Angela Knight, chief executive of the Association of Private Client Stockbrokers and Investment Managers (APCIMS), said yesterday that there is still widespread concern about aspects of the London Frankfurt stock exchange deal.
The reservations persist despite a charm offensive by Don Cruickshank, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) chairman, aimed at winning disgruntled members round to the formation of the combined exchange, dubbed iX.Claims that small brokers had been reassured by Mr Cruickshank were a triumph of “hope over reality”, Ms Knight said. She said that she was not hopeful that a forthcoming LSE memorandum on the deal’s terms – expected within the next two weeks – would fully reassure the group’s membership. The retail brokers lobby has called a series of meetings of its members over the next eight weeks to discuss what should be done if the LSE fails to address its concerns.The organisation accounts for 35 per cent of the Exchange’s voting membership of 290. To pass, the merger proposal must be approved by three quarters of members.

Brokers have expressed concern about the implications of having companies trading under different regulatory regimes on the same market, and the implications of the deal on attempts to create a central counterparty in London to guarantee the integrity of trades.Ms Knight said that it was impossible to predict at this stage how many, if any, of APCIMs’ members were prepared to vote against the deal. Most brokers are saying that they will wait until they see the information memorandum setting out the terms of the deal before making up their minds. But she warned that unless members’ worries about regulation and settlement were addressed in the document “we will see some serious disappointment”.Recent discussions with Mr Cruickshank had indicated that the information memorandum is likely to concentrate on the financials of the deal rather than on the key issues of regulation and settlement, which are worrying private client brokers.The LSE has not formally responded to Ms Knight’s appeal to delay consideration of the deal until there was more clarity on key issues However, Ms Knight has been told not to expect any slippage in the timetable. The LSE is expected to call a meeting to approve the deal for September.A limited dealing facility in LSE shares will go into operation when the information memorandum is out.

However, a limit of 4.9 per cent has been imposed on individual holdings, which will prevent the international global houses backing iX from buying up stakes to railroad the deal through.. The explosion in business over the Internet, while spurring growth, presents serious challenges to traditional means of taxation and economic regulation, finance chiefs from the world’s richest nations warned Saturday. The explosion in business over the Internet, while spurring growth, presents serious challenges to traditional means of taxation and economic regulation, finance chiefs from the world’s richest nations warned Saturday.
The summit meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations stressed the development of e-commerce has raised a plethora of tax and regulatory issues, but called for cooperation in finding ways to regulate e-commerce without stifling it.The finance ministers also discussed debt relief, money laundering and suggested several reforms to focus the scope of lending made by the International Monetary Fund.Drawing on the lessons of the currency crisis that spread through Asia in late 1997 and early 1998, the G-7 wants to strengthen the IMF’s crisis management and monitoring capabilities to help it better prevent crises in the future.Despite their concerns, the finance ministers hailed the development of e-commerce, saying it has the potential to become a “major force in the global economy.”But Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa warned that it will be crucial for the leaders in the information technology and e-commerce revolution to help bridge the gap to those nations now lagging behind.”The IT revolution is not all good,” he said. “If you fall behind, there is a risk of a digital divide.”The ministers also noted that while commerce over the Internet may require adaptations, tax policy should not discriminate against any form of commerce, whether it be electronic or traditional.The finance meeting was to lay the groundwork for the annual Group of Eight summit, which is to be held on the island of Okinawa later this month.President Clinton and the leaders of England, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and host Japan will attend the Okinawa summit.

Russia is not a formal member of the finance ministers’ group, but its finance minister was present here and President Vladimir Putin will attend the broader Okinawa summit.The Okinawa meeting could well be an emotional one – Clinton will be the first U.S. president to visit Okinawa since it was returned to Japanese administration in 1972 and tensions between Okinawans and the 26,000 U.S. troops still stationed there are endemic.Those tensions have heated up again over the past week following the arrest of a 19-year-old Marine who allegedly forced his way into the room of a local schoolgirl and fondled her.Officials here had no comment on that, however, and the talks were decidedly low-key, though about 100 demonstrators carrying coffins marched to protest for a quick decision to relieve the debt of the world’s most impoverished nations.Exchangright direction. And, unlike past meetings, the heads of the countries’ central banks are not attending this summit.The finance ministers also did not issue a formal communique after their talks – they instead released detailed reports on e-commerce and on the IMF reforms to be passed on to their leaders before the Okinawa talks.Possibly the most sensitive issue discussed Saturday was Japan’s fledgling economic recovery.Japan has shown signs of emerging from its deepest slump in decades. But consumers are still reluctant to spend, meaning the economy remains dependent on massive infusions of spending by the government.In pre-summit meetings, Miyazawa stressed the economy is largely on track, but said Tokyo would consider whether a supplementary budget is needed after studying April-June gross domestic product data due out in September.He avoided the issue of the Bank of Japan’s zero interest rate policy.

Many of Japan’s G-7 partners are concerned the BOJ may be about to increase its interest rates slightly in the next few weeks – a step they fear could undermine the budding recovery.U.S Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the G-7 respects Japan’s position.”No one wants to see sustained domestic demand-led growth more than Japanese officials,” he said. “They are certainly supported in that recognition by the G-7 ministers.”. The construction and tool hire company Allen is understood to be close to a £22m takeover of Bristol-based Brandon Hire. The construction and tool hire company Allen is understood to be close to a £22m takeover of Bristol-based Brandon Hire.
Analysts said yesterday a merger of the two operations would give the critical mass needed to compete in the equipment rental sector.News of the takeover negotiations seeped into the market in recent days prompting a rise in Brandon shares from a 12-month low of 63.5p to 72.5p yesterday. The firm announced yesterday that it was in discussions with an unnamed company, which “if completed successfully could lead to an offer being made”.