Friday 8 February
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"He who cannot eat horsemeat need not do so. Let him eat pork. But he who cannot eat pork, let him eat horsemeat. It's simply a question of taste"
Nikita Khrushchev
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
FTSE 100
6,255.09
26.67 0.43%
FTSE 250
13,346.47
45.82 0.34%
FTSE 350
3,356.04
13.92 0.42%
FTSE All Share
3,289.21
13.92 0.41%
AIM 100
3,330.29
9.27 0.28%
AIM All Share
744.88
2.81 0.38%
12:42 pm
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Hello Share Twiddlers,
Here’s a question of philosophy for you. (Somebody has just given me a book all about it).
Is a tomato still red when nobody is looking at it. You will probably say ‘yes’. It’s the obvious answer. But it is possibly not so. It is our head that turns the tomato red. So if we don’t look, it might be a different colour. It might not even be there at all – just an illusion.
CLICK HERE for the full article
NIGEL FARAGE CONFIRMED FOR MASTER INVESTOR 2013! TO CLAIM YOUR FREE TICKET CLICK HERE AND ENTER THE PROMO CODE SCR2013
ON THE BLOG
Sell GMA Resources
by Lucien Miers
Every now and then one is rewarded by reading a boring sounding announcement and doing some rudimentary maths.
Yesterday was one such occasion and the stock in question was GMA Resources. Shares in GMA had been suspended since May pending a reverse takeover, the details of which were announced on Monday. On Tuesday the shares began trading again appreciating strongly in the afternoon and yesterday they went balmy at one point hitting 0.9p, up from 0.15p the day before.
CLICK HERE for the full article
Whores drawers – What now for RBS?
by Ishaq Siddiqi – market strategist with ETX Capital – a London based spread betting provider for equities, indices, forex and more.,
The Royal Bank of Scotland has been ordered by the US authorities and the FSA to pay a total of £390 million in penalty charges to settle for the manipulation of Yen and Swiss Franc Libor rates. These charges make the beleaguered bank the third largest global lender to agree to settle charges with the authorities after Barclays and UBS last year.
Transcripts between traders in the filings do no favour to bankers trying to regain their sorry reputation amongst the pubic…
CLICK HERE for the full article
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
Stocks claw back losses after yesterday's sell-off
Better-than-expected trade data from China gave stocks a boost on Friday morning, as sentiment picked up from the day before when concerns over Europe sparked a sell-off on equity markets.
Both imports and exports in China jumped year-on-year in January, resulting in a higher-than-forecast trade surplus. Imports surged 28.8% on last year while exports rose 25%, beating the consensus estimates for increases of 23.5% and 17.5%, respectively. The trade surplus fell by less than expected from $31.6bn to $29.2bn, above the $26.6bn forecast.
Market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said: "I have so far been pessimistic about Chinese economic growth this year, with its two largest export markets facing strong headwinds and domestic demand being relatively low. However this data is very encouraging, especially when you also take into consideration the rise in imports which suggests domestic demand is also picking up."
Traders will now be looking ahead to US trade data out from the Commerce Department before the opening bell on Wall Street. The consensus estimate is for a deficit of $46.0bn in December, down from $48.7bn previously.
Over in the UK, construction output grew by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in the last three months of 2012, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), well above the 0.3% preliminary estimate included in the latest GDP figures.
Meanwhile, in other news, the European Union will push for a free trade pact with the United States, according to a draft document, something that has been decades in the making.
Markets across Europe suffered steep falls on Thursday - London's FTSE 100 dropped 1.06% - after European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said that the recent rise in the euro could post a threat to the inflation outlook and hamper the recovery across the continent. He also claimed that the recovery across the region would not start until later in the year.
FTSE 100: Aggreko provides a spark
Temporary power and temperature controls firm Aggreko was higher this morning after HSBC upgraded the stock to 'neutral'. There was also some 'market chatter' speculating that Aggreko could be a bid target for ABB, according to Killik Capital.
Engineering group Weir was also on the up after UBS raised its target price from 2,000p to 2,300p and reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock. The broker cited positive read-across from recent results from sector peers Metso and Outotec.
In contrast, Imperial Tobacco was a heavy faller after Investec downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'hold', saying: "there is support from the valuation and the prospect of a takeout. But we don't think the latter is imminent enough and while IMT looks 'cheap', it doesn't look that cheap in the current Darwinian climate." Miners were generally performing well today on the back of the upbeat data from China. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto and ENRC were being helped higher by comments from Credit Suisse, which labelled them as its 'top picks' in the mining sector ahead of earnings season.
FTSE 250: bwin.party rockets on licence hopes
Online gaming firm bwin.party jumped by as much as a fifth this morning on speculation that it could receive a licence to operate in New Jersey. "Now is the time for the state to move forward, leading the way for the nation, by becoming one of the first states to permit internet gaming," New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie was quoted as saying.
Office provider Workspace was wanted after saying that demand for space remains strong with an increase in like-for-like rent roll in the quarter and the year to date as it continues with its programme of refurbishment and redevelopment.
Insurer Catlin was firmly lower despite raising its dividend after reporting that annual profit before tax surged from $71m to $339m.
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY'S FASTEST MOVING STOCKS
WHAT THE BROKERS SAY
UBS has hiked its target price for engineering giant Weir by 15 per cent from 2,000p to 2,300p and reiterated its 'buy' rating for the stock, causing shares to rise on Friday morning.
Investec has reduced its rating for tobacco and cigarette giant Imperial to 'hold' and cut its target price from 2,580p to 2,450p, saying the first quarter was the signal to prompt the abandonment of its 'buy' case.
Vodafone's share price may have reacted well to the company's third-quarter results on Thursday, but Nomura has highlighted concerns with the company's dividend on the back of accounting changes to be implemented next year.
Investec has highlighted the strong end to the year seen at Smith & Nephew but has been forced to downgrade its rating for the stock with the expected total return (ETR) now under 10 per cent.
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)
WOLF MINERALS(WLFE)-Tungsten hunting in SW England
WANDISCO PLC (WAND)-Global Collaboration Software.
WALKER CRIPS WEDDLE BECK (WCW)
SPD - Sports direct
Click here to discuss shares with other ShareCrazy members
Regards,
ShareCrazy
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