Tuesday 5 March
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"1 billion people in the world are chronically hungry. 1 billion people are overweight."
Mark Bittman
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
FTSE 100
6,399.32
53.69 0.85%
FTSE 250
13,811.45
136.92 -1.00%
FTSE 350
3,438.95
29.59 0.87%
FTSE All Share
3,370.04
28.58 0.86%
AIM 100
3,293.73
18.21 0.56%
AIM All Share
738.94
2.77 0.38%
13:15 pm
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Hello Share Lovers,
The shares took a bit of a drop at the start of the week. This was due to more bad news from the banks. The Honkers Bonkers (hsba) had a big profit. But it was 6 per cent down on last time. So in time-honoured fashion, the shares were marked down.
A bit disappointing personally, as I have far too many shares in this outfit. My reasoning is that as they do 90 per cent of their business outside the UK, they should do very well out of bigger global growth. But they did not make as big a profit as expected and so they paid the penalty.
CLICK HERE for the full article
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
Smartphone user numbers are expected to double from the current 1 billion to 2 billion devices by 2015. That means there is a whole lot of money to be made by the likes of app developers, infrastructure and service providers.
In this special report the team at UK-Analyst have identified five small cap firms which they believe look set to reap the rewards of the smartphone revolution.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
Footsie hits new high for the year
London stocks are holding near their best levels of the day and the year. That comes on the back of dovish comments from US Fed Vice-Chairman Janet Yellen - last night - and after signs that authorities in both Europe and China will loosen their fiscal policies in a bid to buttress growth.
In that regard, following last night´s meeting of European Union finance ministers the bloc´s Economics Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, signalled that several countries may be given more time to meet their budget deficit reduction goals.
As well, countries such as Ireland and Portugal may be granted greater breathing room to return the funds borrowed from international creditors - at the height of the financial crisis - in order to prop up their economies.
Regarding today´s service sector data, the Markit/CIPS service sector purchasing managers survey for February has come in at 51.8, versus 51.5 for the month before and economists´ expectations for a small retreat to 51.3.
Economists at Barclays had this to day about the data: "The solid reading for services activity and the upbeat accompanying commentary on improving business conditions stand in contrast to the alarmingly weak manufacturing PMI, and makes it more likely that the latter was an erratic reading." All eyes will now turn towards this afternoon´s ISM service sector gauge Stateside.
Overnight the British Retail Consortium reported that retail sales - in value terms - increased at a 4.4% year-on-year clip in February, up from a 3.0% pace in January and 1.5% in December. That was the fastest rate of increase since February 2010.
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY'S FASTEST MOVING STOCKS
FTSE 100: Serco takes over at the top of the leaderboard
International Services firm Serco Group has reported a 2012 operating profit of £287m, up 8% on revenues of £4.91bn. "2013 outlook comments stress a modest increase in organic revenue growth which, given the 3.3% FY12 figure, we interpret as in line with previous guidance towards a 5% growth rate," Jefferies comments. "The preliminary results contain several positive catalysts including strong FCF conversion, a rebasing of the dividend pay-out and reassuring fiscal year estimated 2013 guidance," the broker adds.
Standard Chartered has unveiled pre-tax profits $6.88bn, coming in slightly ahead of expectations, while at the same time announcing an 11% increase in its dividend pay-out.
International energy services company Wood Group, has posted a solid 20% rise in revenue from continuing operations for its full year ended December 31st, boosted by growth in all three divisions. Earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation (EBITA) from continuing operations came in at $461.1m (2011: $341.6m), up 35%. The EBITA margin increased from 6.0% to 6.8%.
Commodities trader Glencore has announced a full year adjusted net profit of $3.06bn, slightly less than was expected by the markets, although it sees a global recovery under way. The company has sets April 16th as the deadline for the completion of its merger with Xstrata.
Meggitt, the international company specialising in high performance components and sub-systems for aerospace, defence and energy markets, has been selected to provide a package of thermal management products for certain types of LEAP engine for French manufacturer Snecma (Safran), in a deal valued at $175m.
FTSE 250: Ophir Energy attracting some attention
Shares in Ophir Energy made strong gains on Tuesday, as the outfit reported a 100% operational success rate for 2012. The company increased net contingent resources by 896m barrels of oil equivalent (boe), from 210m boe to 1.106m boe. Shares also bounced higher yesterday on the back of reports on Bloomberg highlighting the attractiveness of the company for potential suitors, such as Shell or Cnooc.
Office space group Regus announced full year pre-tax operating profits of £90.2m.
Equipment rental group Ashtead reported a third quarter pre-tax profit of £53.8m on the back of revenues of £333.9m, up from £271m in the year ago period. The company has also lifted its full year profit targets.
CLICK HERE FOR THE DAY'S FASTEST MOVING STOCKS
WHAT THE BROKERS SAY
Abcam: Investec raises target price from 466p to 484p and keeps a buy recommendation. Numis revises target price from 470p to 530p and maintains its buy rating. Debenhams: Citigroup reduces target price from 123p to 83p and downgrades to neutral. HSBC cuts target price from 135p to 120p maintaining an overweight rating. UBS lowers target price from 125p to 110p, while leaving its buy recommendation unchanged. Exane BNP reduces target price from 105p to 85p and keeps a neutral rating. Espirito Santo cuts target price from 125p to 95p, while retaining its buy recommendation.
HSBC Holdings: Morgan Stanley moves target price from 737p to 777p keeping an equal-weight rating. Deutsche Bank revises target price from 715p to 760p, while its buy recommendation is maintained. UBS ups target price from 725p to 750p and retains a neutral rating. Societe Generale increases target price from 700p to 790p reiterating a buy recommendation. Canaccord Genuity ups target price from 700p to 825p and stays with its buy recommendation.
International Airlines Group: HSBC shifts target price from 290p to 300p and stays with its overweight 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:
Sefton resources
Rotork (ROR)
SILVERMERE ENERGY(SLME)-Gulf of Mexico focused.
MENZIES (JOHN) - (MNZS)
The right time to be buying Earthport?
Click here to discuss shares with other ShareCrazy members
Regards,
ShareCrazy
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