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Wednesday's news and tips

Created:

19 November 2008

Written by:

Tanya Malick

■ Woolworths confirmed that it is in preliminary discussions with Hilco, a global turnaround specialist, regarding a possible offer for its retail business. (IC COMMENT)

■ Tough property markets sent the value of British Land's property value tumbling by 10.8% in the first half, though the group still upped its dividend by 7%. (IC COMMENT)

■ Russia-focused oil group Imperial Energy reports its reserves increased by 40% in the period since July.

■ Life insurance sector consolidator Resolution has confirmed its intention to float next month and to focus on opportunities in the life assurance and asset management sectors. (IC COMMENT)

■ A reduction in income and a lower overall operating margin sent profit tumbling 29% at stockbroker Charles Stanley during the first half. (IC COMMENT)

■ FFastFill, the derivatives trading software company, is planning to raise £1m in a share placing to fund its expansion in the Asia Pacific region. (IC COMMENT)

■ Health and social care provider Care UK reported solid annual growth in operating profit after a strong performance at its Health Care division and is confident about future growth. (IC COMMENT)

■ Credit checking firm Experian said it is adapting to market challenges, which is expects to persist into next year, as it posted a rise in half year profits. (IC COMMENT)

Continues below...

■ Shareholders in Lloyds TSB have overwhelmingly given their backing to the proposed merger with HBOS.

■ Marks and Spencer is to hold a one-day, 20%-off sale tomorrow, its first such move since 2004 in a bid to revive its flagging sales.

■ Barclays said all £500m of Reserve Capital Instruments (RCIs) made available by Qatar Holdings and Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan were placed with institutions yesterday.

■ Independent oil and gas firm Dana said production for 2008 is expected to rise 30% over last year despite lower-than-expected production in the UK.

■ Parcel and post delivery firm Business Post said half year pre-tax profit rose 25% and expects trading in the second half to be in line with company expectations.

■ PartyGaming reported flat quarterly revenues due to a 15% decline in poker and said the challenging economic environment and strengthening US dollar continue to affect its revenue performance.

■ Consumer electronics group Armour posted a 22% decline in annual pre-tax profit, just ahead of most forecasts, but is confident it can weather the economic downturn.

■ Central-London focused property investor Derwent London said during the third quarter outlook deteriorated further but total rental income will be £14.7m for the year.

■ Engineering conglomerate Melrose said current trading remains in line with expectations and the integration of FKI is proceeding ahead of plan.

■ Regus' performance in the year to date continues to be in line with expectations, but the outsourced workplaces provider said 2009 is likely to be a challenging year.

■ Engineer IMI said it is confident of delivering on expectations for 2008 but warned that it is cautious about the outlook

■ Electrical contractor T Clarke shrugged off gloom elsewhere in the construction sector to forecast results will beat market expectations in the current year, though it is more cautious for 2009.

FOR A SUMMARY OF LATEST MOVEMENTS IN EQUITY, COMMODITY AND CURRENCY MARKETS, SEE FT.COM'S MARKETS PAGE.

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NEWSPAPER SHARE TIPS (19 NOVEMBER 2008)

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

BANKING CRISIS:

The City's leading institutional investors are gearing up for their biggest assault on corporate Britain by demanding the right to vote out the board of every listed company each year. Fund managers have been spurred to act after seeing their rights eroded during the Government's £37bn bailout of the banking sector and in the wake of a controversial £7.3bn capital-raising drive by Barclays, writes the Times.

The Treasury has warned rebellious shareholders in Britain's troubled banks that a public bail-out will be far more costly if they follow through with threats to block any of the lenders' current planned fundraisings. In a clarification statement setting out "the detail of dealing with future applications to the [state bail-out] scheme", the Chancellor made clear on Tuesday that investors in Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland have little option but to approve the recapitalisation deals already on the table, reports the Telegraph.

Customers withdrew £200m from Bradford & Bingley on the Saturday morning in September ahead of its nationalisation on the Monday as customers took flight from the stricken buy-to-let lender. As speculation increased that B&B would have to be rescued by the taxpayer, withdrawals jumped from £26m on Thursday September 25 to £90m on Friday and £200m on Saturday, Richard Pym, B&B's executive chairman told the Treasury Select Committee yesterday, reports the Telegraph.

Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary who controls Washington's $700 billion bailout fund, stuck to his guns yesterday and insisted that his rescue scheme must not be used to save America's biggest car companies, even as the head of General Motors said that without state aid the industry would trigger a "catastrophic collapse" of the entire economy, reports the Times.

PRESS HEADLINES:

EasyJet is poised to canvass all its big shareholders over its future strategy in the wake of an escalating row with founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who has refused to sign off the full-year accounts. Sir Stelios, who controls a 26.9% stake in the low-fare airline and is a non-executive director, issued a two-page statement with the results, detailing his objections to the company's accounting policies, reports the Telegraph.

Marks and Spencer will on Thursday hold a one-day "20 per cent off" sale – its biggest pre-Christmas promotion for four years – to stimulate flagging revenue, according to people familiar with the retailer's plans. The sale comes amid increasingly gloomy news for the retailer. Market share data from TNS, seen by the Financial Times, also shows M&S continuing its slide in both men's wear and women's wear in the 26 weeks to October 12, although it is strengthening its position in children's clothing, reports the FT.

Meanwhile, George Davies, the veteran fashion designer behind the Next and George at Asda brands, will step down as part-time chairman of Marks & Spencer's Per Una clothing range next month. Davies's daughter Melanie, a Per Una director, will leave with him. The surprise departures have sparked a wider reshuffle of M&S's clothing operations just as the retailer gears up for the busiest trading weeks of the year, reports the Telegraph.

At least 12,000 British businesses have had vital insurance cover withdrawn in the past week as the credit crunch begins to bite deep into the UK's supply lines. Atradius, the UK's largest credit insurer, confirmed on Tuesday that it was clawing back the insurance offered to the suppliers of these companies against non-payment of bills for goods received on credit. One broker said the extent of the withdrawal by Atradius was "unprecedented in my life", reports the FT.

Our press headlines summary is sourced from www.Sharecast.com

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