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Thursday's news and tips

Created:

28 May 2009

Written by:

ShareCast

■ Sugar and sweetener firm Tate & Lyle posted a sharp fall in profits after facing impairment charges and tough trading conditions.

■ The trading profit at over-stretched plumbing supplies distributor Wolseley more than halved in the first nine months of its financial year.

■ Payment services group PayPoint saw profits rise 19% in the year and said trading in the current year so far is in line with expectations.

■ Brewer and pub operator Young & Co said full year pre-tax profit slumped 63% amid difficult market conditions but says it remains well positioned to meet the challenges of the year ahead.

■ United Utilities said it posted a robust set of results despite the difficult economic conditions as profits rose 11% in the year.

■ Speedy Hire said it plans to raise net proceeds of around £100m in a 9-1 fully underwritten right issue.

Continues below...

■ Concerns grow about the future of Vauxhall and Opel workers after talks on who would buy GM's European operations broke down in Germany.

■ Car dealer Vertu Motors managed to stay profitable in the year to 28 February despite the severe downturn in the car sector and said trading in the current year was ahead of expectations.

■ Engineering conglomerate Melrose announced that it has sold FKI Logistex, the holding company of the Logistex North America business, to Intelligrated for $40m in cash.

■ The Financial Services Authority's (FSA) ongoing investigation into suspected organised insider dealing continued yesterday with the arrest of five men and one woman.

■ Asset manager Rugby Estates is to return 50p a share to shareholders as part of a strategy to move away from direct property holdings.

■ Hochschild Mining has taken full control of the Moris mine in northern Mexico, buying the 30% stake owned by its joint venture partner.

■ Mining giant Rio Tinto has received a request from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for more information regarding its pending sale of the Jacobs Ranch coal mine in Wyoming.

■ Hedge fund manager Man Group saw profits slide for the year as troubles in the global financial markets hit revenues.

■ Higher sales in spite of the economic downturn helped the cash and carry group Booker post a sharp rise in pre-tax profits.

■ Stockbroker and fund manager Brewin Dolphin has maintained its interim dividend despite profit before tax falling by more than fifth.

■ A slump in the value of the portfolio of HSBC Infrastructure saw the net asset value (NAV) per share of the infrastructure investment company slide by 8.1% in the year to end-March.

■ Car dealer Vertu Motors managed to stay profitable in the year to 28 February despite the severe downturn in the car sector and said trading in the current year was ahead of expectations.

■ Neuropharm Group, the pharmaceutical company focused on neuro-developmental disorders, has not given up on NPL-2008, its formulation of fluoxetine which had a negative trial result in February.

■ Children's entertainment company BKN International has secured $5m advanced funding for a $13m project to create a new animated series to be called Joshua Blake: The Agency.

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 (28 MAY 2009):

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

PRESS HEADLINES:

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, has secured pledges from each of the three main potential bidders for Vauxhall to safeguard the vast majority of the carmaker’s 5,000 British workers, it emerged last night, reports the Times.

The Telegraph says talks over the fate of General Motors' European operations, including the two Vauxhall plants in Britain, failed to deliver an agreement after the car maker asked the German Government for an emergency loan of 300 million euros (£260m).

The Bank of England's deputy Governor Paul Tucker has raised the prospect of imposing an effective tax on Britain's banks to help shoulder the cost of the financial bail-outs, says the Telegraph.

Meanwhile, Bank of England official David Blanchflower, who accurately predicted the recession, warns today against complacency that the worst of the slump is over and predicts a further surge of more than a million in unemployment this year.

Bradford & Bingley, the bank bailed-out by the taxpayer last year, has revealed it will not pay the interest due on £325m of subordinated bonds, raising questions over whether other Government-owned banks may do the same, says the Telegraph (IC COMMENT)..

Odeon, Cineworld and Vue, the three leading UK cinema chains, have all submitted first round bids for some of the 21 UK cinemas put up for sale by Sumner Redstone, according to the FT.

Verus Pharmaceuticals, a US-based company, has filed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca seeking $1.3bn (£813m) over claims involving the development of an asthma treatment, says the Telegraph.

Hot on the heels of the surprise resignation of top executive Linda Cook, Shell's in-coming chief executive Peter Voser announced major restructuring plans yesterday that could cut thousands of rank-and-file jobs, according to the Independent.

The sale of Royal Bank of Scotland's Asian assets is to drag on through the summer after failing to attract enough firm bids because of uncertainties relating to the divestment, according to people familiar with the matter, says the FT.

Flybe has accused British Airways – which holds a 15pc stake in the low-cost carrier – of failing to analyse the facts when the larger carrier wrote down the value of its holding by a quarter, says the Telegraph.

Descendants of John D Rockefeller, the oil magnate whose Standard Oil made him the richest man in history at the turn of the 19th-century, pressed the modern-day ExxonMobil to focus on the impact of climate change and change its focus to renewable energies, according to the Independent.

UBS, the Swiss bank that recently announced heavy first-quarter losses, has defended its decision to increase base salaries for some investment bankers, reports the Times.