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In spite of Commerzbank Chief Executive Stephan Engels's promise last August to resume dividend payments in 2013, Germany's second largest bank may end up skipping the payout, according to media reports. German paper WirstschaftsWoche cited sources in top management who explained that the institution will have to break its promise due to the weak business outlook. The bank is having a rough time making profits from customer deposits due to the low interest rates, these sources told the paper. Nevertheless, Commerzbank was trading up 1.44% at €1.409 on Monday morning.

Plexus Holdings, the oil and gas engineering services business, has won a four-year contract to supply equipment to Brunei Shell Petroleum. The value of the initial contract is estimated to be worth approximately two million pounds over the next 18 months, dependent on the number of wells drilled. Revenues commence in October 2012. Under the terms of the contract, which are subject to finalisation, Plexus will supply both High Pressure/High Temperature (HP/HT) and standard pressured wellhead and mudline systems for a multi-well exploration programme in Brunei. In early morning trading the Aim-listed company, with a market cap of 110m pounds, was up 5% at 135p.

The joint firm would replace the shareholder arrangements which currently give Daimler, Lagardère and the French state joint control over EADS. "That would mean creating a business with governance structures which would enable it to operate in a normal commercial manner and which confers the same rights on all shareholders, large and small,' the letter said. However, this could create problems with the German and French governments, which are keen to maintain their influence in EADS. 'We are very focused on agreeing arrangements which protect the strategic and national security interests of the governments with which we work, particularly in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, given the importance of those markets to the combined group." EADS and BAE have already said they will offer the British, French and German governments a golden share in the new company to ease concerns over any future hostile takeovers. A 'golden share' is a nominal share which is able to outvote all other shares in certain circumstances.

The bosses of BAE Systems and EADS have set out their case for the proposed merger of their firms in a joint letter to UK, French and German newspapers. The two defence firms are proposing a $45bn - £28bn - deal, but this has proved controversial due to concerns over national security and job losses. It would create a defence giant with a 60/40 post-merger weighting in favour of EADS. The letter, signed by Ian King, Chief Executive of BAE Systems, and Tom Enders, Chief Executive of EADS, said the time was right "to seize the moment and to create something that is even stronger and better". It appeals for "the necessary political will and support" to create a firm that would "be able better to ride the cycles of civil aviation demand and defence spending". "We would be a business with the scale and stability to invest more in R&D, and a force for greater competition and growth," the letter reads. "All of this would deliver tangible benefits to our customers in each of the defence, aerospace and security worlds." It acknowledges that jobs could well be lost, saying "clearly, there will be scope for efficiency savings when two companies of our size come together, but great benefit will derive from our ability to exploit new business opportunities"

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) said it had completed the sale of its leadership and conferences business Evanta to Leeds Equity Partners. The publishing and exhibitions group said the deal, announced in September, was worth £58m ($94m). When the deal was announced, DMGT Chief Executive Martin Morgan said the sale of Evanta was an example of how the firm was focusing its financial and talent resources. "We are committed to further expanding our fast growing events businesses operating in the energy and digital marketing sectors and those located in the Middle East region," he said at the time.

EADS's major shareholders also include German company Daimler and the French state, and together hold a 44% stake. Daimler's Chief Executive, Dieter Zetsche, has previously stated that it wants to focus on its automotive business, saying: "It's not our key responsibility to define the future strategy of the aerospace industry." Stephan Boehm, a Commerzbank analyst, said that rather act as a deal breaker, Lagardere's comments "are in line with what Daimler has already communicated". "I think there is still room to maneuver and to come up with a slightly more favorable ratio for EADS shareholders," he added.

