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Tuesday's news and tips

Created:

9 March 2010

Written by:

ShareCast

■ Shanks said it has ended talks with private equity group Carlyle about a possible offer for the waste group.

■ Difficult market conditions hit revenue and profitability at equipment rental group Ashtead Group but the company's boss took comfort from his belief that the company is 'clearly gaining market share'.

■ Shopping centre owner Liberty International is to split into two separate listed businesses, Capital Shopping Centres and Capital & Counties through a demerger.

■ Car dealer Lookers said full-year profit increased by £26.4m after a strong performance from its parts division (IC COMMENT).

■ Aer Lingus said operating losses quadrupled in 2009, though the Irish airline made a profit in the second half of the year.

■ Aviation and newspaper distribution group John Menzies said pre-tax profit more than doubled after it cut costs won new contracts.

■ The second half of 2009 was a period of expansion for catalogue-based antibodies distributor Abcam which increased the size of its catalogue, boosted its sales and cranked up its profits (IC COMMENT).

■ Social housing maintenance specialist Mears increased its dividend by 20 per cent to 5.70p per share and said demand for its services continues to be very strong (IC COMMENT).

Continues below...

■ Shares in laundry and textile rental group Johnson Services firmed-in early dealings after it said 2009 profit doubled and it had reinstated a final dividend.

■ Infrastructure and building products supplier Hill & Smith saw a rise in underlying profits in the year to December 31 despite lower revenues after keeping a lid on costs to cope with the tough climate.

■ Scott Wilson gained after the design and engineering consultancy said the performance of its joint ventures will be ahead of previous indications providing confidence that overall the group will, at least, meet current expectations.

■ The Novel Therapies division is threatening to steal the show at epithelial stem cells specialist Epistem, as the benefits of its transformational deal with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis kicks in.

■ Merlin Entertainment, which owns Legoland, Madam Tussauds and the London Eye, may revive plans to join the stock market after reporting a 9.7 per cent rise in visitor numbers last year.

■ BrainJuicer sits at a two-year high after the online market researcher ramped up full-year profit by a fifth despite the recession and earned more money overseas.

■ Cross-border financial services firm STM had a "frustrating and challenging" 2009, but profitability increased significantly in the second half.

■ Energy company International Power reported a slight increase in its full-year dividend but said its near-term performance will be impacted by weak market conditions in the US and the UK.

■ Satellite communications service provider Inmarsat saw revenue and profits head skywards in the fourth quarter.

■ Lower copper prices hit Chile-based miner and railway owner Antofagasta's earnings last year.

■ F&C Asset Management said it remains in discussions with Austria's C-Quadrat and intends to make an offer at a price of around €12.50 euros per share.

■ Fund manager Gartmore, which floated in December, saw a net inflow of funds in 2009 as equity markets picked up, but net revenue still fell due to lower funds under management over average over the year and lower management fees.

■ The weakness of sterling helped engineering group Weir grow revenues in 2009 and post a record operating profit.

■ Printer St Ives posted an increase in half-year profit as it reduced costs but warned that it does not expect any immediate improvement in its underlying markets.

■ Payment services provider PayPoint has completed the acquisition of Verrus, a specialist in enabling drivers to pay their car parking charges by phone.

■ Shares in medical food and dietary supplement developer Provexis shot up on Tuesday after it published the results of a trial of its Fruitflow product, which is designed to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and venous thrombosis.

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 (9 MAR 2010):

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

PRESS HEADLINES:

Hundreds of City traders are rethinking plans to leave the UK for tax purposes in the wake of last month's landmark court ruling against a British businessman based in the Seychelles, it emerged yesterday.

The interdealer broker Tullett Prebon led the Square Mile's revolt over the Treasury's plans for a one-off bonus levy and a 50 per cent rate of income tax announced in December. Terry Smith, chief executive, said that the broker would be offering its 950 UK staff the option of relocating to less onerous offshore tax jurisdictions, such as Geneva and Zurich, the Times reports.

