Thursday 21 February
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction. "
Erich Fromm
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
FTSE 100
6,287.98
-107.39 -1.68%
FTSE 250
13,519.28
-220.66 ---1.61%
FTSE 350
3,377.30
-57.31 -1.67%
FTSE All Share
3,310.46
-55.50 -0.49%
AIM 100
3,322.35
-57.74 -1.71%
AIM All Share
744.85
-8.67 -1.15%
12:50 pm
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Hello Share Movers,
As expected by nearly everyone, the latest job figures in Britain were rather good. Fourteen thousand fewer people are claiming jobs allowance. That means that they are getting money from bosses instead, which is as it should be.
We can now tax their income and help to bring down the horrible national debt. The trouble is that to hold onto those jobs or take advantage of new ones, people are accepting lower wages. So their spending power is not going up.
CLICK HERE for the full article
ON THE BLOG
I have been watching with a mixture of glee and disbelief the meteoric rise in the shares of online grocer Ocado since last November, during which time they have trebled, reaching a high of 139p last week.
There seem to be five basic reasons for the rise...
CLICK HERE for the full article
High profile M&A activity in the U.S. last week livened up a worried market beset with Eurozone slowdown fears, debt drama and a looming US budget battle. In particular, Heinz shares shot up last Thursday after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and 3G’s takeover of the global ketchup maker for $28billion. Peers Kellogg, Kraft Foods and General Mills shares rose in reaction to the news on that day.
So do the deluge of recent deals signal the long awaited return of M&A after three years of relatively low deal activity?
CLICK HERE for the full article
REPORT OF THE DAY
Ariana Resources - Excellent drilling results from Salinbas and Ardala
by Growth Equities & Company Research
Ariana offers the promise of gold production in 2014 and revenue generation but also the opportunity for a big potential uplift in value from a major gold discovery in Turkey.
Latest drilling results from the Eldorado joint venture revealed cracking grades of gold and widths of mineralisation from both the Salinbas and Ardala. Further drilling in 2013 is focused on compiling an initial mineral resource estimate for the project.
We have determined a combined valuation of £22.2 million based on company’s stake in the Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Gold Project and Ariana’s 49% interest in the Joint Venture with Eldorado Gold Corporation; which on a fully diluted basis (400m shares) gives a target price of 5.6p.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
Stocks plummet after Fed minutes, Eurozone PMI
The FTSE 100 was registering triple-digit losses by Thursday lunchtime as uncertainty at the US Federal Reserve dampened risk appetite and spooked markets into a sell-off.
London's benchmark index rose to highs not seen since January 2008 yesterday after minutes from this month's Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting showed that, while still outvoted, more members - including Bank Governor Sir Mervyn King - called for additional stimulus for the UK economy.
After breaching the 6,400 level on Wednesday, the Footsie was trading over 1.5% lower this morning, firmly below the 6,300 mark.
Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting released last night showed that some policy-makers Stateside have begun to question current quantitative easing (QE) measures, indicting a more hawkish tone among the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
"The Fed minutes have been particularly disappointing, given that the Fed previously gave the impression that as long as inflation remains under control, which it is, the ultra loose monetary policy would continue until we see a big improvement in the labour market, which we haven't seen," said market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.
"The markets have priced in another 12 months or so of highly accommodative policy from the Fed, so if they pull the plug at this early stage you can wave goodbye to the S&P 500 and Dow 30 hitting those all time highs. The interesting thing now will be to see how much of the rally has been supported by central bank stimulus and how much by an actual improvement in the economic outlook."
Speeches from the presidents of the New York and San Francisco Federal Reserves this evening are likely to be closely watched, as they could seek to moderate or add detail to last night's minutes.
FTSE 100: BAE a rare bright spot after initiating buyback
UK defence giant BAE Systems may have posted a fall in sales and earnings in 2012, but shares gained strongly this morning after the company initiated a share buy-back worth £1.0bn over the next three years.
Miners were under the weather this morning as metals prices weakened in the face of a stronger dollar after the FOMC minutes. Gold prices are now trading at a seven-month low. Kazakhmys, ENRC and BHP Billiton were among the worst performers, with the latter hit by a downgrade from Citi to 'neutral'.
Oil producer Tullow fell after saying that it was forced to plug and abandon a well in Uganda after it couldn't find hydrocarbons.
TV and broadband giant BSkyB was lower despite saying that it is launching a new Sky Movies Disney channel next month. The company also announced that Sky Movies has received first subscription pay-TV movie rights from Disney.
B&Q owner Kingfisher was subdued after reporting a decline in like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter as it battled against weak consumer confidence, unfavourable foreign exchange and poor weather in the UK.
FTSE 250: CSR impresses with full-year numbers
Shares of wireless technology firm CSR stormed ahead after it posted record full-year revenue and underlying gross margin, boosted its dividend payment and said it expects good growth in core revenues for 2013.
High Street betting shop Ladbrokes was lower despite registering record revenues in UK retail in 2012 and saying that 2013 has had a "promising" start. Analyst Simon Davies from Canaccord Genuity said that evidence of a recovery online "will be required to spark a material further re-rating".
Transport group Go-Ahead fell after saying that while full-year profits will be in line with forecasts, second-half trading at its Rail division would remain "challenging".
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY'S FASTEST MOVING STOCKS
WHAT THE BROKERS SAY
Canaccord Genuity has upped its target price for High Street bookie Ladbrokes from 225p to 255p and kept its 'buy' rating after the company's 2012 results came in ahead of forecasts. Citi Research has cut its recommendation for mining giant BHP Billiton from 'buy' to 'neutral', saying that positives are now priced in after a 'good run'.
Investec has highlighted a number of positives to take away from BAE Systems' 2012 results, but has retained its 'hold' rating and 325p target price for the defence group, voicing underlying concerns about the US 'sequester'.
Aberdeen Asset Management: Citigroup takes target price from 400p to 430p and stays with its neutral rating.
Click here for the rest of the broker recommendations
THE LATEST ON THE CRAZY BOARD
The top 5 hot company threads on the Bulletin Board:
Thomas Cook Group PLC (tcg)
BUNZL(BNZL)More acquisitions for this "Core"hldng?
Gulf Keystone Petroleum - 500p a share
Galliford Try (GFRD) - take a look!
STRATEX INTERNATIONAL (STI)
Click here to discuss shares with other ShareCrazy members
Regards,
ShareCrazy
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