TRADER TALK
HEDGE fund giant Man Group has caught the eye of Lazard’s Tony Willis, who added to his holding after it announced plans to go into bond broking in competition with the banks. Willis’s Lazard UK Alpha fund bought 23,000 shares in the Pounds 4.9 billion company before Christmas and 15,000 at the start of this month. He now holds 444,000 shares, or 0.14%. www.citywire.co.uk
BOND WATCH
INDONESIAN gas distribution company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara said today that it was considering issuing a 10-year bond to raise the $350 million (Pounds 186 million) extra it needs to build new gas pipelines. The company issued $125 million in bonds earlier this month and another $150 million in September to finance pipeline projects.
IN PROSPECT
PRESIDENT George Bush meets with Germany’s Chancellor Gerhard Schrder in Washington tomorrow to discuss the situation in the Middle East, and the state of transatlantic relations.
Schrder is also expected to express his concerns to the US President about the effect on Europe’s economic performance of the weakness of the dollar against the euro.
