“But the road ahead is far from smooth, with sluggish profits and weak export demand restraining growth.”On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve left short-term interest rates at a 40-year low of 1.75 per cent, and upgraded its assessment of the economy to say its risks were now balanced between further weakness and inflation.. Struggling telecoms firm Marconi saw another 50 per cent wiped from its share price today after failing to secure a crucial bank loans deal. At its peak, in 2000, the group was valued at around £35 billion.The group had been in talks with its banks for months over terms of a new deal and analysts had expected a statement around this time.Marconi said it would develop a revised business plan in the next few weeks, while continuing talks with banks and assessing further refinancing options.One analyst said: “They have basically failed to secure a banking deal and have got to go back to the drawing board.”The news will cause further concerns for staff at the group. Marconi has slashed thousands of jobs after a spate of profit warnings and in January it said it would cut 4,000 more jobs, taking the total to 13,000.A spokesman said today: “We have no plans for additional job losses but clearly we cannot rule this out depending on what happens in the marketplace.”Analysts said the firm must act fast to secure its future.Chavan Bhogaita, of Bear Stearns, said: “The failure to secure the (bank) facility at this stage has made the situation more urgent and the company must do something very, very soon to prevent a complete collapse in its share price.”The group has two existing bank facilities, one for 4.5bn euros (£2.8bn) which expires in March 2003 and one for 3bn euros (£1.9bn) which expires in May 2003. It has not accessed the 3bn euros facility.However it has large debts built up by overpaying for companies at the height of the tech boom.It has been reducing its debt mountain by selling off businesses, and debts are expected to have been cut from more than £4bn originally to between £2.7bn to £3.2bn by the end of this month.Marconi’s slump echoes rival Energis’s fall from grace. The former Footsie firm has also seen a dramatic collapse in its share price, after a shock profits warning earlier this year. Shares in Energis also slumped today, falling 13 per cent.Roger Lyons, general secretary of Amicus union, said: “We have grave concerns for the future of the company.

We are mutually seeking ways to pull the company out of this crisis. We have urgent talks early next week.”We will be seeking a meeting with the DTI in order to formulate a rescue package should it be required in order to avoid the collapse of the company.”. The UK’s largest electricity supplier Innogy is being bought by German energy giant RWE in a £3.1 billion takeover announced today. The move, widely expected in the City, comes a month after the Swindon-based firm revealed it was in talks with a third party. Innogy supplies 4.7 million homes with electricity and 1.9m gas customers through its npower brand. Today’s deal means more than half the UK power industry will be owned by foreign companies.

German giant Eon is expected to complete its £6.2 billion takeover of Powergen next month. RWE, which already owns Thames Water, is paying 275p a share for Innogy and is also taking on the company’s net debt of £2.1bn It means the total enterprise value of the deal is £5.2bn. Innogy was created in 2000 when the former National Power split its domestic and international operations. It has since bought Yorkshire Power and Northern Electric’s domestic supply business. Npower sponsors the England cricket team’s home test matches. Innogy’s chief executive Dr Brian Count said today’s takeover marked the culmination of the management team’s efforts over the last three years. “The new combination will present further opportunities to enhance our leading position in the UK and to share skills with the RWE group.

“I look forward to leading Innogy on the next stage of development with RWE,” he said. The German giant said it plans to combine its existing UK energy and supply operations with Innogy’s business. Dr Count is to carry on as chief executive of Innogy, and RWE said the group’s headquarters would remain in Swindon. RWE chief executive Dr Dietmar Kuhnt said: “Innogy is an outstanding business with a strong management team and this combination will deliver significant benefits to both RWE shareholders and Innogy customers alike.” The 275p-per-share offer represents a 31 per cent premium to Innogy’s closing share price on 15 February, the day before it announced it was in bid talks. Today’s deal needs to be approved by shareholders and the regulatory authorities before it can be completed.