Anglo pledged to spend another $3bn buying in shares this year on top of the $7.5bn buyback programme started last year.

Share buybacks are used by companies to cancel shares, thereby improving the rating of their business, which management hopes will translate to a rising share price.

Buybacks have become a feature of the big, cash-generative mining and oil companies who, growing rich on the commodities prices boom, have more cash than they need to re-invest in the business. They are often preferred as a more tax- efficient ‘return’ to shareholders and easier to execute than paying investors special .

The Anglo buyback splurge comes after another record year for the business, with underlying profits soaring by 46% to $5.5bn.

Record production levels across most of its commodities is also seeing the ordinary cranked up, rising by 21% to 75 cents for the second half of the year and up 20% to 108 cents for the full year.

Chief executive Tony Traher warned that the American economy could dampen growth this year.

‘Continued growth in China and India in 2007 is likely to largely offset weaker US growth,’ he said.

‘The decline in global growth from the strong level achieved in 2006 should be fairly modest.

‘Our strong performance in 2006 was due to increased production across the majority of our businesses and higher prices in particular for base metals, platinum and iron ore.’

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Stephen Whittaker, joint chief investment officer and manager of the New Star UK Growth and New Star Equity Income funds, said: ‘Corrections are a natural and, more importantly, healthy aspect of equity markets. Shakeouts remind investors to price risk accordingly and not to presume that the stock market is a one-way bet.

‘The last time investors were unnerved was back in May last year when inflation and growth concerns conspired to knock confidence. As then, markets had been on a prolonged bull run and investors were beginning to become unhealthily complacent. The fact we have gone nearly eight months without any serious falls has only served to heighten the shock of the recent setback.

‘The events of last year are a useful reminder that it rarely pays to try and time the market. Anyone who panicked and sold in the month long correction between mid-May to mid-June of last summer would have missed out on some attractive gains.

‘By the end of 2006 the total return index was up 16.8% from the start of the year so riding out the fall rewarded investors over the longer term.

‘If anything, the economic and corporate background today is more supportive than last summer. The market has managed to survive a high oil price, a slowdown in the US housing market and higher interest rates.

‘We are currently in a phase where the US housing market is showing signs of recovery, oil is cheaper and central banks have rebuilt their monetary arsenals should the economy need assistance from lower interest rates.

‘The big unknown is Iran but the impact of global politics on equity markets is almost impossible to predict, however, it is worth remembering that the last time the US waded into the Middle East in 2003, it actually marked the start of an equity rally.

‘We may see a little volatility in 2007; however, I foresee no reason why the equity market cannot finish the year in positive territory probably near the 7,000 mark.’

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Research by Simon Ward, global strategist, at New Star, highlights an interesting historical trend for FTSE 100.

Ward says: ‘The market downturn of the past couple of days is most likely to be a healthy correction in a longer term .

‘The research examined the performance of the FTSE 100 following the three great bear markets of the twentieth century (1929-1932, 1936-1940 and 1972-1974), and applied their trends to the rally following the recent bear market of 2000-2003.

‘Remarkably, the current recovery, from March 2003 to February 2007, mirrors very closely that of the average of the ‘three bears’ of the twentieth century.

‘The market has continually corrected to the forecast when it has got ahead of itself, as was the case in May 2006 (enlarge the graph, right).

‘By 20 February 2007, the FTSE 100 had climbed above the forecast once again which indicates the recent market falls are more likely to be a correction than a longer term bear market trend.’

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Dominic Rossi, head of global at Threadneedle, says: ‘The stock market falls over the past two days have been dramatic and have certainly grabbed investor attention. However, the losses have effectively just cancelled out gains made in the first two months of the year, with most major markets now back to their end-December levels.

‘Nothing has happened over the past 48 hours that affects our view of the world and the positive outlook for equity markets. The falls are not a reaction to any economic event. Indeed, a bout of investor jitters in China will not affect economic conditions or monetary policy.

‘In short, the backdrop remains favourable. Growth is robust and a lack of inflationary pressures prevents the need for substantial monetary tightening.

‘In recent weeks, equity market volatility had fallen close to all-time low levels and credit spreads were also approaching historic lows. From such a tight technical position, there was always a risk of a short, sharp correction. During any bull market, even the smallest incident can trigger a correction.

