90 seconds at 9 am: Olam bids for Farming Systems; Dow falls 2.5%; Hubbard wants inquiry

Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am in association with BNZ, including news that Singaporean food conglomerate Olam International has launched a full takeover bid for New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay for 55 cents a share.

This is above the 42 cents the shares were trading at previously, but well below the NZ$1 float price from November 2006.

The company created by PGG Wrightson aimed to use New Zealand dairy farming expertise to convert cheap Uruguayan land into dairy farms, but it struggled with low prices, poor weather and too much debt.

Meanwhile, the Dow fell 2.5% late on Friday after very weak US conumer confidence figures and poor results from Citigroup, Bank of America and General Electric.

Investors are worried that America's tepid recovery will restrain profit growth. There is renewed talk that the US Federal Reserve may again try to print more money to boost the US economy, the world's largest.

The New Zealand dollar, which often moves in tandem with the US stock market, fell back to 71 USc in early morning trade after being as high as 73 USc on Friday.

Meanwhile back in New Zealand, Radio NZ has reported Taupo businessman John Funnell is setting up a trust fund to help Allan Hubbard and investors in Aorangi Securities, who have had their money frozen by Statutory Managers while a Serious Fraud Office investigation is carried out.

Also, Hubbard himself called in TVNZ and TV3 interviews broadcast late on Friday for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the decision to put him into Statutory Management and to open a Serious Fraud Office investigation.

He described how his wife did not have enough money to buy food and how he was concerned that investors in Aorangi would not receive their interest payments and may therefor struggle.

See here the debate following my article on The Number 8 Wire accountant.