Branson heads Aussie float league

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Sir Richard Branson has said he wants the float of no-frills carrier Virgin Blue completed within the next six months while Multiplex, the construction company responsible for rebuilding Wembley Stadium, is also looking for a float this year which could raise as much as A$2bn (£820m).

Meanwhile, Australian markets reacted with calm to the massive power outage in the US, the All Ordinaries index falling just 0.1 point to 3143.10.

ANZ Bank rose 0.6% to A$17.93 after falling yesterday on concern that a tilt for the National Bank of New Zealand would prove too costly. But Westpac, considered another front-runner for NBNZ, fell 0.5% to A$16.51.

Regional finance group Bank of Queensland was subject to a trading halt at A$8.76 before announcing it would acquire Brisbane-based UFJ Finance Australia for A$13m. The bank also said it expected annual earnings at the upper end of market forecasts of A$41.9m to A$44.5m.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Average fell 50 points to 9863.47, a 0.5% decline. It was led lower by retailers after an industry report revealed department store sales fell 4% in July on a year earlier. The country's largest retailer, Ito-Yokado, slid 2.5% to 3070 yen while number two Aeon lost 3.8% to 3020 yen.

Technology companies fared better with NEC, the world's sixth-biggest chipmaker, rising 2.9% to 856 yen and Toshiba up 2.9% to 430 yen.

Japan Telecom was up 2% at 360,000 yen on reports that Ripplewood will complete its purchase from Vodafone next week.

There was at last a ray of light in the clouds for Singapore Airlines, with latest data showing flights out of Changi airport back at 80% of their level before the killer Sars virus struck. The airline was unmoved, however, at S$11.

The Straits Times index was down 6.89 points at 1592.08 as profit-taking hit blue-chips and heralded the index's first slide in a week. Banking group DBS fell 1.63% to S$12.10 after advancing 4% yesterday on rising mortgage rates.

Singapore Post rose 1.4% to S$0.73 after Morgan Stanley Capital Internat ional added the city-state's dominant postal services group to its national index, giving it greater international prominence and liquidity.

In Hong Kong, stocks were also lower but traders said this was on profit-taking and the market had largely shrugged off the US blackout after it was established terrorists were not responsible. The Hang Seng index was down 37.13 points at 10,336.89.

Market leader HSBC continued its rise after yesterday breaking through HK$100 for the first time in two years. It was up 0.5% at HK$101. But most blue-chips fell on profit taking, with property developers Henderson Land Development and Cheung Kong leading the way down. Henderson Land slid 2% to HK$26.90 while Cheung Kong dipped 1.9% to HK$52.