‘In this case, it was triggered by a widening of credit spreads in the US sub-prime mortgage market and a sharp sell off on the Shanghai stock exchange, which was prompted by liquidity reduction measures by the Chinese authorities. The domino effect of equity market selling has been exacerbated by hedge fund activity, whose ability to influence markets should not be underestimated.

‘We believe the falls represent nothing more than a temporary repricing of risk and that investors will begin to refocus on positive fundamentals in the very near future. Investors must accept that, during any bull market, they will have to bear these short sharp shocks as a reminder that equity investment is not a one-way bet.

‘Our positive view of equity markets is unaltered and we have been taking advantage of the falls by increasing exposure to favoured stocks at more attractive valuations.’

STOCK MARKET INFO RESOURCES

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Mark Williams, manager of the F&C Pacfic Growth , says: ‘The important point to note from the falls triggered by the events in China is that they are not a reflection of any change in economic fundamentals, as the underpinings of Asian growth and earnings are largely intact.

‘The long-term growth story for China and the wider Pacific Basin taking a greater share of the global economic pot also remains intact. In the shorter-term though investors will be closely analysing any comments from the China Securities Regulatory Commission on the potential for further rate hikes, market calming measures and the impact of ‘hot money’.

‘Equally, the subject matter of next month’s National People’s Congress meeting could impact short-term market sentiment, particularly any discussion on and market cooling measures. From the Fund’s perspective, the ongoing moves towards domestically focused companies in China and the wider region looks timely indeed.’

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John Kelly, head of client investment at Abbey, says: ‘The trigger for these events is as ever more complex than the simple event of weakness in the Chinese market.

‘More important has been a series of indicators from the US which have been indicative of a slowdown in economic growth. These include a reduced pace of profits expansion (but still at 10% per annum during the fourth quarter of 2006), a fall in the growth rate of capital investment and signs of problems at the ’sub-prime’ end of the mortgage industry. Together these are being read as a sign of a maturing economic environment and this has caused a number of short-term investors to take profits.

STRONG SUPPORT: Kelly says markets are not over-valued

‘Because of the way international markets operate, this rush for the door can generate a disproportionate market impact as each competes to be the first to trade.

‘Our view on the US economy has not changed as a result of this economic news, nor has our expectation for the US market. We expect the US economy to continue to grow, but at a slower pace. Company profits will go up, but not at a 10% plus pace. As US growth slows, we expect other economies to take up some of the slack and help push the global economy along. Europe is doing better, Japan is picking up momentum and growth is very strong in China and India remember China is now the fourth largest economy in the world, only the US, Japan and Germany are larger.

‘This growth and the rising profits it will generate will support stock markets. Despite the strength we have seen over the past few years, these are not overvalued. Good value however is not proof against profit-taking or bouts of weak sentiment such as we are experiencing now.

‘Over the medium term, pull backs such as this are healthy. They shake out the weak holders and bring share prices down to levels where there are bargains to be had. Often, they are very short lived, lasting weeks not months, but this period can test the nerves of investors made anxious by the shallow, headline-based coverage in much of the press and television news.

‘Our investment strategies are very carefully put together to work over time. Investors should not panic away from them because of some unsettling short-term developments.’

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Domestic and European flights to and from Gatwick will also be grounded on the two days - Tuesday and Wednesday - following the breakdown of talks aimed at resolving a bitter row over sickness absence, pay and staffing.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers will be hit by the news, which will lead to hundreds of flights being cancelled.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said: ‘We are deeply sorry that our customers are the innocent victims of this unnecessary and unjustified strike.’

The airline said it will allow any customer due to travel on a British Airways flight cancelled by the strike to claim a full refund, rebook their flight for a later date or be rebooked by BA with another airline.

BA said customers due to travel on a cancelled service should not go to Heathrow or Gatwick.

The airline said its flight programme was complex, involving a combination of rosters for 15,000 cabin crew, 3,000 pilots and 234 aircraft operating up to 750 services in and out of the two airports.

More than 8,000 crew have to be in the right place at the right time, either on aircraft, at airports or in hotels in more than 140 cities in 75 countries, every day.

BA also warned of further cancellations on either side of the official strike dates because crew and aircraft will be out of position.

Customers wishing to rebook their flights can contact the airline on 0800 727 800. An extra call centre has been opened by BA, staffed by 100 workers, to help with customer inquiries.

Long-haul aircraft will leave Heathrow on Tuesday and Wednesday without passengers, to pick up crew and allow inbound flights to operate.

Up to six of the nine daily long-haul flights from Gatwick will operate normally.

