| From UK-Analyst.com: Friday 11th October 2013 IMPORTANT: Are your UK-Analyst emails being delayed? Add UK-Analyst@news.t1ps.com to your safe senders/contact list to help resolve the problem The Markets The London markets were focussed on the admission of Royal Mail shares, in a sale which valued the company at 3.3 billion pounds. In early exchanges the shares rose by 38% to 456p, falling back to around 435p at midday as brokers struggled to deal with demand. The sudden surge in price is likely to fuel gathering momentum behind the idea that the 500 year old institution has been undervalued by the government. Billy Hayes, General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union, argued, "This is a sham, really. The company has been undervalued. "It's basically David Cameron rewarding his mates in the City. Vince Cable, one of the cleverest men in British politics, has made one of the stupidest decisions he is ever likely to make as a politician." UK construction output fell slightly in August compared to July but was still 4% higher than in the previous year. According to the Office for National Statistics, construction output - which accounts for around 6.3% of the total UK economy - slipped by 0.1% in August over July. The slight slip in output should not cause too much concern for economists as the sector has improved considerably of late on the back of a healing economy and government initiatives to inject life into the housing market. Chris Willaimson, Chief Economist at Markit, commented, "The turnaround so far this year has been quite remarkable. Having been contracting at an annual rate of 12.4% last December, the industry is now growing at a rate of 4%." At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 39.95 points at 15,166.02 and the Nasdaq grew by 8.93 points to 3,219.17. In London the FTSE 100 was up by 56.70 points to 6,487.19 and the FTSE 250 swelled by by 73.22 points to 14,969.22. The FTSE All-Share increased by 28.07 points to 3,457.89 while the FTSE AIM Index crept up by 4.94 points to 785.93.  Broker Notes Shore Capital re-iterated its "buy" stance on recruitment group Hays (HAS) on the back of a trading update for the three months to September. The broker was encouraged by the tone of the update and feels that relatively strong rates of net fee income are indicative of the improving economies in which Hays operates. Shore Capital is particularly upbeat on European trading conditions and feels that things are well and truly on the up after several years of poor performance in the region. The shares grew by 3.5p to 121.6p. Canaccord Genuity has initiated coverage on temporary power provider Aggreko (AGK) with a "sell" recommendation and a target price of 1,237p. The broker cites the slow conversion of prospects into sales, pricing pressure and material contracts coming to a conclusion in FY13 as the main reasons for its negative stance on the group. Canaccord strongly feels that all these issues, coupled with recent adverse currency movements, have not been factored into the share price. The shares slipped by 13p to 1,477p. Beaufort Securities stuck with its "speculative buy" recommendation on oil and gas exploration firm Victoria Oil and Gas (VOG) after the group issued a trading update earlier in the week. Being the first commercial onshore gas producer in Cameroon, the broker feels that Victoria has the potential to expand into further market opportunities in the region. Moreover, Beaufort is of the opinion that Victoria Oil & Gas is likely to record a multifold increase in production volumes due to the near-term resolution of production hurdles. The shares inched up by 0.075p to 1.025p. 
Blue Chips Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) confirmed that it has sold its Australian operations to Westpac Banking Corporation in a deal worth around 0.9 billion pounds. The proceeds of the sales of the businesses - which generated a pre-tax profit of 80 million pounds during 2012 - will be used for "general corporate purposes". Management argued that the disposal was in line with its strategy of focusing on the UK, rationalising its international presence and "ensuring best value for shareholders." The news comes after broker Investec upgraded its "hold" stance to a "buy" recommendation on the group earlier this week, increasing its target price from 76p to 80p. The shares were up by 1.1p to 76.02p. Mining giant Anglo American (AAL) revealed that workers had returned to its platinum mines in Rustenburg, South Africa, as a result of an agreement which has ended an eleven day strike over proposed job cuts. The walk-out, which started on 27th Septemeber is thought to have cost the company 44,000 ounces in lost production. The strike action was prompted by company plans to cut 3,300 jobs as it looks to combat rising costs and a platinum supply surplus. The shares shares swelled by 36p to 1,512p. Mid Caps Defence group Chemring (CHG) announced that its subsidiary, Chemring Countermeasures, has been awarded a "significant" countermeasures contract from a Middle Eastern customer. However, the group went on to warn that problems at its aircraft flares countermeasures unit and the US government shutdown is likely to result in an 8 million pounds shortfall in operating profit for 2013. Chemring also highlighted that recent tensions in the Middle East had also created problems, with shipping to the region becoming "constrained" in a trend which could hit some munitions contracts until the first quarter of the 2014. The shares plunged by 64.4p to 220p. Small Caps Personal Group Holdings (PGH), the financial services group, revealed that it has secured a contract to provide 2 Sisters Food Group's 24,000 employees with a voluntary benefits programme. 2 Sisters Food Group has annual sales of 3 billion pounds and its clients include British Airways, Costa and Harrods. The financial details of the arrangement - which is due to come into effect next month - were not disclosed to the market. The shares grew by 1.5p to 391p. Oil and gas explorer Europa Oil and Gas (EOG) swung into a pre-tax profit for the year ended 31st July, primarily due to a reduction in the cost of sales. The European explorers posted a pre-tax profit of 400,000 pounds for the twelve months ended 31st July, well up on the 12.1 million loss it recorded in the previous year. Looking ahead, the company insists that it is encouraged by its medium term prospects as it plans to drill new sites and complete 3D seismic studies offshore Ireland. The shares jumped by 0.375p to 8.75p. Banking group Secure Trust Bank (STB) said that it traded well in the third quarter of 2013 as demand for its lending and deposit products continued to be strong. The bank also revealed an additional five year fixed rate deposit funding agreement during the period as the bank looks to mitigate the potential impact of interest rates rising sooner than some commentators expect. Separately, the bank hired an unnamed Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer as it looks to gain traction in the SME loan market. The shares fell by 22.5p to 2,222.5p. ADVERTISEMENT Get free trading guides from Evil Knievil (How to successfully short stocks), Zak Mir (Top AIM market picks for 2013) and other top financial commentators by CLICKING HERE 
Transense Technology (TRT) said that it was "pleased" with the recent progress it has made across all of its operating divisions. The technology specialist was keen to praise its tyre management division in particular and explained that the company is benefitting from the recent contract wins for its iTrack system in with Anglo American. It also emerged that Chairman, David Kleeman, has decided to step down after spending 6 years in the position. The shares remained flat at 7.38p. Gold producerAnglo Asian Mining (AAZ) confirmed that it has upgraded the measured and indicated resources at its Gedabek gold mine in Azerbaijan. The resource has been increased by 20% to 1.12 million ounces in the measured and indicated category, derived from 44.6 million tonnes at a grade of 0.783 grams per tonne of gold. The total JORC compliant resource now stands at 51.6 milliontonnes at 0.754 g/t Au, or 1.25 million ounces. The shares were down by 1.13p to 30.5p. Intellectual property support services group RWS Holdings (RWS) said that pre-tax profits are likely to come in above market expectations for the year ended 30th September after revenues were driven higher by a strong demand for patent translations. RWS Went on to stress its confidence in its future prospects, claiming that it has a good pipeline of new client wins and prospects. The shares increased by 1.25p to 766p. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment