Asda which also had to contend with the added setback over its

Asda, which also had to contend with the added setback over its drugs price battle, lost 1.5p to 118.25p.Cable & Wireless rose 9p to 420p following the flotation of Asia Satellite Communications in Hong Kong; its 33 per cent has been cut to 23 per cent, netting pounds 60m.Greene King, the East Anglian brewer splashing out pounds 197.5m for The Magic Pub Co, rose 24p to 692p.Fibernet, planning a national high-speed network, produced a wire-humming debut, touching 139p and settling at 131p against a 100p issue price.But Carnell, the travel publisher from the Nigel Wray stable, was a disappointment failing to reach its 27p suspension price. It was unclear whether Warburg managed to place all the shares at its 625p asking price.The latest round in the superstore hostilities left Tesco off 5.5p to 300.5p. Scottish shares were little changed at 305p; they have felt the strain of bid action and are only just above their 12-month low.Southern Electric was dulled 4p to 672p and the target slipped 5p to 988p.Smith & Nephew, the health-care group, stretched to a new high of 215.25p as takeover hopes mingled with prospects for its artificially grown skin development, but Carlton Communications was caught out by suggestions that Disney was cutting back film production which would hit its video operations.A 3.08 million sale at 509p also contributed to a 15p fall to 513p.RTZ improved 11p to 983 as the copper market appeared more stable and Johnson Matthey, the metals group, eased 20p to 630p as SBC Warburg, in a bought deal, took on 9.9 per cent stake from Minorco, the South African group. The strike price is 405p.The rest of the market had another uneventful session with the FT-SE 100 index giving up 5.1 points at 3,756.4.Hopes are rising that ScottishPower is on the verge of lifting its offer for Southern Water.Its first splash, pounds 1.5bn, was topped by Southern Electric’s pounds 1.6bn. This year’s would produce pounds 240m; next year’s pounds 350m and the 1997 warrants pounds 425m.There is little doubt BTR would sorely miss the income as the proceeds have almost certainly been factored into its cash calculations.The 1997 warrants, also offering a switch into shares at 258p, fell 3.5p to 21.5p; the l998 version is now down to 6p. “We never comment on market rumours,”, was the company’s response to inquiries.The group has three sets of warrants outstanding. The 1995/96 warrants dropped to 9.5p; they could be dead in the water, giving holders the right to subscribe for one new share at 258p in the 30 days following September’s interim report.The latest decline was sparked by stories that big investors were being sounded out about a possible dividend cut; a reduced profit forecast by BZW and suggestions the conglomerate had called analyst meetings for next week.BTR refused to confirm any meetings had been arranged.

In some quarters the 3i deal is seen as a forerunner to unlocking BZW.BTR fell 5p to 259p, lowest for four years. In busy trading Barclays rose 18p to 800p with the market enjoying its adroit sale of part of its 3i shareholding and continuing to speculate it has a big deal on its banking floor, perhaps the flotation of its Barclays de Zoete Wedd investment side.
Rumours BZW is set to be demerged have been flying around the market for some weeks. Weak exports and strong imports were the only negative factors on growth

Bloomberg. Barclays, the banking group, and BTR, the suffering conglomerate, dominated a lacklustre stock market. The bank’s story was one of optimism with the shares said to be heading for 900p, but for BTR it was another round of anxiety and uncertainty. Growth was boosted by almost every category, from consumption to capital expenditure to government spending and housing investment.

Japan’s economy grew by 3.0 per cent in the first quarter of 1996 compared with the previous three months – the strongest quarterly performance since the beginning of 1973 before the impact was felt of the first oil shock Gross domestic product rose by an annual rate 12.7 per cent. As a result, Minorco is looking to increase its cash assets.In February this year, Minorco sold a 9.6 per cent holding worth about $82m in US oil and gas company Santa Fe Energy Resources.A month later, it received a total of about $250m by disposing of an 18.9 per cent stake in Australian mining group Normandy Mining and a 3.7 per cent interest in the company’s gold mining arm, PosGold.The spokeswoman said Minorco would be reviewing the situation and selling other investments as the need arose.Last year, Minorco, whose chief executive is Hank Slack, announced a 51 per cent increase in underlying profits, to $365m.. Minorco, the South African-owned natural resources group, has pulled out of the precious metals and specialist ceramics group Johnson Matthey by selling its near-10 per cent stake to broker SBC Warburg for pounds 132m. Warburg was understood to be seeking to place the stock at about 625p a share.

Johnson Matthey closed down 20p at 630p.
The company – which is owned by Anglo American, the Oppenheimer family and De Beers, and chaired by Julian Ogilvie Thompson – explained that the sale of the 9.9 per cent holding was part of a programme of disposals designed to strengthen the company’s balance sheet as it prepared to develop several significant mining projects around the world.Explaining that the stake had been a “non-strategic investment”, a Minorco spokeswoman said that the company had been “a totally different animal” when the Johnson Matthey shares were acquired from Charter Consolidated at 490p in February 1993.For example, Minorco had wanted to be exposed to the platinum market, she said.Recently, Minorco acquired several mines at various stages of development and estimates that these will require funding of about $2bn, half of which will come from the Minorco balance sheet. The Stock Exchange will have to take a tough line with nominated advisers in such cases if the new market is to establish long-term credibility But thus far, the babe seems to be in rude health.. Some will go to the wall because they are intrinsically risky, and if their prospectuses said so, who can complain But others will be bad apples. On the whole then, Aim is fulfilling its purpose of providing a market, and a source of capital, for smaller companies.The main question mark now is over how the Exchange copes with the collapses that are inevitable in a market of more than 160 small companies. Even so, Ivory & Sime Baronsmead, which raised pounds 44m this spring to invest in an Aim investment trust, is said to be ahead of its target of investing half the funds within three months, and the trading volume of 4.2 stocks has trebled once they moved over to Aim. But these are mostly small companies and it is the numbers of new entrants that count – a total of 13 in May alone.It is hard to buy a large line of shares without moving the price excessively, so larger deals are naturally taking place off market.

Increasing the liquidity of the market will remain a key objective. Some pounds 39m was raised in March, pounds 56m in April and pounds 53m in May, with market participants predicting a substantial increase this month.This may not sound large compared with the venture capital needs of British industry. In the 11 months to the end of May, 80 new entrants to Aim raised pounds 347m new money. Another 82 companies transferred from the 4.2 market and two from the USM.At the start Aim was slow to produce new money for companies, but then things picked up. Aim was set up after a long wrangle over how how tightly it should be regulated. The compromise was a market with few rules, and with the main responsibility for ensuring that companies on Aim were honest and decent given to the nominated advisers who bring them to market.In the event, there have been almost as many new issues on Aim as companies transferring from the old Rule 4.2 market and from the unsuccessful USM, which is being phased out at the end of the year. With a year under its belt, it’s worth conducting a short health check.