Weekend news and share tips

By ShareCast, 06 June 2011

■ Budget airline easyJet saw a sharp rise in the number its passengers who flew in May from the same period the previous year as travellers continued to splash out on cheap flights.

■ Spirits brands owner Diageo is set to acquire SABMiller's stake in a Kenyan brewery firm for around $225m.

■ Media buyer and market research group Aegis has confirmed speculation that it is in talks with the research think tank Ipsos about a "potential transaction" of Aegis's market research business Synovate.

■ Speech recognition specialist Eckoh said full year pre-tax losses widened as it recommends its first dividend payment and announced a new contract with NIE Energy to develop a smartphone application.

■ Hazardous waste disposal firm Silverdell has today published its results for the first half of the year up until the past 31st of March. At £27.9m group revenues fell slightly, by 5.6 per cent on the year before, but they did grow on those for the second half of last year, by £0.8m in absolute terms ().

■ Oil giant Tullow Oil reported an "encouraging first step" in drilling on Monday after its Banda-1 exploration well offshore Ghana discovered oil, albeit at a poor quality.

■ Rolls-Royce has announced that its public takeover offer - with car manufacturer Daimler - for German engineer Tognum has been successful, following the expiry of the acceptance period.

■ Online Smartphone retailer EXPANSYS expects to report a smaller pre-tax profit than previously anticipated for the year to 30 April amid tough trading in Britain.

■ Shares in Image Scan jumped after the security scanner group said it won £405,000 of contracts since releasing its interim results last month.

■ WS Atkins , the UK's largest engineering and design consultancy, announced this morning that it has acquired Pöyry's 130 people-strong oil and gas business debt free, for a cash consideration of €17.25m.

■ Shares in Sound Oil gushed ahead after it reported that a completion operation at its Marciano-1ST Well in southern Italy had begun.

■ DDD Group , the 3D solutions company, will this afternoon announce that first quarter revenues are expected to rise by 111 per cent, to $975,000, versus the same period last year (excluding discontinued operations). In sequential terms the company estimates a 45 per cent growth rate.

■ Cluff Gold has confirmed that 'an illegal labour dispute' has interrupted production at its Kalsaka mine in Burkina Faso.

■ Printing.com , the operator of a chain of high street printing services outlets, posted lower profits in the year to 31 March as budgets were squeezed at the small and medium companies the firm serves.

■ Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO) has announced a US$4.4m loss before tax for the year to the end of 31 December 2010, which it said was in line with expectations.

■ Engineering conglomerate Melrose is set to dispose of its precision die cast components division, Dynacast, to KDI Holdings for a consideration of $590m.

■ Independent financial consultancy, Jelf Group , has revealed a 49 per cent jump in operating profits for the six months to 31 March 2011.

■ Mediterranean Oil & Gas announced a pre-tax loss of €7.78m for 2010 after being hit by poor economic conditions and new regulation in Italy.

■ Sable Mining Africa , the AIM-mining company focused in sub-Saharan Africa, has acquired a 49 per cent interest in Liberation Mining for an undisclosed sum.

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NEWSPAPER SHARE TIPS (4-5 JUNE 2011):

PRESS HEADLINES:

The Chancellor faces a crucial test on Monday as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gives its verdict on the British economy, amid a chorus of calls for the Government to adopt a "plan B" to safeguard fragile-looking growth. The IMF judgment loomed as top economists leapt to the defence of the Coalition's austerity plans after some 50 academics signed a letter over the weekend calling for the urgent adoption of an alternative economic plan, according to the .

Drugs companies must behave "in step with society" and put people before profits, the head of one of the world's biggest pharmaceuticals businesses warns today. Andrew Witty, the chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), says that too often the industry has acted "as though it is detached from society", causing a corrosion of public trust, the reports.

Portugal's opposition Social Democrats (PSD) won a conclusive victory in a general election on Sunday, paving the way for a new centre-right government coalition to implement the country's €78bn bail-out programme. The PSD had gained 39 per cent of the vote, against 28 per cent of the vote for the governing Socialists, late on Sunday with only a handful of small districts to count, writes the .

Retailers are preparing for further bad news. Key figures to be published tomorrow are almost certain to reveal that consumer spending again disappointed last month, amid fears that the ongoing squeeze on household disposable incomes is set to depress the sector for the rest of the year. The British Retail Consortium is set to reveal that shop sales in May were much weaker than in April, when, in an unusual combination of circumstances, retailers bucked the economic gloom, reports the .

European airlines have warned of a damaging trade war with the US, Russia and China if Brussels pushes ahead with plans to include carriers in the emissions trading scheme next year in a move that will put fares up by €40 and cost the industry €1.1bn (£980m). The warning comes as US airlines prepare to launch a legal challenge against the ETS in Luxembourg next month, adding to unease from the Russian and Chinese governments. From January carriers flying in and out of the European Union must join power companies in the EU in the cap-and-trade system, where they will have to acquire carbon credits to account for the emissions generated by their flights, according to the .

The majority of Britons would support action to reduce the pay gap between high and low earners, new research suggests. The report, by the Institute of Public Policy research, found an overwhelming 82 per cent of those surveyed said government should act to restrain pay in both the public and the private sectors. Amid growing public discontent with perceived inequality, the report concludes that government, businesses and unions should do more to make pay fairer, the writes.

A company that helps clients such as Airbus and Aston Martin keep track of their parts throughout the production process is heading for a £40m AIM listing. Ubisense plans to raise £6m from the flotation to accelerate the development of its technology, according to the .

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