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Tuesday's news and tips

Created:

1 December 2009

Written by:

ShareCast

■ Travel operator TUI saw profits rise in the year to September 30 despite flat revenues as it managed to raise ticket prices and keep its planes full ().

■ Irn Bru maker AG Barr warned that economic conditions continue to be challenging but said it is trading in-line with expectations and remains confident of delivering its plans for the full year.

■ Mining company Xstrata has agreed to sell its 19.9 per cent stake in Australian gold and copper miner Indophil Resources to Zijin Mining Group.

■ Domino's Pizza is making another attempt to return a big chunk of cash to shareholders through a tender offer after a dip in its share price wrecked the first attempt.

■ HSBC Insurance Brokers, HSBC, has sold HSBC Actuaries and Consultants Limited (HACL) to the Jardine Lloyd Thompson for £27.25m in cash.

■ Shaftesbury, the property company with assets in London's Chinatown and Covent Garden, said the economy in London's West End remains resilient (IC COMMENT).

■ Datong has narrowed interim losses thanks to a surge in revenue, while record order intake should get the intelligence gathering equipment group into the black for the year (IC COMMENT).

■ Pub group and brewer Greene King shrugged off the worst of the downturn over the last six months thanks to a strong performance from its Scottish arm Belhaven (IC COMMENT).

■ Beer flow monitoring system manufacturer Brulines lifted revenues and profits in the six months to September 25 as demand for its products increased (IC COMMENT).

Continues below...

■ Lloyds List publisher Informa has scrapped merger talks with German publisher Springer.

■ Student accommodation developer and manager Unite said it is in the final stages of raising about £150m to fund the expansion of its property portfolio.

■ The Yorkshire and Chelsea building societies are in "advanced discussions" about a possible merger, it has emerged.

■ Shares in Sovereign Oilfield slumped after the oilfield services provider announced the immediate resignation of its chairman and finance director and said it is considering a debt for equity swap.

■ The boardroom battle at Mitchells and Butlers moved up a gear today as the pub group axed a director and appointed its senior independent director as the new chairman.

■ Focus Solutions took a tumble today as a 12 per cent slip in half-year revenue disappointed, but the financial services software supplier remains optimistic about hitting full year targets.

■ Exhibitions group ITE saluted the 'must-do' nature of its events as it posted higher revenues and profits in the year to September 30.

■ Hazardous waste services group Silverdell moved closer to profit in the year to September 30 as it focused on reducing overheads and improving margins.

■ Telecoms regulator Ofcom has asked for views before deciding whether to reflect the cost of BT's growing pension scheme deficit in its charges to rivals that use its network.

■ Interserve has won a £200m facilities management (FM) contract with HSBC and is commencing service delivery today.

■ Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline has completed the extension of its strategic relationship with South African company Aspen Pharma.

■ Bus and train group Go Ahead Group has completed the acquisition of Plymouth CityBus from Plymouth City Council.

■ Sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion said its core retail division is continuing to perform well despite increased competition.

■ Heavily indebted Rio Tinto said the sale of Alcan Composites to Schweiter Technologies, first announced on 22 September, has completed.

■ Security systems provider Westminster Group said it has no current intention of making an offer for Pentagon Protection.

■ Toy maker Character Group said it returned to profitability in the second half of the year and re-introduced its dividend payment.

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 (1 DEC 2009):

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

PRESS HEADLINES:

The Government of Dubai has refused to honour the debt obligations of its largest company, prompting fears that international creditors could be wiped out.

Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate, was effectively abandoned to its fate by the Emirate's Government yesterday despite previous assumptions that Dubai would stand behind the company. That has raised the likelihood that lenders to Dubai World, which has liabilities of $60bn, could lose billions of dollars, the Times reports.

Britain risks becoming the first country in the G10 bloc of major economies to risk capital flight and a full-blown debt crisis over coming months, according to a client note by Morgan Stanley. The US investment bank said there is a danger Britain's toxic mix of problems will come to a head as soon as next year, triggered by fears that Westminster may prove unable to restore fiscal credibility, the Telegraph reports.

Alistair Darling plans to force lenders to reveal more details about top-earning bankers amid growing public concern that they are returning to their old ways, a year after banks' multibillion-pound taxpayer bailout. The measure will be seen as an attempt to win public support in the run-up to a general election next year. The Chancellor's proposals go farther than plans outlined a week ago by Sir David Walker in his report on reforming governance in Britain's banks, the Times reports.

The government is this week set to give a green light to the biggest shake-up in Britain's energy industry for over 30 years: the £9bn rollout of 47m new gas and electricity meters in every British household. Details of the rollout of so-called smart meters, which monitor energy consumption in real-time, are expected as early as Wednesday, the Times reports.

Tesco upped the ante in the battle for Christmas shoppers yesterday by sending out an unscheduled Clubcard statement aimed at locking in shoppers during the festive period. The grocery retailer said that the mailshot would give the estimated 15.4m members of its Clubcard scheme an extra £67m of spending power before Christmas, the Times reports.

The German government is rushing through a fresh package of measures to shore up ailing banks and prevent a second wave of the debt crisis suffocating large parts of manufacturing industry. "We are in a very critical situation," said Chancellor Angela Merkel in her weekly radio address. "We are going to discuss with leaders of the financial institutions what can be done to head off a credit crunch," the Telegraph reports.

The European Union's appointment of Michel Barnier as bank regulation supremo has left City firms reeling, despite his attempts to calm fears over London's importance yesterday. The incoming EU Internal Market Commissioner told French radio: "I know the importance of the City. I know the importance of this major financial centre for growth in Britain and for all of Europe's economy," the Independent reports.

US banks and mortgage companies which are failing to help struggling borrowers refinance into more affordable home loans could be fined, under a drive aimed at cutting the foreclosure rate in the world's most important housing market. Amid concern that soaring repossessions could undermine the nascent economic recovery, the Obama administration yesterday promised much tighter regulation of the mortgage industry's efforts to aid borrowers, the Independent reports.

Thomas Cook will refinance its €1.8bn ($2.7bn, £1.65bn) loan facilities by next summer but has no plans to use a rights issue, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, its chief executive, assured. The tour operator's facilities expire in May 2011 and Mr Fontenla-Novoa said early discussions with banking partners had been "encouraging," the FT reports.

Alstom and Schneider Electric of France on Monday night trumped foreign rivals GE of the US and Toshiba of Japan with a €4.1bn bid for the transmission and distribution arm of state-owned nuclear group, Areva. Areva's supervisory board announced it would enter exclusive negotiations with the two French bidders after a marathon meeting lasting more than three hours. The announcement is likely to spark accusations of protectionism, as the French bid was not the highest and the government had in recent days appeared to delay a decision in order to give Alstom and Schneider time to revise their offer, the FT reports.

David Ross has been reappointed as chairman of Cosalt, the marine safety business, a year after stepping down in the wake of a share disclosure row. Mr Ross was instrumental in the development of Carphone Warehouse. He left several boards a year ago after belatedly disclosing that he had pledged shares in Carphone Warehouse as security against personal loans of at least £75m ($123m), the FT reports.