Important News Everyday

British interdealer broker Tullett Prebon confirmed it was in preliminary talks that might lead to an offer. The stock is up over 24 percent, valuing the company at nearly 830 million pounds ($1.2 billion), so investors see some merit in the idea, but an analyst we spoke to questioned whether the potential buyers talked about in a Daily Mail newspaper report are logical buyers.

One of them is Macquarie Group, Australia’s top investment bank. Oriel Securities analyst Keith Baird said Macquarie’s expansion of global investment banking business show it is more interested in arranging deals than being an agent for them. The other potential buyer noted was Bank of China, the country’s largest foreign exchange lender.

Baird thought the only reason BOC would want to get involved with an interdealer broker would be to use its institutional knowledge to set up a similar operation in the People’s Republic. He thought a more likely candidate would be Tullett’s Chief Executive Terry Smith (looking like a buyer above?) with the backing of a private equity investor. Smith currently owns around 4 percent.

American International Group could learn the fate of the stalled $2.2 billion sale of its Taiwan unit Nan Shan Life Insurance as early as Thursday, when Taiwan’s parliament will review a report on the deal from the top financial regulator.  Read the Reuters story here.

A clutch of private equity firms have bid up to 400 million pounds for British greetings card retailer Card Factory, sources familiar with the process told Reuters. Here is the story.

And in news reported by other media on Wednesday:

Barclays is looking to buy a retail bank in the US to extend its presence after buying Lehman Brothers, reports the Wall Street Journal. Barclays is not in talks and no deals are imminent, but has designated an internal team to assess possible targets.

Brazilian iron ore miner Ferrous Resources has revived plans for a $3 billion to $4 billion initial public offering in London, according to the Financial Times.  The company could come to market as early as May and the Board will meet on Friday to start deciding whether to proceed with an IPO this summer.

Mar 10 – Economists predict the U.S. recovery will be slow enough to prevent interest rates from heading higher. Conway Gittens reports.

Mar 10 – Germany’s largest tourism fair opens its doors as the industry expresses cautious optimism that travel-demand is recovering.

Mar 10 – Rubbish collecters have thrown their hats into the ring of striking workers demonstrating against the government’s planned austerity measures.

Mar 10 – Boston-based technology company Terrafugia has created a car that can fly. The company says it’s ready to begin manufacturing the flying car but the recession has stalled progress. Ben Gruber reports.

Mar 10 – UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown says economy will remain bumpy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to meet French Prime Minister, Barclays Plc looking to buy American bank

Mar 10 – Setting out his economic plans weeks before an election, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown sees risks to economic recovery and says it is not the moment to change course.

Mar. 10 – Ten years after the Nasdaq hit its peak, Amazon.com and Priceline.com have proven their worth over the long term.

Mar 10 – The new Michelin Guide hits the shelves to the welcome news that punters can still find a few extra pennies for good food.