Partner Article

Thomas Cook Soar on Debt Deal

Of the more tangible reasons for optimism this morning was the record sales experienced at the
end of last week and over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, an occasion that marks that start of the
festive shopping season in the US. The figures which include “Black Friday” (similar to the UK’s
Boxing Day sales) increased by 16% as compared with last year, totalling a staggering $52.4 billion.
This came even before today’s spending nicknamed “Cyber Monday”, which is widely reported to be
the biggest day of the business year for online retailers such as Amazon. The figures were welcomed
given consumer spending accounts for 70% of the US economy.

In what can largely be attributed to more hope than optimism, markets became excited that officials
in Germany and France were, according to a newspaper report, exploring radical action to ensure
deeper fiscal eurozone integration without having to wait for treaty changes. Once again however
details were lacking and sources unnamed. Highlighting this skittishness, markets were also buoyed
by a different report, this time from an Italian newspaper that Italy was in talks with the IMF over a
€600 billion bailout. This was quickly denied by the IMF however this did not dent market sentiment.

The FTSE 100 rallied 148 points to finish 2.9% higher at 5313, leading the way were mining stocks
and banks which had suffered heavy losses in the previous sell off. The CAC 40 and DAX indices put
on well in excess of 4%. Down in the FTSE 350, Thomas Cook ended up 20% although had put on
around 50% at one stage after the travel operator secured a £200m funding deal from its banks,
easing fears that were stoked last week when the company announced that it may seek additional
funding for the second time in just over a month.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Dance .