Welcome to our summary of the weekend's quality press tips, provided on Mondays by Weekend City Press Review.
PRESS TIPS:
The Times
■ Tempus: Martin Waller thinks those holding gold mining stocks should probably hang on for a recovery in the gold price, although buying is "only for the brave".
The 14 per cent fall in the Spectris' (SXS) share price after the company reported falling sales seems overdone (last IC view: Hold, 20 Feb 2013).
The acquisition by Mears (MER) of Scottish care services group ILS looks a sensible move into higher-margin activities (last IC view: Hold, 19 Mar 2013).
The Independent
■ No Pain, No Gain: Derek Pain believes that prospects for Aim are "suddenly looking much brighter", with a sharp slowdown in the number of stocks quitting the market (see the IC Aim 100).
The Sunday Times
■ Inside the City: Danny Fortson thinks the premature exposure of CVC Capital Partners' bid interest in struggling Betfair (BET) may derail an offer going ahead, although anything above £10 a share would seriously "test the resolve" of shareholders (last IC view: Buy, 15 Apr 2013).
Premier Foods (PFD) needs to either sell more businesses or raise cash from a rights issue - or both - and it will be interesting to see if investors agree at Thursday's annual meeting (last IC view: Hold, 21 Feb 2013).
The Sunday Telegraph
■ Questor: Garry White says buy Tesco (TSCO), 368p, in spite of its profits slide as the focus on generating a "positive free cash flow" is worth backing (last IC view: Hold, 17 Apr 2013).
Hold Burberry (BRBY), £12.99, after its better-than-expected trading update last week (last IC view: Sell, 17 Apr 2013).
The Mail on Sunday
■ Midas: Neil Craven says new Halfords' (HFD) chief executive Matt Davies, previously in charge of Pets at Home, is worth backing at 325p (last IC view: Buy, 15 Nov 2012).
Update: Hold Prezzo (PRZ), tipped in April 2011 at 62.5p and now 96p (last IC view: Hold, 11 Apr 2013).
Business press headlines courtesy of Weekend City Press Review:
Bad week for Osborne topped off by Fitch downgrade of UK credit rating
Fitch has become the second credit rating agency to downgrade its stance on the UK economy, lowering its position from Triple-A to AA-Plus. The decision came after the IMF last week raised doubts about the pace of the UK's deficit reduction strategy, although it left its future outlook on the UK as "stable". [Financial Times pp.1, 5]
Weak growth torments Osborne
Chancellor George Osborne is coming under increasing pressure to revise his economy strategy, with the prospect of a "triple-dip" recession being confirmed this week if first-quarter GDP figures are in negative territory. This follows last week's criticism from the IMF over his austerity programme, along with the decision on Friday by Fitch to downgrade the UK's credit rating. [Sunday Times p.3.1]
MPs revive plan for 'bad bank'
The Treasury select committee is calling on the government to consider a possible break-up of state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group to isolate the toxic loans the banks still hold. Then MPs want a full cost-benefit analysis of a 'bad bank' being created to house the potentially dangerous assets. [Sunday Times p.3.1]
Americans ready £800m Lloyds raid
New York-listed Ameriprise Financial is considering an £800m bid for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, the fund management arm of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY), which has about £117bn of assets under management. Lloyds has appointed Deutsche Bank to advise on a sale, with Ameriprise leading the pack of potential bidders. [Sunday Times p.3.1]
Forte checks out of Balmoral
The Rocco Forte Collection, Sir Rocco Forte's hotel empire, is reportedly seeking to sell the Lowry hotel in Manchester and the Balmoral in Edinburgh for about £100m. Although the hotelier played down suggestions of a sale, its most recent accounts show a £9.3m loss for the year to April 2012 and last month it gave up the management of the Augustine hotel in Prague. Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group may sell the Menzies Hotel chain it acquired along with HBOS. [Sunday Times pp.3.1, 3.3]
Rich List fund manager enjoys £20m payday
Former Morgan Stanley fund manager Andy Brown has paid himself a £20m dividend from his investment firm Cedar Rock Capital, adding to his estimated £190m wealth. But this only puts him in 418th position in the new Sunday Times Rich List, which also reveals that Lakshmi Mittal has fallen from first to fourth place. [Sunday Times pp.3.3, 1.1, 1.6]
Osborne's new bid to help SMEs
George Osborne may announce this week the extension and expansion of the Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme to help small and medium-sized enterprises secure low-cost credit. The scheme was due to end next January, but its relative success means it will continue, albeit with an increased focus on helping smaller companies. [Sunday Telegraph p.B1]
Stop "ridiculous" Heathrow price hikes, says Walsh
International Airlines Group chief executive Willie Walsh has strongly criticised proposed increases in charges levied by Heathrow airport which could be set at a rate of 6 per cent above inflation. Heathrow fees are regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, which in its last review allowed Heathrow to charge RPI plus 7.5 per cent at a time when the airline industry was facing higher fuel costs and reduced demand. [Sunday Telegraph p.B1]
John Lewis hits web record
The John Lewis department stores says it has achieved online sales of £1bn for the first time a year ahead of schedule, highlighting the focus among leading retailers - including Tesco and Debenhams - to sell more online. John Lewis, which is also relaunching its website, says that two-thirds of all customer transactions now involves an "interaction with its stores and website". [Sunday Telegraph pp.B2, B5]
