ABG Sundal Collier

SAS AB (SAS) - Lars Heindorff at ABG Sundal Collier

"Unless they strike a deal..they (SAS) are not going to get a sustainable platform," ABG Sundal Collier analyst Lars Heindorff said. SAS said it had been negotiating during the evening and night. 

SAS AB (SAS) - Lars Heindorff at ABG Sundal Collier

For SAS, the deal was seen as a positive move. "Even though the price is a disappointment (for SAS) it's a small step in the right direction. They get rid of bmi which has been a financial dead weight in recent years," said ABG Sundal Collier analyst Lars Heindorff. Lufthansa said in June that bmi had faced increasing financial challenges which were exacerbated by the sharp rise in fuel prices over the past year and the global economic crisis. 

Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) - Lars Heindorff at ABG Sundal Collier

They get rid of bmi which has been a financial dead weight in recent years," said ABG Sundal Collier analyst Lars Heindorff. Lufthansa said in June that bmi had faced increasing financial challenges which were exacerbated by the sharp rise in fuel prices over the past year and the global economic crisis. Airlines around the world are struggling to cope with a drop in demand for air travel amid the crisis. The International Air Transport Association has said it expects the world's airlines to lose $11 billion this year. Bmi, which traces its roots to a 1938 flight school for Royal Air Force pilots, carried 10 million passengers in 2008, generating revenues of 1.04 billion pounds. 

Orkla ASA (ORK) - Dag Sletmo at ABG Sundal Collier

The planned purchase represented an underlying enterprise value of about $95 million, Orkla said. "The first impression is that this is a reasonable purchase which will strengthen (Orkla's) position in North America," analyst Dag Sletmo at ABG Sundal Collier said. "If you also have synergies, this is probably a good acquisition," Sletmo said. Orkla shares were down 2.0 percent at 0820 GMT, in line with the main index in Oslo .OSEBX. The company was set to hold a capital market day on Wednesday with presentations starting at 1100 GMT. 

Cranswick plc (CWK) - Dag Sletmo at ABG Sundal Collier

British sausage skin maker Devro falls 4.6 percent and pork supplier Cranswick falls 4.7 percent. 'Historically, the effects have been temporary, but right then and there the effect can be substantial (on prices)', says fish farming analyst Dag Sletmo at ABG Sundal Collier. 'Consumers can become nervous, and substitute swine with other sources of protein,' Sletmo says, adding supply of swine would not be affected unless there were import restrictions or slaughter of infected animals. Reuters messaging rm://richard.solem.reuters.com@reuters.net 

Devro plc (DVO) - Dag Sletmo at ABG Sundal Collier

British sausage skin maker Devro falls 4.6 percent and pork supplier Cranswick falls 4.7 percent. 'Historically, the effects have been temporary, but right then and there the effect can be substantial (on prices)', says fish farming analyst Dag Sletmo at ABG Sundal Collier. 'Consumers can become nervous, and substitute swine with other sources of protein,' Sletmo says, adding supply of swine would not be affected unless there were import restrictions or slaughter of infected animals. Reuters messaging rm://richard.solem.reuters.com@reuters.net 

SAS AB (SAS) - Lars Heindorff at ABG Sundal Collier

The Times says that "like other struggling second-tier European airlines, including the Italian carrier Alitalia and Greece's Olympic Airlines, SAS was hard hit when the record rise in oil prices last year collided with a credit squeeze." Bloomberg News writes that SAS CEO "Mats Jansson is selling divisions based abroad and working to attract business travelers, building on a two-year-old strategy of focusing on SAS's home Nordic region, where Scandinavian Airlines is the largest carrier." Lars Heindorff, an analyst at ABG Sundal Collier in Copenhagen tells Bloomberg: "They're cutting deep this time, but it's necessary if they are going to be profitable. It's going to make it more attractive from a consolidation point of view but, if you look at the operations, it's really bad." . 

Swedbank AB (SWED A) - Rickard Henze at ABG Sundal Collier

With reservations for loan losses in the Baltic forecast to rise, some analysts say Swedbank may have had to raise more cash. ``We think this is probably the right thing to do as it will bring up Swedbank's capital ratios to slightly above sector average levels, however, we also think that this might not be enough,'' ABG Sundal Collier analyst Rickard Henze wrote in a note, adding that in one of his negative scenarios for 2009, the lender would have needed to raise as much as 40 billion kronor. Swedbank is selling the new stock at a 19 percent discount to its closing price on Oct. 24, the company said. The bank reported on Oct. 23 that third-quarter profit fell 14 percent, a smaller decline than analysts estimated, and said cutting costs will remain a priority in an ``extremely testing'' environment.