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Tuesday's news and tips

Created:

1 July 2008

Written by:

Tanya Malick

• Electrical vehicle specialist Tanfield said a marked slowdown in its markets was experienced throughout June, with growth for the year significantly lower than previously forecast. (IC COMMENT)

• Design, engineering and management consultancy WSP Group has taken a stake in a Scandinavian architectural consultancy. (IC COMMENT)

• Builder Morgan Sindall said it remains on track to meet full year expectations but warned that challenging conditions over the last quarter will impact 2009 results. (IC COMMENT)

• Music, films and games retailer HMV is ahead of schedule in its recovery programme after a strong set of full-year results.

• Carpet retailer Carpetright said full-year pre-tax profit fell to £59.5m from £67m after it was hit with increased costs related to acquisitions.

Continues below...

• The auction process for catering equipment maker Enodis ended yesterday with US conglomerate Manitowoc emerging the winner.

• Shares in Matra Petroleum jumped after the Russia and central Europe-focused oil and gas explorer estimate the net present value of its Sokolovskae oil discovery in Russia at $172m.

• Global technology company Smiths Group has purchased an Australian manufacturer of wireless communication components.

• Rio Tinto has announced agreements with all of its customers in Asia for iron ore deliveries from Hamersley Iron, Robe River and Hope Downs for the contract year commencing 1 April 2008.

• Gene therapy group Oxford Biomedica said Bavarian Nordic has filed a patent infringement action in the US related to Oxford's Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) technology.

• Sausage skin maker Devro's trading is in-line with expectations despite higher energy and commodity costs, adding that demand for its products remained strong despite the economic environment.

• Shareholders in Victoria Oil & Gas were not amused by news that it has temporarily suspended production at its Kemerkol project, pending resolution of a legal battle.

• Mezzanine finance lender Intermediate Capital has seen a further slowing of the buy-out market with gross loans arranged down from £898m to £356m in the three months to June.

• Home shopping company N Brown has seen growth speed up since April led by strong demand for its new catalogues.

• UK and Spain focused vehicle hire company Northgate said it expects overall profit to stay at similar levels to last year as demand for its services weaken.

• Oil distribution and services specialist Hunting is benefiting from high levels of activity in the oil and gas industry.

FOR A SUMMARY OF LATEST MOVEMENTS IN EQUITY, COMMODITY AND CURRENCY MARKETS, SEE THE 'MARKETS' PAGE

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NEWSPAPER SHARE TIPS (1 JULY):

Full round-up of newspaper share tips (sourced from Sharecast)

PRESS SUMMARY:

Struggling housebuilder Barratt Developments is close to securing a rescue refinancing with lenders that will relax its banking covenants and help it ride out the property downturn. Barratt, which has debt of £1.7bn and a market cap of around £200m, has hired investment bank NM Rothschild and a restructuring team from Deloitte to negotiate with its lenders. The housebuilder's banking syndicate, led by HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds TSB, has given preliminary approval to a deal to include £400m of fresh bank debt, reports the Telegraph.

Doubts over BP's future in Russia escalated last night after authorities in Moscow refused half of the work permits requested by TNK-BP. It means that more than 70 foreign employees of TNK-BP, including the BP-backed chief executive Robert Dudley, may soon have to leave Russia unless they can secure new visas quickly. The potential departure of Mr Dudley as well as the chief financial officer and others from the executive team would in effect leave control of the company in the hands of their Russian partners, writes the Times.

Tesco has launched an unprecedented appeal following the Competition Commission's two-year investigation into the UK grocery sector. The supermarket chain, which lodged its appeal with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) yesterday, is to challenge proposals by the Commission to introduce a "competition test," reports the Telegraph.

Kangaroo, the video-on-demand tie-up between the three main terrestrial broadcasters, is to be investigated by the Competition Commission, casting doubt on the likelihood of the service going live this year as planned. The joint venture proposes a single place for viewers to access a vast archive of TV programmes from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, reports the Independent.

Bradford & Bingley's minority investors have been urged to block the bank's fund-raising plan on hopes that Resolution, which dropped a rival proposal last week, could return to the table. The UK Shareholders Association (UKSA) released a statement yesterday calling for the 930,000 small stakeholders to turn on the board at the extraordinary general meeting next week, following its refusal to consider Resolution's proposals, reports the Independent.

The most senior official to be ousted from the Financial Services Authority in the wake of the Northern Rock disaster walked away with a £612,000 farewell package and a £30,000 "performance-related bonus", it emerged yesterday. Clive Briault, who was head of the retail division at the City regulator, left "by mutual consent" on April 30 just after the FSA admitted to a string of errors in its supervision of the mortgage bank, reports the Times.

John Charcol, one of the UK's largest mortgage brokers, has axed a quarter of its workforce and closed three of its eight UK branches because of the turmoil in the housing market. After a six-month review of the business, the company announced that Ian Kennedy, chief executive, had left and would be replaced by John Garfield, one of the original founders, the FT reports.

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