Lagardere, a major shareholder in EADS, has blasted the terms of its proposed merger with BAE Systems as "unsatisfactory", prompting a backlash from EADS investors. Lagardere, which in 2005 sold half of its original 15% stake in EADS, said in a statement on Monday - 10 days before the formal merger agreement is presented - that EADS needs to demonstrate how the merger would create value. Shares in EADS have dropped 17% since the plan was announced, equal to a combined $5.26bn in market value, Bloomberg reported. The two defence firms are proposing a $45bn - £28bn - deal, but this has proved controversial due to concerns over national security and job losses. It would create a defence giant with a 60/40 post-merger weighting in favour of EADS. In the statement, Largarde said: "Lagardere calls on the management of EADS to undertake, without delay, the indispensable re-examination of the project to combine EADS and BAE, to better take into account the interest of all the French controlling shareholders of EADS."

Cluff Gold, the dual AIM and TSX listed, West African focused gold miner has changed its name to Amara Mining. It has also announced the resignation of three non-executive Directors as part of the Board's review of its structure. Consensus estimates for this mid-tier gold producer are for a pre-tax profit of 11.36m pounds for the year ending 31 December 2012, putting it on a forward PE ratio of approximately 23.

Film distributor Entertainment One has said that following a special meeting at the end of September, the company's shareholders have agreed to the placing of 73.3m shares at 150p per new common share. The placing raised £110m. The company also announced that trading in the first six months of the year continued in line with management expectations, with increased activity across the Entertainment division, driven by the planned higher investment both in films and television programmes. The group released over 85 film titles theatrically compared to 74 in the first half last year and delivered over 130 half hours of television programming compared to 73 in the comparative period. In particular, the group's UK film business released 10 titles theatrically compared to three in the first half last year. As a result of the timing of, and increased number of theatrical releases, group revenues will be up in the first half with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) lower than in the comparative period. The company has recently finalised its annual independent library valuation, valuing its Film, Television and Music library in excess of $385m at March 31st 2012, up from $350m at March 31st 2011.

Shares in drugs giant AstraZeneca were hit in afternoon trading on Monday after the company revealed that it has suspended its share repurchase programme. After trading in the blue in morning trade, shares swung into negative territory shortly after the announcement, trading down 1.93% at 2,898p by 14:08. The company has repurchased a net $0.7bn of shares since the end of the first half, bringing the year-to-date total to $2.3bn. The group's initial full-year target for repurchases stands at $4.5bn. Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot, who was appointed as frontman of the pharmaceuticals mammoth on August 28th, said in a statement: "As I assume my new responsibilities at AstraZeneca, I believe this is a prudent step that maintains flexibility while the board and I complete the company's ongoing annual strategy update." Nevertheless, the firm reassured that its core earnings per share (EPS) target range for the full year remains at $6.00-6.30.

FTSE 100 engineering firm GKN said it had completed the acquisition of Volvo Aero, the aero engine division of AB Volvo. Volvo Aero designs, engineers and manufactures components and sub-assemblies for aircraft engine turbines. The acquisition was announced back in early July. GKN said the combination of its aerospace division and Volvo Aero would create a world leader in both aero structures and aero engine components. GKN paid around £633m for the firm with the aid of a £140m placing back in July of new shares at 200p each with institutional investors. The rest of the money came from new debt facilities. The placing represented about 5% of the firm's market capitalisation based on its July 4th 2012 closing share price.

FTSE 250 media and digital communications group Aegis has snapped up marketing agency Irokeesi Oy in an effort to strengthen its media product portfolio in Finland. Irokeesi, which had gross assets worth €0.9m at the end of 2011, services its clients in the areas of in-store promotion, event and festival management, street team activation, sampling and business-to-business promotion. Previous clients include Kelloggs, Mercedes Benz, Lego, Coca-Cola, L'Oreal, Nestle and Arla Foods, some of whom are already clients of Aegis Media in Finland. The company was acquired for an undisclosed sum. "We are thrilled to have acquired Irokeesi, the leading experiential marketing company in Finland. Irokeesi will strengthen Aegis Media Finland product offer in the market and will enable us to offer even more integrated marketing services for our clients in Finland," said Aegis's Chief Executive Officer Juha Herranen. Aegis was trading 0.21% higher at 236p before the close of trade on Monday

Engineering support firm Babcock's second quarter interim management statement should reveal further progress on the expanding bid pipeline, broker Panmure Gordon products. "We expect the core areas of its business in Marine and Defence to remain solid. One area of concern could be South Africa, albeit we note its exposure here is on domestic consumption rather than international resources," the broker cautions.

