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Wednesday's news and tips

Created:

20 August 2008

Written by:

Tanya Malick

• BAA should be forced to sell two of either Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted airports to improve competition, a report by the Competition Commission into the structure of the airport business in the UK recommended today.

• Parcel group Business Direct Group today confirmed that it has received expressions of interest from various parties with regards to the possible sale of all or part of the group.

• Equipment rental specialist VP said it has continued to make progress since its year-end announcement in June and remains confident of delivering further progress in the financial year. (IC COMMENT)

• Growing demand for energy efficient lighting helped high power LED supplier Enfis to more than triple revenue in the first half. (IC COMMENT)

• European newspaper publisher Mecom narrowed its losses for the half year thanks to recent acquisitions. (IC COMMENT)

Continues below...

• Recruitment group and bid target Michael Page rose more than 14% at one stage Wednesday after chief executive Steve Ingham said Adecco might have to pay 600p a share for the business.

• Irish low cost airliner Aer Lingus has appointed Colm Barrington as chairman to replace current incumbent John Sharman.

• Zambia-focused miner Kiwara said it has found copper sulphide mineralisation over a width of 46.3m with an average grade of 1.39% copper during drilling at its Kalumbila site.

• Northwest Biotherapeutics has less than six weeks to raise extra cash to keep the day to day business in tact despite just agreeing a $1m loan from Toucan Partners.

• Aerospace and defence firm Cobham said it will acquire the trade and net assets of GMS from The Allied Defense Group for $26m in cash.

• Clean energy firm Greenko said profits for the year ending March 2009 will be impacted by the delay of electricity generation at its hydro project in the Karnataka province of India, which was caused by flash floods.

• Printing group Xaar posted slightly higher interim profits but warned that lower sales in China could impact second half profitability.

• Witan Investment Trust saw its net asset value per share slide in the first half of 2008, but its share buy-back programme helped performance beat the company's benchmark.

• Industrial services and rental company Northbridge said trading is currently ahead of market expectations for the year to 31 December 2008.

• Packaging firm Robinson expects a further increase in profits in the second half of 2008 despite strong pressure on margins.

• Pawnbroker H & T Group has seen strong revenue improvement across the business, with the retail business showing strong like-for-like sales growth despite a difficult trading environment.

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

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NEWSPAPER SHARE TIPS (20 AUGUST)

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

PRESS SUMMARY:

The computer games industry has launched an unprecedented assault on illegal downloads, demanding payment from thousands of families who obtained the latest releases over the internet without paying.

Five of the world's top games developers will serve notice on 25,000 people across the UK, requiring each one to pay £300 immediately to settle out of court. Those who refuse risk being taken to court. The companies will target their initial legal actions on 500 people who ignore the letters. The companies involved – Atari, Topware Interactive, Reality Pump, Techland and Codemasters, reports the Times.

Barclays would consider buying a US wealth management company but is "highly unlikely" to bid for an investment bank, even with the depressed share prices of many Wall Street firms, Bob Diamond, the bank's president, says. Diamond, who runs Barclays Capital, the UK bank's investment bank, told the Financial Times that the credit crunch offered an unprecedented chance to take business from more established US rivals.

Tesco exaggerated the cheapness of its products in the battle for budget shoppers, the advertising watchdog has ruled. The Advertising Standards Authority said Britain's largest supermarket suggested it was up to 53% cheaper than Asda and Morrisons for a basket of common items. But, the ASA ruled, the ads gave a misleading impression because Tesco's "cheap" products were on a promotion for a limited time and the biggest savings came from less common items such as branded dishwasher tablets and dog food, reports the Independent.

The chief executive of Alliance & Leicester will receive a bonus of up to £750,000 if he remains with the company after it is taken over by Santander, according to documents released to shareholders yesterday. Meanwhile, the bank's 7,500 workers will each receive more than £900 of shares in Santander, the Spanish bank that is buying A&L for £1.3bn, when the deal is completed, writes the Times.

The hedge fund group that took a huge bet on Northern Rock as it was imploding last autumn has reportedly lost 85% of its investors' money, amid evidence of a terrible spell this summer for many hedge funds. SRM, the Monaco-based group that raised $3illion from investors in September 2006, is down by 85%, according to The Wall Street Journal, including a minus 77% performance in the past year. Tight lock-up terms prevent investors from withdrawing their money, reports the Times.

Brixton chief executive Tim Wheeler has compared the state of the commercial property market to the "apocalyptic" atmosphere of Bob Dylan's 1967 song, All Along the Watchtower. All the jokers and thieves of the industry are contributing to a state of confusion where no one can "know what any of it is worth", he says, reports the Telegraph.

The Serious Fraud Office may launch an investigation into the collapse of business class-only airline Silverjet, after receiving a complaint. The airline collapsed weeks after it announced it had arranged a loan of up to $100m (£53.6m) from Viceroy Holdings, an Abu Dhabi-based investment house. The first instalment of $5m failed to arrive and days later Silverjet grounded planes, leaving business travellers stranded, reports the Telegraph.

Mortgage lending will contract by almost 20% this year, reflecting the market uncertainty, falling house prices, and rising arrears, market analyst Datamonitor has warned. In the first six months of this year, gross lending amounted to just £149.5bn, a steep fall of almost 19 per cent from £178bn in the first half of 2007, reports the Independent.

The world's biggest brick-maker, Wienerberger, is mothballing two British factories as part of 25 closures across Europe, after profits fell 31% during the property slowdown. The Austrian company blamed the construction slump in the UK, America and Germany for "disappointing developments", which will lead to the loss of 80 jobs at plants in Devon and Surrey, reports the Telegraph.

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