Wednesday 7 March
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Did you ever think that making a speech on economics is a lot like p*ssing down your leg? It seems hot to you, but it never does to anyone else."
Lyndon B. Johnson
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
FTSE 100
6,453.93
26.29 0.41%
FTSE 250
13,952.50
29.23 -0.21%
FTSE 350
3,469.12
13.16 0.38%
FTSE All Share
3,399.78
13.16 0.38%
AIM 100
3,333.34
10.96 0.33%
AIM All Share
743.22
1.34 0.18%
14:00 pm
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Hello Share Gang,
That was good news wasn’t it? The Dow Jones has reached an all-time record. The last time the Footsie did that – and it was a long time ago – the index hit about 6,900. We are still some way off that, but if the Americans show the way, and they usually do on the share front, than we can expect to break our own record by the end of the year – perhaps even sooner.
And yet. And yet. My own bag of shares is not doing so well. It was doing a lot better until a decent Footsie gain, just after the American day of records, suddenly evaporated into the red. Not much into the red – but a failure to hang onto the American momentum is a bit disappointing.
CLICK HERE for the full article
HSBC shares rebounded on Tuesday, a day after sliding on the back of full year earnings which fell short of expectations. Pre-tax profits were down by 6% in 2012 from the previous year but the bank has pledged to increase its dividend on strong growth in Asian markets.
Looking past the numbers though, HSBC, like its UK peers, is attempting to turn a page in its story after being embroiled in a number of recent scandals....
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It was almost rather sad this week to see Pursuit Dynamics ignominiously raise the white flag. The company, for whom the term “permascam” was practically invented had managed to keep going for a full twelve years of bluster and hot air, regularly tapping shareholders for cash with a chutzpah that made the jaw drop.
Which brings me to Proteome Sciences (PRM) which has defied gravity now for approaching eighteen years....
CLICK HERE for the full article
REPORT OF THE DAY
A special report by UK-Analyst.com
Latest operations update revealed 32% and 4% improvements in gas and oil production respectively on a month-on-month basis. This works out at 1,912,068 scf of gas and 308 barrels of oil net to Silvermere. This production comes from the well flowing for 73% of the time in February.
The corporate strategy is to expand by acquiring appraisal and production opportunities in oil and natural gas projects either onshore or shallow offshore the US; that offer the promise of early cash flow. Finance is available for this from a prudently drawing down on the £5m SEDA agreed with Yorkville in December 2012.
Mustang Island consists of three other existing identified well locations within this licence area. Silvermere’s agreement on the acquisition of the interest in Mustang Island gives the company a far larger stake in these successive additional wells.
Successful production from the I-1 well has the potential to significantly upgrade the company’s reserves at Mustang Island and its valuation. Based on an independent valuation of the 2P reserves on a fully diluted basis equates to a target price of 20p. e look set to reap the rewards of the smartphone revolution.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
Stocks gain as BoE holds fire
Stocks were making moderate gains by Thursday lunchtime despite the Bank of England (BoE) refraining from further easing to boost the UK economy.
At noon, the BoE revealed that policy-makers had voted to maintain interest rates at their record-low level of 0.5% (where they have been since March 2009) and keep its asset purchase programme unchanged at £375bn.
However, it remains to be seen how tight the vote actually was as the proposal to increase asset purchases continues to gather support. Minutes of last month's meeting showed that while the majority voted to maintain the current level of quantitative easing (QE), even BoE Governor Mervyn King added his name to the list calling for more stimulus.
Speaking before today's decision, Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said: "Last month's voting suggests we're going to see a central bank more focused on growth than inflation in the near future. The voting in today's meeting will probably be neck and neck with those against more QE edging it by five votes to four."
The European Central Bank will also reveal its policy decision this afternoon and is widely expected to stand pat, ignoring recent calls for a rate cut to counter a subdued economy and a strong currency. However, the following press conference with Bank President Mario Draghi could be used to hint at future loosening and so will be closely watched.
Erlam said: "I still expect to see a rate cut in the coming months, however we may have to see inflation fall sufficiently below 2.0% target level before certain policy makers climb on board."
In other central-bank news, the Bank of Japan voted to keep interest rates and its asset purchase programme unchanged, a decision that was widely expected given the Bank's recent aggressive easing.
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY'S FASTEST MOVING STOCKS
FTSE 100: Aviva plummets; Aggreko soars
Insurance giant Aviva was forced to slash to dividend after swinging into the red in 2012, after taking a 3.3bn-pound write-down on a disposal in the US. Aviva also said that its overall situation does not warrant bonuses for executive directors for 2012 or pay rises for 2013. Shares dropped sharply early on.
Panmure Gordon cut its rating for Aviva from 'buy' to 'hold' today, saying that while the dividend cut will remove some uncertainty, "the market will rightly be disappointed".
Heading the other way was temporary power and temperature control provider Aggreko which rocketed after posting a strong performance in 2012 with trading profit up 13% last year. Investec upgraded the stock from 'hold' to 'buy' this morning.
IMI, the engineering firm, rose strongly after boasting a "resilient" set of results in 2012 and unveiling a share buy-back programme of up to £175m over the next 12 months.
Insurance provider Standard Life slipped despite revealing a special dividend worth £302m after delivering substantial growth in profits in 2012.
British asset management firm Schroders was higher after saying that assets under management reached record levels in spite of choppy markets and falling profits.
FTSE 250: National Express drops
Transport group National Express was a heavy faller after reports yesterday said that US investor Elliot Advisors plans to sell over 50m worth of shares, equal to a 9.9% stake.
Engineering firm Spirax-Sarco was in demand after proposing a special dividend of 100p per share in addition to an 8.0% rise in the full-year payout, after a 2.0% rise in revenue in 2012.
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY'S FASTEST MOVING STOCKS
WHAT THE BROKERS SAY
UBS has downgraded its rating for industrial manufacturing conglomerate Melrose from 'buy' to 'neutral' one day after the company's full-year results, highlighting issues with the core divisions. Investec has lifted its recommendation for temporary power and temperature control group Aggreko from 'hold' to 'buy' following the company's strong 2012 results.
Shares in insurance group Aviva plummeted on Thursday morning after the company announced a surprise cut in the dividend; while Panmure Gordon thinks the move will remove some uncertainty, it has downgraded its rating for the stock from 'buy' to 'hold'.
Admiral: Nomura raises target price from 1350p to 1493p keeping a buy recommendation.
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:
DAVID S SMITH (HOLDINGS) (SMDS)
Aggreko
ORIGIN ENTERPRISES (OGN)
Puricore - multibagger in the making.
SILVERDELL Asbestos Remover And Consultants.
Click here to discuss shares with other ShareCrazy members
Regards,
ShareCrazy
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