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Tuesday's news and tips

Created:

7 July 2009

Written by:

ShareCast

■ Housebuilder Persimmon said it has seen both volume and revenues improve recently and expects that trend to continue

■ Recruitment firm Michael Page saw gross profit in the second quarter fall 45% and warned of a challenging third quarter.

■ Self-storage group Big Yellow reported a 6% drop in quarterly store revenues but said trading conditions have continued to show an improvement.

■ Home shopping company N Brown said in the 18 weeks to July 2009 turnover increased by 5.1%, in line with its plan, with contributions from all its major customer and product groups.

■ Pre-tax profit at restaurant group Clapham House fell 18% in the year ended 29 March 2009 after an increase in administrative costs

■ Medical diagnostics firm Omega Diagnostics is at its best levels since last October as acquisitions helped turnover jump 56% and profits more than double.

Continues below...

■ Shares in Alliance Pharma gained after the medicines supplier said trading has been strong with half year sales up 33% at around £13.2m.

■ Administrators have been called in at coffee chain Coffee Republic, putting jobs at risk.

■ Toledo Mining has conditionally raised £3.36m through a share placement to fund a drilling campaign at its Berong nickel laterite project in the Philippines.

■ Shares in GMA Resources fell after the Algeria-focused gold miner said inadequate supply of spare parts led to a shortfall in production in June.

■ Africa focused diamond producer Petra Diamonds said annual output increased five fold to over 1m carats while sales declined and trading conditions remained challenging.

■ Women's clothing retailer Jacques Vert posted a pre-tax loss for the year ended 25 April but said the decline in like for like sales since the year end had eased.

■ Irish building materials giant CRH has forecast it will only scrape a profit in the first half of 2009, with the second half expected to be worse

■ Currency translation benefits and strong demand in the Middle East have kept support services group Cape on track in the first half, despite some order delays in Australia.

■ Defence group Cobham has won a five year contract from the US Army to provide Microclimate Cooling Systems to the Air Warrior program office.

■ Dechra Pharm, pharmaceutical firm focused on the veterinary sector, said trading for the year to June is in line with management's expectations.

■ Software group Microgen expects earnings for the year to be ahead of current market forecasts.

■ Drycleaner and work wear provider Johnson Service said it expects pre-tax profit before items for the year to be 'satisfactory' given the current economic climate.

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 (07 JULY 2009):

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

PRESS HEADLINES:

The centrepiece of the Government's plan to overhaul financial regulation has been delayed, perhaps until after the election, it has emerged, the Telegraph writes.

The long-awaited White Paper on financial regulation, due to be published on Wednesday, will offer no firm proposals on how authorities will control banks' balance sheets to avoid future crises. Although it will indicate that the Government needs so-called macro-prudential tools to control the financial system, it will present topics for discussion rather than hard-and-fast new laws.

The worst of the recession is over, according to the British Chambers of Commerce's (BCC) latest economic survey, but the business body warned that recovery was fragile and cautioned against complacency. The results of the BCC's survey of 5,600 businesses, released today, showed progress in the manufacturing and service sectors during the second quarter of the year as well as a marked improvement in confidence, reports the Telegraph.

The adoption of tough European restrictions on hedge funds would provoke a transatlantic regulatory war, one of the sector's leading figures has warned. Stanley Fink, the former chief executive of Man Group known as the "godfather" of the British hedge fund industry, said that the European Commission's proposed regulation would be "very restrictive" for non-EU funds and some styles of investing, the FT reports.

New European Union laws to drive banks to strengthen capital cushions will be unveiled in October, the Financial Times has learnt, as EU member states intensify a regulatory assault aimed at preventing a repeat of the global financial crisis. A draft report expected to be backed by EU finance ministers in Brussels today says that there is a "strong case" for curbing existing rules on banks' funding needs, which critics say exacerbate the ups and downs of economic cycles.

Shares on Indian stock markets plunged yesterday by almost 6% – the biggest fall in six months – as investors digested a disappointing Budget from the re-elected administration of Manmohan Singh. Yields on government securities spiked and bank shares were also off; the 30-share BSE Index closed 5.8% lower, the sharpest correction in six months, the Independent reports.

The bitter state of relations between Iceland and Britain over the collapse of Icesave has emerged in official documents warning the UK that it was inflicting damage equal to the Treaty of Versailles. A diplomatic row erupted between the two nations after Landsbanki, the parent bank of Icesave, failed last October affecting 300,000 British savers, the Telegraph reports.

The BBC will be forced to cut millions of pounds from its programme budgets to plug an estimated £2bn black hole in its pensions scheme. The public broadcaster warned its pension scheme members that in April last year the fund was £470m in the red. Industry experts said that the plunging stock markets around the world since then would have increased the deficit by a further £1.6bn, the Times reports.

The multimillion-pound failures of three of Sir Richard Branson's highest-profile companies have been revealed for the first time. Accounts filed with Companies House show that Sir Richard accumulated operating losses of more than £300m from the Virgin Megastores retail business, the Times reports.

The Qatari rescue investment in Barclays at the height of last autumn's financial crisis saw the Arab emirate sitting yesterday on paper profits of more than £700m. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund, and Challenger, a vehicle backed by the Qatari Royal Family, bought £800 million of convertible notes that could be changed into Barclays shares at 153p last October. Under the terms of the agreement these notes converted into Barclay's shares at the end of last month, the Times reports.

Independent News & Media, publisher of The Independent newspaper, has positioned Deloitte, one of its advisers, as standby administrator in case its debt-restructuring talks collapse. The move — described as "a statement of the bleeding obvious" — came as talks to restructure Independent News & Media's debt dragged on without agreement, the Times reports.