The Independent reports that fears that London faces an exodus of bankers increased yesterday as it emerged that many will have to pay more income tax from next month than in any of the capital's rival financial centres around the world.

Vodafone is set to announce up to 500 job cuts at its Newbury headquarters. The mobile phone company, which was founded in Newbury in 1982, has about 3,000 staff in the Berkshire market town after cutting staff over recent years to bring down costs. It shed 500 UK staff last year, mostly in Newbury, but also created new jobs in its retail and internet operations, the Times reports.

An influential committee of MPs will today call for root-and-branch reform of the Treasury's dealings with UK Financial Investments, the organisation charged with overseeing the state's multi billion-pound stake in the banking sector. The Treasury Select Committee's report into the administration and expenditure of the Treasury also expresses "alarm" at low staff morale and calls for stronger links between National Savings and the Post Office, the Independent reports.

China could end its near two-year currency peg on the dollar by as soon as next month, according to respected economist Professor Nouriel Roubini, in a prediction that could have major implications for global trade markets. Prof Roubini believes that the Beijing government will authorise a 2 per cent increase against the dollar initially, followed by a further 1pc-2pc strengthening over the next 12 months, the Telegraph reports.

Cash-strapped airports operator BAA has been forced to mortgage 39 houses near Stansted airport, many of which it is planning to demolish to make way for a planned second runway. The latest return for Stansted Airport, filed last week at Companies House, shows that BAA has taken out mortgages with Royal Bank of Scotland on properties including Rose Cottage in Bambers Green and 2 Chestnut Way, Takeley, the Telegraph reports.

European defence giant EADS has dropped out of a nine-year, two-horse $40bn (£27bn) race to provide the US Air Force with a fleet of air tankers after accusing the American government of skewing the competition in rival Boeing's favour. EADS and US partner Northrop-Grumman last night took the dramatic decision not to make a bid for the 179 plane contract after studying the latest terms drawn up by the US Department of Defence, the Telegraph reports.

Peter Kiernan, the top banker in mergers and acquisitions at Lazard, will not take up his post as director-general of the Takeover Panel until the regulator completes an investigation into allegedly misleading statements made by his client Kraft in its hostile bid for Cadbury, the Times reports.

Marsh & McLennan, the global insurance broker and consultancy company, has put Kroll, its corporate investigations division, Krollup for sale for about $1.3bn (£864m) and attracted a stream of private equity interest in first-round bidding, the FT reports.

Cable & Wireless's UK business is stepping up its efforts to achieve growth in emerging markets as it secures a stock market listing later this month. The business, called C&W Worldwide, will focus on opportunities in Asia, Jim Marsh, its chief executive, told the Financial Times in a rare interview.

An extra £20bn of tax rises or spending cuts will be needed by 2013-14 to plug Britain's gaping fiscal hole, PricewaterhouseCoopers has estimated. The accountant said its projections were based on less optimistic UK growth forecasts over the medium term compared with the Treasury. PwC said that trend growth rate in the UK is likely to be 2.25 per cent a year, and not the 2.75 per cent forecast by the Treasury, the Telegraph reports.

The European Commission will seek fundamental reform of the management of economic policy in the eurozone, including the co-ordination of fiscal policy, as it draws up details of a future European Monetary Fund. The proposed EMF, which was given further support yesterday by Angela Merkel, will go beyond the creation of a pot of money that would bail out errant members of the eurozone, such as Greece, a Commission spokesman said, the Times reports.

Radical plans for a European version of the International Monetary Fund to bail out crisis-hit countries would need a new treaty and the agreement of all European Union member states, Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, has warned. Throwing her weight behind the proposals from Wolfgang Schäuble, her finance minister, Ms Merkel admitted the European Union had lacked the tools to deal with the Greek debt crisis, the FT adds.