By mid-afternoon it was off 36.7, closing down 12.5 at 5,782.3. Supporting indices, once again, blissfully ignored the discomfort of their peers. It is a peripheral interest of BAe and a tantalising attraction to a veritable network of communication groups.Colt Telecom, a takeover candidate for much of its short-quoted life, jumped 72.5p to 1,502.5p.At one time Footsie was up 46.4 points. But that BAe stake, which logic would suggest must be shortly on the move, was an important influence. If Cable did attract a bid it could prompt BT, still seeking a deal after the American MCI group got away, to mount a counter strike.Orange, up 21p at 381p, felt the warmth of analytical upgrades.

It is believed to have held talks with a number of overseas group and on at least one occasion got round the negotiating with BT. Optimistic talk of an 800p a share offer orchestrated by Lazard Freres, the merchant bank, was behind the activity.The telecoms group was said to be in the sights of Continental interests; Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, operating in tandem, were identified as the most likely predators.Rumours have often swirled around Cable. Takeover gossips dialled into Cable; Orange continued to enjoy Thursday’s upbeat trading statement and renewed speculation about British Aerospace’s 21.1 per cent shareholding.
Cable shares climbed 25p to 700, a closing peak, in brisk trading. However, he says the decision to expand will be driven by the market.”We can’t become a daily until the market wants one,” he said.. TELECOM groups Cable and Wireless and Orange survived a blue- chip somersault which killed what, at one time, seemed likely to be to another record-breaking run. Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport has an average circulation of 376,000, with a peak sale of 618,000 on Monday. In France, L’Equipe sells 372,000 copies a day.Mirror Group, which owns the Sporting Life, is believed to be preparing to expand the racing newspaper into a general sports title later this year.Mr Young also has plans to expand First Sport, first producing extra issues on Saturday and Monday, before moving to a seven-day operation.

It will also focus heavily on statistics, offering a comprehensive results service for even minor regional football leagues.The success of BSkyB has shown that British consumers are willing to pay heavily for access to sport, especially football. However, no pure sports paper has ever succeeded.The format works well in other European countries, though. It will be divided into two 24-page sections, with the second segment devoted entirely to football. “I’m trying to expand the market by 0.9 per cent.”The venture is a slimmed-down version of Mr Young’s original idea, which was to launch a daily sports paper. However, he struggled to find funding for the idea and eventually settled for a more modest Sunday format.The paper will have a core editorial staff of about 20, but will rely heavily on stringers and freelancers to supply match reports. “You’ve got 17 million newspapers produced in this country every day,” he says. Priced at 50p, it is designed to be a secondary purchase for Sunday newspaper readers.Mr Young’s is aiming for a circulation of 150,000, and the paper needs to sell 100,000 sales a week to break even Mr Young regards this as a modest target.

The paper is aimed at the “serious” sports fan although it will have the liveliness of a tabloid.
Keith Young, the entrepreneur who has funded the venture with more than pounds 1.5m of his own money, said the paper was aimed at readers of the Sunday broadsheets who want more sports coverage. Called Sport First, the paper will be a 48-page broadsheet which is hoping to cash in on the apparently insatiable demand among newspaper readers for sports coverage. Employers working closely with their workforce is at the heart of a successful and competitive business.”. THE FIRST edition of a newspaper devoted entirely to sports will hit the newsstands tomorrow. “We believe that unionised companies can do better than non-unionised providing the structure is right,” he said.Ian McCartney, Trade and Industry Minister, said he was delighted that Tesco and Usdaw were strengthening their relationship “It is a milestone for both parties.