CUT: Citigroup, America's biggest bank, saw an 11pc drop in first quarter profit to 2.5bn as it took a massive restructuring charge for its round of 17,000 job cuts.

This was the third consecutive quarter of falling profits, but shares climbed after it reported the fastest revenue growth in nearly three years.

Profits were up 4pc excluding the 438m exceptional charge, driven by a 36pc jump in profits from investment banking and trading.

ERINACEOUS SHARES RISE AFTER APPROACH: Shares in property services company Erinaceous soared 46 1/4p, or 19pc, to 253 1/2p after confirming it has received a number of preliminary takeover approaches.

Reports indicated private equity group 3i is backing a 375m management buyout of the firm.

The buyout firm is thought to be working on a bid of 300p a share, and possibly up to 350p.

Brokerage Daniel Stewart recommended investors take profits at 275p, saying there was little certainty over whether a deal would be concluded.

RBS SELLS 47 HOTELS AFTER JUST ONE YEAR: Royal Bank of Scotland (up 48p to 2071p) has sold off 47 Marriott hotels for 1.1bn just a year after buying them.

They were picked up by a consortium led by Irish investment group Quinlan Private, which already owns Claridges and the Connaught hotels in London, and Israeli real estate investor Igal Ahouvi Group.

The 47 four and five star hotels are mainly in England.

RBS bought the portfolio from Whitbread (up 13p at 1920p) and Marriott hotels for 951.4m in April.

To see more of the Daily Mail and the Financial Mail on Sunday, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thisismoney.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, Daily Mail, London
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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