Welcome to our summary of the weekend's quality press tips, provided on Mondays by Weekend City Press Review.
PRESS TIPS:
The Times
■ Tempus: James Dean says buy United Utilities (UU.), 716.5p; from 2015 regulators will permit price rises for the best customer service performers: United is doing well, and has leeway for increased volume, too (Last IC rating: Hold, 23 May).
■ Avoid Homeserve (HSV), 266p, while the FCA investigates mis-selling allegations (Last IC rating: Hold, 21 May).
■ Avoid Dods Group (DODS), 3.75p, as it tries to migrate from print to pixels (No IC rating).
The Independent
■ No Pain, No Gain: Derek Pain is happy to see a return to takeover bidding, firstly at Brightside (BRT) (Last IC rating: Buy, 22 Apr) , 27.75p, and potentially at Essenden (ESS) (No IC rating) and Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) (Last IC rating: Buy, 26 Apr).
The Daily Mail
■ Investment Extra: Ian Lyall says buy Adept Telecom (ADT) at a stop-loss figure of 85p, as the shares rose 95 per cent in the last year, and the dividend by 200 per cent (No IC rating).
The Sunday Times
■ Inside The City: Danny Fortson says now is the time to take profits in Drax (DRX), 645.5p, as it begins a green makeover, a process entirely reliant on government subsidy (Last IC rating: Hold, 20 Feb).
■ Rightmove (RMV), £22.46, will see increased profits from house-pricing inflation (Last IC rating: Hold, 4 Mar).
The Sunday Telegraph
■ Questor: Garry White says buy Rolls-Royce (RR.), £12, in light of better than expected interims on Thursday, new aircraft orders and as management looks at efficiencies (Last IC rating: Buy, 17 May).
The Mail on Sunday
■ Midas: Joanne Hart says buy TalkTalk (TALK), 243.75p, as the chief executive Dido Harding continues to turn the phone/TV/broadband provider around and costs fall (Last IC rating: Buy, 20 May).
Business press headlines courtesy of Weekend City Press Review:
Top banks ready to hit market
Barclays (BARC) is closing on a plan to increase its capital strength in the expectation of the Prudential Regulatory Authority insisting on a 3 per cent leverage ratio, where the bank is currently leveraged by 2.5 per cent. Plans to issue equity, sell bonds or reduce the balance sheet, are under discussion. Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) is, at the same time, preparing investors for a sell-off of the government's 39 per cent holding as early as the end of next week, as the bank's shares closed only 7 per cent short of the break-even price. [Financial Times, p.1]
18 more held in Glaxo China probe
Chinese authorities have detained a further eighteen GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) employees in the growing bribery scandal, while AstraZeneca (AZN) says that one of its sales reps has been questioned. [Sunday Times, p.B1]
Barclays eyes £4bn share sale
In answer to the requirements of the 3 per cent leverage ratio called for by the Bank of England, Barclays (BARC) are planning a £4bn share sale, equating to a 10 per cent portion of the bank's market value, larger than expected by analysts. But Barclays will also face a larger PPI mis-selling bill than the £2.6bn currently set aside. [Sunday Times, p.B1]
BP's cost for 'bogus' spill claims soars
BP (BP.) is to update investors on the compensation claims for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, saying that it faces billions of dollars-worth of 'fictitious' claims. The oil giant awaits the outcome of a US court case to overhaul the compensation deal, currently standing at US$7.8bn. [Sunday Times, p.B3]
Goldman and Glencore 'hoarding' aluminium
Between them, Goldman Sachs and Glencore (GLEN) control two-thirds of the global aluminium stockpile, and were last week accused in the US Senate of inflating the price of the metal by Miller Coors. By distributing only the minimum daily amount, the two are accused of massaging huge profits. [Sunday Times, pp.B1, B5]
GKN plans raid on top Boeing supplier
GKN (GKN) is preparing a raid on the wing manufacturing arm of Spirit Aerosystems, a major supplier to Boeing and Airbus, for around US$700m. Spirit reported a loss of US$339m last year on sales of US$1.4bn. [Sunday Times, p.B1]
Royal Bank of Scotland insider leads race to replace Hester
The Sunday Telegraph understands that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) retail banking head, Ross McEwan, is favourite to succeed Stephen Hester as chief executive, pending approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. RBS first-half profits are expected to be £3.7bn, from £759 last year. [Sunday Telegraph, p.B1]
Aviva in talks with Jardine to expand in Asia
Aviva (AV.) is in talks with Astra International, a division of Jardine Matheson (JARJ), for the distribution of its products in Indonesia, in a major reshaping of Aviva's geographical focus on Asia. Aviva owns 60 per cent of PT Asuransi Winterthur Life Indonesia, a health insurer, but currently has no exposure to the life market. [Sunday Telegraph, p.B1]
GSK whistleblower allegations unveiled
The Sunday Telegraph reveals that an internal whistleblower informed the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) board of allegations of corruption in an email as early as 16 January. The company says it only became aware of the claims when told by the police two weeks ago. [Sunday Telegraph, p.B1]
Centrica set to raise gas prices as costs escalate
Centrica (CNA)-owned British Gas revealed that extra profits from an 18 per cent volume rise in the freezing winter will be wiped out by the bills for network improvements and government's energy efficiency scheme, leading to gas price rises in the near term. [Sunday Telegraph, p.B2]
