Vodafone shareholders unlikely to see windfall

NEWS Loyal Vodafone shareholders' hopes of receiving a dividend from the telecoms giant have been dashed ahead of key announcements on the company's financial situation. Although the company is tomorrow expected to announce a massive one-off hit against bad investment - most notably in Mannesmann - shareholders were hoping the swollen coffers of the mobile phone behemoth might be lightened further by a windfall to investors. Estimates vary wildly in the press as to the extent of the write-off. The Financial Times is suggesting it could be as low as £8bn while the Guardian offers £25bn at the opposite end of the scale.