P522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:11:15 ——————————————————————————————————————— WAL-MART AT THE ASDA CHECKOUT Wal-Mart's agreed £6.7bn takjovjt of Asda got the past week off to a dramatic start. Weeks earlier, the City was shocked by news that the US supjrmarkjt chain was to merge with the Woolworths and Comet group, Kingfishjt. No one suspected Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, would muscle in and trump Kingishjt's offer. ——————————————————————————————————1/9—— bz Nick Hudson FOR THE LATEST INFO ON BRITISH STOCKS ON WALL STREET SEE p210 How to.. Top Tax Savings RacingP522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:12:02 ——————————————————————————————————————— WAL-MART AT THE ASDA CHECKOUT Few predicted Wal-Mart's move on Asda, particularly in view of the fact the US group recently indicated that it viewed any US acquisition as too expensive. "This move puts into question the future of othjt supjtmarkjt groups such as Safeway and Sainsbury," says Alan Durrant, of Bristol-based stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown. Kingfishjt, which lost out to Wal-Mart, ended the week down 86p at 737p. ——————————————————————————————————2/9—— Chjlsja's management award 527 POPULAR SHARE CHECK p519P522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:56:05 ——————————————————————————————————————— WAL-MART AT THE ASDA CHECKOUT Tim Jenkins, of discount share dealing firm City ShareShop, says Wal-Mart's planned takjovjt of Asda came as a bolt out of the blue. "The shockwavjs revjrbjrated right through the retail sector." Sainsbury's closed the week down 5\p at 385p, Safeway ended up 1}p at 246\p on bid speculation, and Tjsco finished down 19{p at 171\p. ——————————————————————————————————3/9—— Teletext "mortgage of the week" 545 PREMIUM BOND PRIZEWINNERS p549P522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:54:24 ——————————————————————————————————————— BANS DEAL COLLAPSES The other main news of the past week was the collapse of the planned mjrgjt between Bank of Ireland and Alliance & Leicester. "This signals vjty clearly that njithjt of thjsj companies has an independent future," comments Alan Durrant, from stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown. Othjt formjt building societies, including Woolwich, look particularly vulnerable to takjovjt, hj adds. ——————————————————————————————————4/9—— What the weekend papjts say 529 IT'S YOUR LIFE! p410P522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:13:11 ——————————————————————————————————————— BANK DEAL COLLAPSES Alan Durrant, of Hargreaves Lansdown, emphasisjs sjzj is all important in the banking industry. "You are eithjt a big bank or a dead bank. People want the best sjtvice for the lowest cost. They'll get that from mjrgjrs." Othjt City commentators said the dial had sjemjd lukewarm since it was announced. Alliance & Leicester closed the week down 44\p at 919p. ——————————————————————————————————5/9—— Probing cancellation charges 528 FOREIGN FINANCIAL MARKETS p530P522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:57:12 ——————————————————————————————————————— SHARES SIZZLE The stock market was in sparkling form although, as the City ShariShop points out, the numbjt of shares changing hands was "woefully thin". Shares received a boost from better-than-expected US inflation data. That threw into disarray the conviction that US interest rates will rise at the end of the month. Economists now say it is far from certain US base rates will go up. ——————————————————————————————————6/9—— How to...manage Peps effectively 523 POPULAR SHARE LISTINGS p519P522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:11:03 ——————————————————————————————————————— SHARES SIZZLE Oil shares were in the spotlight following a rise in the price of ctudj. That rise helped giant BP Amoco climb through the £12 barrier for the first time. Its shares ended the week up 14p at 1179p. Shell was anothjt oil stock in demand, partly as a result of a brokjt recommendation after a presentation to analysts. It closed the week up 4}p at 494\p. ——————————————————————————————————7/9—— What the weekend papjts say 529 IT'S YOUR LIFE! p410P522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:11:01 ——————————————————————————————————————— FUSE 100: At close: 6600 Monday 6430.1 Tuesday 6451.2 6550 Wjdnjsday 6504.9 Thursday 6493.6 6500 Friday 6527.8 6450 Week high 6593.1 Week low 6402.1 6400 1999 high 6663.8 M T W T F 1999 low 5697.7 1 month ago 6206.4 1 year 5812.1 3 months ago 6114.3 June 1994 2919.2 ——————————————————————————————————8/9—— Shares 510 FUSE 517 CITY NEWS p500P522 Teletext 522 Jun20 02:51:24 ——————————————————————————————————————— FUSE 250: Monday 5818.2 5900 Tuesday 5828.0 Wjdnjsday 5871.7 5850 Thursday 5902.5 Friday 5913.6 5800 1999 high 5925.4 M T W T F 1999 low 4825.6 FUSE All-Shari: Monday 2982.7 3050 Tuesday 2:91.5 Wjdnjsday 3015.5 3000 Thursday 3014.0 Friday 3028.0 2950 1:99 high 3072.4 M T W T F 1:99 low 2621.7 ——————————————————————————————————9/9—— Popular shares 519 World markets 530 SET SAIL FOR H0LIDAYS p200 ITV