The Tempus column in The Times writes that Experian has wasted no time in snapping up the minority interest in Serasa, the Brazilian credit bureau that it first bought into in 2007. This is despite signs that the Brazilian economy is flagging, not least because global economic uncertainty is hitting the country's exports.

Tempus asks what will happen to Experian's strong free cashflow, about $700m in the last financial year, once the Serasa deal is paid for? The company has always indicated that this would be returned to investors by buying back shares. On about 18 times' earnings, though, the shares look up with events for now, the paper says.

A couple of years ago, one would not have given Premier Foods much chance of avoiding a deeply discounted rescue rights issue or some other form of corporate restructuring of the sort suffered by other businesses that had racked up unsupportable debts during the boom times.

Today, Tempus says that Premier is a shrunken but solvent business, but it is still stuck in one of the toughest sectors of the market.

Premier shares do not sell on any meaningful earnings multiple, but may be seen as a bet on any further improvements in performance. This will take time and does not suggest a compelling reason to buy.


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