Related Companies

• WPP Group
• Rentokil Initial

Related Indices

• FTSE All-Share
• FTSEurofirst 300
• FTSE 350
• FTSE 100
• FTSE 250

Related Sectors

• Media
• Support Services

News for Spread Betters

Previous

Next

There's a new Investor Edition of CMC Markets' spread betting platform... and it's exclusive to DigitalLook.com users...

Get full details about Marketmaker:Investor Edition here.

News for Spread Betters

Previous

Next

There's a new Investor Edition of CMC Markets' spread betting platform... and it's exclusive to DigitalLook.com users...

Get full details about Marketmaker:Investor Edition here.

Unsecured Loans

Previous

Next

Lighten the load of all those repayments with a low rate unsecured loan. This month's selected offers:

1. Barclays Loans
2. Halifax Loans

AMEX Platinum

Previous

Next

Money back on your spendings? With American Express Platinum MoneyBack card, you can get

• 5% Money Back* during your first 3 months, then
• standard Money Back rate up to 1.5% with
• typical APR 18.9% variable

Why look further? Apply now!

Digital Look's Best Picks

Previous

Next

Your money can work for you! Get it going with one of this month’s high interest current accounts:

1. A&L Premier Direct
2. Coventry First Account
3. Co-operative Current Plus

Date: Thursday 21 Aug 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - Advertising giant WPP is currently embroiled in a takeover battle for Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), so will want to put its best foot forward when it publishes its interims this week.

The value of its bid for TNS has risen over the last three weeks as the share price of WPP has steadily risen, despite reports earlier this week that Citigroup is placing 26m WPP shares at 486p each on behalf of an institutional client.

WPP is offering 173p in cash plus 0.1889 of a WPP share for each TNS share.

WPP’s proposed takeover has been cleared by the US authorities and the group has moved to circumvent potential objections to the deal from European authorities by agreeing to sell the TV ratings business of TNS to Ipsos Mori for up to £92m should its bid prove successful.

Rat-catcher and parcel delivery group Rentokil Initial has issued four profit warnings since December of last year so all of the bad news really should be out there in the market.

The conglomerate said last month its internal forecast for full year adjusted pre-tax profit is now £35m lower than at the time of its first quarter trading update.

The first signs that management had taken their eye off the ball came at the parcel delivery unit City Link, but the company is making progress in improving service levels in this unit. The malaise seems to have spread to other parts of the business, with trading deteriorating at the textiles & washrooms division.

Friday August 22

INTERIMS
Arriva, Business Control Solutions, Dragon Oil, nCipher, Rentokil Initial, Spectris, WPP Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Domino Printing, Microgen, Terrace Hill

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
M&G High Income & Growth Units

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
GDP (output, income & expenditure) (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Accsys Technologies, Castings, Close Brothers Protected VCT, Edinburgh New Income Trust, FirstGroup, Heath (Samuel) & Sons, ICAP, ILX Group, M&G High Income & Growth Units, MDM Engineering Group, Sutton Harbour, Tangent Communications

• News Channel