The airline said it was still trying to reach a deal with the Transport and General Workers Union before the start of the strike next Tuesday but wanted to give customers early warning of its schedule to give them time to make alternative arrangements.

The union has called two further three-day walkouts from February 5 and February 12 unless the deadlock is broken.

Holiday help

Mr Walsh said: ‘More than 15,000 customers a day have contacted us since the union announced a series of 72-hour strikes, extremely concerned about their winter holidays and business trips.

‘Announcing our contingency plans means we can end uncertainty for customers caught up in the first round of strikes and help them make other plans.

‘If we postponed the cancellation of flights until the eve of a strike, customers would have virtually no time to make alternative arrangements.

‘We remain absolutely determined to search for a negotiated settlement and our door remains open to the T&G, day or night. We regret that the T&G has not supported our initiative to seek the assistance of the Acas conciliation service.

‘It is not too late for the T&G to call off this dispute and we will do all we can to reinstate some of the cancelled flights.’

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Meridian Management Systems Inc., announced today the release of its revolutionary COSO-standard Sarbanes-Oxley compliance software package. Due to growing public pressure from companies and lobbyists, the SEC has encouraged the PCAOB to develop new guidance. Many small companies are hoping for a reprieve from SOX legislation altogether, however, no such relief is forthcoming.

Winter Park, FL (http://www.prweb.com/) March 2, 2007 — http://www.meridianmanagement.com/sox.php?referrer=pressrelease, a leading provider of compliance software and management solutions, announced today the release of its Meridian 2.0 software that incorporates recent proposed changes to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance from the SEC and PCAOB.

Due to growing public pressure from companies and lobbyists, the SEC has encouraged the PCAOB to develop new guidance (called AS-5) aimed at providing companies with relief from the high cost of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. While there are some who argue against any real or perceived lowering of financial reporting compliance requirements in light of major corporate accounting failures (i.e. Enron, MCI, etc.), others argue that the high cost of SOX regulation puts American companies at a significant competitive disadvantage.

Many small companies are hoping for a granting of immunity from SOX legislation altogether. However, no such relief is forthcoming. The Glass Lewis study released in December of 2006 points to significant evidence that Section 404 has actually reduced the number of financial restatements by 26% in the first nine months 2006 and has uncovered thousands of control weaknesses for the large accelerated filers. In addition, the micro-cap companies (less than 75 million market cap) are noted as being the main culprit of financial restatements in 2006 since they do not yet have to comply with SOX. The findings of this study are consistent with the anecdotal reports from companies that have already implemented SOX that the process has forced companies to pay more attention to their financial reporting process. Such evidence does not help the cause of the smaller companies seeking exemption from SOX.

This weeks PCAOB Standing Advisory Group discussions clearly show that the direction of the new rules is in providing clearer guidance that allows for a “risk-based” approach to reduced audit work and fees while not reducing the overall effectiveness of Section 404. Indeed, the majority of the discussions centered on the definition of a risk-based approach and its effectiveness in addressing audit concerns.

A spokesman for the Meridian stated “While the new rules have not yet been formally adopted, recent guidance and trends are unmistakably heading in the direction of a more rational risk and materiality based approach to SOX compliance. Our Meridian 2.0 incorporates these key changes along with the new guidance issued by COSO to help companies meet compliance requirements and reduce costs. These changes are a critical win for all public companies as they can now reduce their costs by approaching compliance from a more rational direction.”

About Meridian
Meridian is a provider of risk management solutions and consulting services to public and private companies. The company designs specialty software to meet the needs of its clients. Meridian recently announced its partnership with the http://www.scandh.com (an award winning national provider of CPA, Tax, and Specialty Services) to offer consulting services. Its flagship product is the Meridian compliance software designed to assist companies in complying with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. Meridian can be reached at 877-790-0062. Additional information is available at http://www.meridianmanagement.com/sox.php?referrer=pressrelease.

Piccadilly Licensed Properties, which is controlled by AIM Group, paid 82.5m for the watering holes.

It has also entered into an agreement with , which will manage the outlets on its behalf.

Marston’s (up 2p at 448p) changed its name from last year.

It said the bars, which generated earnings of 7.5m last year, include some of its smaller, non-food sites in England and Wales.

Chief Ralf Findlay said: ‘The effects of this disposal are to increase the average quality of our tenanted and leased estate, and to place us in a better position to take advantage of positive market trends, including growth in pub dining.’

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