Welcome to the eleventh hour. By Monday, US food group Kraft must bid for British chocolate maker Cadbury or walk away for at least six months. As the latter would corrode the credibility of Kraft’s expansionist chief executive, Irene Rosenfeld, action is likely. The key issue, though, remains price.

Little else has changed since Kraft’s September overtures in cash and stock, then worth 745p per share. Cadbury produced a reasonable trading statement, a reminder of its attractions: good top-line growth and potential to raise margins. Earnings expectations for 2010 edged up 4 per cent in response, but its long-term potential remains the same.