Welcome to our summary of the weekend's quality press tips, provided on Mondays by Weekend City Press Review.
PRESS TIPS:
The Times
■ Tempus: Martin Waller says hold Severn Trent for its yield and potential bid action, although probably not just yet (last IC view: Hold, 27 Nov 2012).
Workspace, 333.5p, looks an "interesting sideways punt" on the London property market (last IC view: Buy, 13 Nov 2012).
Trap Oil may look cheap, but it remains, at its core, a highly speculative oil stock (last IC view: Speculative buy, 18 Sep 2012).
A renewed three-year contract for Anite to provide testing services for Deutsche Telekom is "another vote of confidence for a company already well positioned to benefit from 4G" (last IC view: Buy, 4 Dec 2012).
The Independent
■ No Pain, No Gain: Derek Pain is concerned about prospects for portfolio member Avation, 86.5p, which is due to deliver its interims on Monday.
The Daily Mail
■ Investment Extra: Ian Lyall says retail bonds such as the 5.5% available from North Sea explorer EnQuest may not be suitable for all small investors (last IC view on Enquest's shares: Buy, 14 Aug 2012).
The Sunday Times
■ Inside the City: Danny Fortson thinks Anglo American is a "risky bet" for investors because its fate remains "inextricably linked" to South African's "unpredictable and combustible" politics (last IC view: Sell, 30 Jan 2013).
The City has "responded well" so far to the changes introduced at Thomas Cook by new chief executive Harriet Green, although the surprise is that her predecessors failed to spot the scale of the cost savings available (last IC view: Hold, 28 Nov 2012).
The Sunday Telegraph
■ Questor: Garry White says hold BP, 455.5p, for its yield and the potential for returning cash to shareholders (last IC view: Hold, 5 Feb 2013).
Hold Burberry, £13.65, as the 6 per cent fall last week following management changes looks overdone (last IC view: Sell, 7 Nov 2012).
The Mail on Sunday
■ Midas: Joanne Hart says buy and hold Victrex, £15.49, which is a "great British company" offering "real long-term value" (Last IC view: Hold, 11 Dec 2012).
Hold Afren, tipped in January 2007 at 56p and now 150p, and await the outcome of recent speculation that it may sell oil assets worth up to £1bn (last IC view: Buy, 21 Aug 2012).
Business press headlines courtesy of Weekend City Press Review:
Scandal-hit bank chief gets bonus
Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester is set to receive a £780,000 bonus next month in spite of the £390m fines levied on the bank by US and UK regulators over Libor rate manipulation. The RBS board believes Hester should get the bonus because he has received only one annual payout since joining the bank in 2008. Meanwhile, Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins is expected to reveal at Tuesday's 'strategy day' that 2,000 jobs will go at its investment banking division. [Sunday Times pp.1.1, 3.1]
Private hospital giant in talks on £2bn debt
General Healthcare Group, which operates the UK's largest private hospital chain, BMI Hospitals, is in "crisis" talks with lenders over a £2bn debt facility, which falls due in the autumn. GHG was taken over in 2006 by a consortium involving Apax Partners, South African hospital chain Netcare and London & Regional, which has already been forced to write off "hundreds of millions of pounds" on the deal. [Sunday Times p.3.1]
City watchdog kills bid to save broker
The Financial Services Authority reportedly refused to sanction a rescue bailout of Seymour Pierce by a Ukrainian tycoon following an eight-month investigation into his affairs. Seymour, which was acquired in a pre-pack administration late on Friday by Cantor Fitzgerald, had sought to sell a stake to Denis Gorbunenko in return for a £4m cash injection in a deal brokered by City veteran Keith Harris. [Sunday Times pp.3.1, 3.6]
Barclays to close tax unit
Barclays is set to close its controversial structured capital markets tax avoidance unit as part of efforts by new chief executive Antony Jenkins to show how the bank’s culture is changing. The unit was formerly among the bank’s most profitable, making profits of up to £1bn a year in the mid-2000s, although it became synonymous with the bank’s now-discredited aggressive approach to investment banking. [Sunday Telegraph p.B1]
Stelios sets sights on easyJet chairman
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is expected to vote his family’s 36 per cent stake in easyJet against the re-election of chairman Sir Mike Rake as well as the board’s remuneration report. The move is the latest in the long-running campaign by the airline’s founder over what he claims are costly fleet expansion plans. Meanwhile, Aer Lingus chief executive Christophe Mueller claims the airline could be worth more than Ryanair’s E694m bid if it remains independent.[Sunday Telegraph pp.B1, B3]
McDonald’s CEO hails the "positive force" of business
McDonald’s UK chief executive Jill McDonald claims that the recent debate over the tax affairs of major multinationals is damaging to the business community. The appropriately named McDonald, in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, revealed that the UK chain paid £42m of corporation tax in the UK last year at the notional rate of 20 per cent. [Sunday Telegraph pp.B2, B9]
Rolls-Royce expects profits boost
Aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce is set to post pre-tax profits of £1.4bn for 2012 - up from £1.1bn in the previous year - as a result of winning a series of engine contracts with global airlines. But the company still faces uncertainty over the Serious Fraud Office investigation into alleged bribery and corruption involving engine deals in Indonesia and China. [Sunday Telegraph p.B2]
Carney faces "mega-challenge" as Bank of England governor, says former boss
New Bank of England governor Mark Carney faces a "mega-challenge" when he takes over in the summer, according to David Dodge, his predecessor at the Bank of Canada. Dodge said in an interview with the IoS that the key issue will be how Carney deals with integrating new regulatory powers over the banking sector with the BoE’s traditional monetary policy role. [Independent on Sunday pp.85, 90-91]
