Quotes of the Day

Looking to hire a bank? How would you feel about one that botched a friendly takeover, then paid 27% more than necessary for the acquisition? That's what France's Crédit Agricole did in its recent bid to acquire rival Crédit Lyonnais, to create one of Europe's Top 10 banks, with more than €330 billion in assets under management. Crédit Agricole, a network of mostly rural savings banks, was for almost two years the preferred candidate to take over the government's 10.9% stake in Crédit Lyonnais. But talks bogged down. In November, when Agricole ceo Jean Laurent (pictured) tried to haggle the government's final offer of €44 per share down to €42, the Finance Ministry lost patience and called an auction. France's biggest bank, BNP Paribas, gobbled up the stake for €58 per share. Agricole realized it goofed, replaced its chairman and bid €56 per share in cash and stock for the whole bank, valuing once-moribund Crédit Lyonnais at €19.5 billion. Laurent remains CEO — for the moment — but the man to watch is new chairman René Carron, who's also a dairy farmer. "We went a bit higher but not that much higher" as a result of the blunder, he said sheepishly.

GERMANY AND IRAQ
Into Saddam's Arms
Many observers believed Gerhard Schröder's opposition to war in Iraq was electioneering. Maybe. But German firms are alleged to have illicit business interests in the country, too. More than 80 German companies, plus research laboratories and individuals, are listed in Iraq's weapons report to the U.N., German daily Die Tageszeitung reported. For almost 30 years, companies such as Daimler-Benz, Siemens and Carl Zeiss allegedly supplied equipment, raw materials and technical know-how which could have been used for Saddam Hussein's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs. Although the paper also named companies from the U.S., France, the U.K., China and Russia, German firms made up more than half of those in the report. And despite the 1990 U.N. weapons embargo on Iraq, German companies were supposedly still doing business with the rogue state as recently as last year.

EUROBLUES
Cleaning Up
Nature abhors a vacuum, and at the moment, markets are not very pleased with the people who make them either. Last week, Stockholm-based Electrolux, the world's largest appliance maker, announced it was eliminating 5,091 jobs worldwide, about 6% of its workforce. Stock markets, which often applaud such "restructuring" moves, instead were sour; one Swedish investment bank even put a rare "sell" recommendation on Electrolux stock. What's ailing the maker of Eurekas and WeedEaters? CEO Hans Straaberg blames heavy competition and certain "under-performing" areas, notably room air conditioners, for which labor and supply costs at the Frigidaire plant in New Jersey are said to be too high. Analysts complain that the firm is spread too thin. Either way, the only winners seem to be dirty carpets.

PR Nightmare
Does Nestlé know it's Christmas? The Swiss food behemoth (net profit last year: $4.69 billion) decided to pursue a $6 million claim against the government of Ethiopia for a 27-year-old suit, at a time of year when people are supposed to be focusing on the less fortunate. Company spokesman François Perroud found himself facing irate BBC Radio 4 presenter John Humphrys: "You're going to get this money whether people starve or not." Replied Perroud: "I can't quite understand your hostility." Humphrys: "There are starving people in Ethiopia, that's where the hostility, as you put it, comes from." That day, Nestlé promised to reinvest in Ethiopia whatever money it squeezes out. We look forward to the Nestlé Aid video.

INDICATORS
Batteries Weren't Included
Game Group, the U.K.'s largest computer-games retailer, announced a profits warning amid "disappointing" Christmas sales. This put a chill on all retail stocks, with the exception of the coal-in-the-stocking sector.

Green Tree's Bad Gifts
Conseco, the U.S. insurance and financial giant, filed for bankruptcy protection, citing some $51.2 billion in debts — the third-largest bankruptcy in American history. One of the firm's biggest woes: Green Tree Financial Corp., a unit that specialized in mobile-home loans.

Too Much Of An Insider
A Paris court found famed financier George Soros guilty of insider trading, and fined him €2.2 million. The charge stems from Soros' role in the 1988 takeover of the French bank Société Générale. Soros had denied having privileged knowledge.

Don't Open This Attachment
One out of every 212 e-mails sent in the U.K. during 2002 was infected with a virus, according to Web security firm MessageLabs. That's up from one in every 380 in 2001 and one in 790 in 2000. The worst culprits: "spoof" viruses like Klez that mimic e-mails from a friend or colleague.

• PETER GUMBEL and URSULA SAUTTER
• Crédit Agricole rues its top ten bid