Wednesday 27 February
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Money was invented so we could know exactly how much we owe. "
Cullen Hightower
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
FTSE 100
6,287.58
17.14 0.27%
FTSE 250
13,570.36
34.32 -0.25%
FTSE 350
3,378.91
9.12 0.27%
FTSE All Share
3,311.74
8.94 0.27%
AIM 100
3,303.60
10.73 0.33%
AIM All Share
740.96
2.03 0.27%
12:05 pm
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Hello Share Fanciers,
Italy has certainly got itself into a mess. It’s hard to see how it will avoid poverty for so many of its citizens now.
But if they will vote in such an eccentric fashion for a new government, what can they expect? But I shouldn’t be talking politics because I’m no expert. I do know a little about share movements though.
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
office2office - New FD Appointed
by Growth Equities & Company Research
office2office, the leading supplier of office supplies and business services in the UK, announced the appointment of Hugh Cawley as Group Finance Director on 21st February 2013.
Cawley has considerable experience in listed company leadership and restructuring, and has a skill set that will compliment o2o’s growth plans in both the short and long term.
We also note the recent share price performance and reiterate our opinion that despite shorter term financial setbacks, we see considerable strength in many areas of the business, notably within Truline and Business Critical Services.
Our stance remains buy with a 175p target price.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
Sentiment still fragile after inconclusive Italian elections
Markets across Europe were staging a slight rebound on Wednesday but sentiment was still fragile as political instability in Italy spread fears that the Eurozone crisis could drag on for some time yet.
Stocks sank yesterday (FTSE 100 down 1.3%, Cac 40 down 2.7% and FTSE MIB down 4.9%) in the wake of the Italian elections which revealed growing support for anti-austerity parties. Pier Luigi Bersani's centre-left party won the lower house by a narrow margin but failed to gain enough votes to secure the senate.
Italian bond yields fluctuated this morning as the Treasury sold off €6.5bn in five- and 10-year debt, meeting the high part range of its target range (€4-6.5bn). On the secondary market, the borrowing rate on the benchmark 10-year note was down six basis points at 4.85%, having surged by over 40 basis points the day before.
Indices gained on Wall Street last night after the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, defended the bank's asset purchase programme, saying that it was necessary until the job market improves substantially.
"In Europe, traders are also taking heart in Bernanke's accommodative remarks but moves to the upside are likely to be limited given the unease at the outcome of the inconclusive Italian elections," said market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital.
Supporting markets this morning was economic data from Europe which showed that economic sentiment rose for the fourth consecutive month in February, according to the European Commission. Meanwhile, fourth-quarter gross domestic product in the UK contracted at a 0.3% pace, as expected.
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY'S FASTEST MOVING STOCKS
FTSE 100: Weir, ITV gain after results
Engineering solutions group Weir was a high riser after managing to register record profits and margins last year and saying that it expects another year of profitable growth in 2013.
Heading the other way was oilfield services group Petrofac after underwhelming with a 9.0% rise in revenue and 17% increase in net profit in 2012.
After an earlier rise following its full-year figures, broadcaster ITV had slipped into the red though the company has it played down market chatter about bid speculation. The firm announced this morning that it would be rewarding shareholders with a special dividend worth £156m after posting 2012 results which showed a rise in profits and revenues.
Global banking giant HSBC was higher after Investec upgraded its rating from 'hold' to 'add' after the stock's recent underperformance. The broker said: "After 46 disposals/closures in two years with a wide array of balance sheet/income statement effects, net net, we see HSBC edging closer to its 12% return on equity target in 2013e."
Energy company Centrica was subdued despite saying 2012 earnings rose 5.0% as cold weather during the year pushed up gas consumption.
FTSE 250: bwin.party soars after broker upgrade
Online gaining group bwin.party jumped after Citigroup upgraded its rating for the stock to 'neutral'.
Bodycote, the world's largest thermal processing services provider, surged after operating profits rose 14.4% in 2012, boosted by growth in its global Aerospace and Energy business.
Restaurant and pub operator Restaurant Group also rose after reporting a sharp increase in full-year earnings, lifting its dividend payment and saying its new financial year had started well.
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY'S FASTEST MOVING STOCKS
WHAT THE BROKERS SAY
Nomura has kept its 'neutral' rating and 1,950p target price for engineering solutions giant Weir after a broadly in-line set of 2012 results. Investec has upgraded its recommendation for global banking giant HSBC from 'hold' to 'add' after the stock's recent underperformance.
Westhouse Securities has retained its 'add' rating and 133p target price for terrestrial broadcaster ITV, saying that the company's results for 2012 show a 'robust performance despite a challenging market backdrop'.
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:
Avesco
THALASSA HOLDINGS(THAL)-Marine seismic operations.
El1teTrader Company Review Thread
NMC HEALTHCARE(NMC) - 38 Years in the UAE.
MONITISE (MONI) -"Mobile money is for everyone"
Click here to discuss shares with other ShareCrazy members
Regards,
ShareCrazy
No comments:
Post a Comment