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Engineering support firm Babcock's second quarter interim management statement should reveal further progress on the expanding bid pipeline, broker Panmure Gordon products. "We expect the core areas of its business in Marine and Defence to remain solid. One area of concern could be South Africa, albeit we note its exposure here is on domestic consumption rather than international resources," the broker cautions. On the economic front, the Nationwide Houser Price Index for September is expected to show no change from August, and is tipped to be down 0.6% year-on-year.

If market rumours are to be believed, plumbers' merchant Wolseley could announce a special dividend with its full-year results on Tuesday. If it does so, that would represent a remarkable turnaround for a company which not so long ago looked set to collapse under the weight of its own debt. "The group is the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials in North America, the UK and Continental Europe. Although these markets are very competitive, Wolseley has made good progress in the year to July 2012 driven largely by the revenue uplift in North America," notes Charles Stanley's Tony Shepard. It is these North American revenues which are supposed to be underpinning the payment of a special divi, if, indeed, Wolseley decides to pay one. Shepard is predicting an increase in the full-year pay-out from 45p last year to 60p this, on the back of earnings per share up from 143p to 164p. Charles Stanley has pencilled in a figure of £618m for pre-tax profit. "It is pleasing that Wolseley delivered strong LFL [like-for-like] revenue trends in the USA but the Eurozone crisis is beginning to [have an] impact [on] the European performance. In particular, the Nordic region which includes Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway is facing more challenging trading conditions. Also, there may be some negative currency translation effects," Shepard reckons.

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The performance of the Investment Company's investment portfolio remains "solid" and provisions for the full year should be broadly in line with market expectations. However, provisions for the first half are expected to be higher than in the second half as two assets are currently undergoing restructuring. On the Fund Management side of the business, assets under management as at September 27th stood at €12bn, up from €11.8bn as at July 9th. The increase was largely due to additional investments to the ICG Europe Fund V. This fund has received commitments of €1.5bn to date and is on track to reach the group's €2bn target in the fourth quarter of 2012. "We have also launched our Total Credit Fund which combines investments in high yield bonds, senior loans and CLO [collateralised loan obligation] debt. The fund is off to a strong start with a 4% return since inception on July 13th," the group said.

Intermediate Capital Group, the specialist investment firm and asset manager, said it lent more than it received in repayments in the first half of its financial year. The provider of mezzanine finance and leveraged credit said its Investment Company unit saw realisations in the April to September period run at a lower level than in the corresponding period of last year. A total of £70m of principal repayments have been received in the April to September period, while £12m of rolled up interest has been crystallised and there have been realised capital gains of £10m. A number of Intermediate Capital's investments are currently in active exit processes but visibility on timing remains unclear as transactions are often delayed in the current volatile environment. "This will have a positive impact on our overall return on investments as our mezzanine financing runs for longer than historical averages, but it leads to low levels of realisations in the short term," the firm explained. The Investment Company unit deployed £140m in the reporting period on five new assets. Undrawn debt facilities at September 30th will be £440m, the group revealed.

Multi-national design and engineering consultancy Hyder said it now expects first half pre-tax profit to be well ahead of previous forecasts after it was buoyed by the timing of performance bonuses in Australia. In its update ahead of its half year results for the six months to September 30th 2012 the group said overall, the Asia Pacific region will be ahead of plan. Australia again performed strongly benefiting after the better than anticipated performance bonuses. The robust performance has partially offset by contract delays and investments in China where the group expects to incur a small loss in the first half. It added that new project awards should improve results there in the second half. Middle East results are in line with plan and well ahead of the first half last year while UK market conditions continue to be challenging, particularly in the highways sector, and results for the year are likely to be below the company's initial expectations. The group said net cash balances at the half-year are expected to be substantially higher than at September 30th 2011.