"It's a great instrument for those who are worried about Compass valuation. If the shares take off they can convert, but if they fall, they stay with the bond," one insider said.The appearance of the bond prompted several investors and hedge funds to sell Compass and buy the bond. COMPASS, the catering group, yesterday served up a tasteless dish that left investors scrambling for the exit. The flea in the ointment came courtesy of Accor, the French restaurant giant with a 4.9 per cent stake in the UK group.

The Parisian gourmets decided to issue a dishy bond which can be converted in Compass shares at any time between now and 2002. The fixed-income instrument, worth 390m euros - more than pounds 265m - enables the French, which once held some 22 per cent of Compass, to get out of the former Grand Met's offshoot. But it is also a neat way to hedge risks on Compass as investors can sit on the bond and wait to see how the share price moves before deciding whether to convert.The trick is that the conversion price is set at a 26-30 per cent premium to the current share price, suggesting that punters will rush to convert if the stock rises. The title has 4,000 subscribers and last year made a pre-tax profit of A$900,000 on turnover of A$4.5m.The news emerged as APN reported a 16 per cent increase in pre-abnormal net profit after tax and minorities to A$35.3m for the year to last December, the sixth year of growth since the company was floated in 1992.The rise was driven by a 15 per cent increase in operating profits from the broadcasting division and a 10 per cent profits hike from the outdoor advertising unit, which was helped by the accelerating interest in the Olympic Games, to be held in Sydney next year.. From April, a combined paper will be published three times a week.David Gilbertson, Informa's chief executive, said the acquisition would "enable Informa to offer an unrivalled information service to the Australian import and export community". INFORMA, the exhibitions and publications group that was created in December by the merger of LLP and IBC, yesterday added Australia's oldest maritime newspaper, the Daily Commercial News, to its stable. Informa is buying the title for A$10m (pounds 6.2m) from APN News & Media, the Australian media group in which Independent Newspapers, owner of The Independent, has a 33 per cent stake. Informa plans to combine the Daily Commercial News, which was set up in 1891, with its own title, Lloyd's List Australian Weekly. Bank of Scotland brings unparalleled experience of service-oriented banking combined with a real understanding of the power of branding and marketing in start-up banking operations.".

But it is structured in such a way as to limit the downside."As with Sainsbury's Bank, the venture will start by offering high-interest deposits before expanding into other products.Dr Robertson is a controversial figure in the US. A darling of the Christian right, he ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988 on an unashamedly right- wing programme.He is best known for having founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, a religious television channel that he sold to Rupert Murdoch for $1.5bn in 1997.Mr Burt said the idea for the venture had come from Bill Hendry, who heads up Bank of Scotland's existing US operations and who first raised the idea with the American TV evangelist a year ago.Mr Burt said the bank would be managed at arm's length from Dr Robertson's other business activities, adding that it would be improper to mix what is a purely commercial venture with Dr Robertson's "charitable and religious works"."He has a tremendous track record as a successful entrepreneur," Mr Burt said.Dr Robertson, whose forebears left Scotland in 1695 - the same year Bank of Scotland was founded by a decree of the Scottish Parliament - said yesterday: "The objective is to provide the American consumer with a bank that is committed to service and value. However, it is expected to be ready for launch within five months, starting probably in the Mid-west, where Dr Robertson has a strong following, before rolling out nationally as demand dictates.Peter Burt, Bank of Scotland group chief executive, said the venture, if successful, would cost the bank some "tens of millions of dollars" in the first year "There are no front-end costs If successful, we will require capital to fund the bank. The operation, to be called the New Foundation Bank, is modelled on Sainsbury's Bank, the joint venture between Bank of Scotland and the supermarket group that pioneered branchless banking in the UK in 1997. Bank of Scotland will be the majority shareholder in the new venture and provide the know-how, while sub-contracting the operation of the call centre and back office to Marshall & Illsley, a US financial services group based in Wisconsin.Applications for regulatory approval were filed with the American authorities yesterday.No final decision had yet been taken on where and when to launch the venture.