Welcome to our summary of the weekend's quality press tips, provided on Mondays by Weekend City Press Review.
PRESS TIPS:
The Times
■ Tempus: Tim Webb reviews the oil exploration sector, and finds only Genel Energy (GENL) has outperformed the FTSE, but the stocks trade on the basis of production, reserves and projects, meaning that if oil is discovered, it will be an extra (Last IC rating: Buy, 31 Jul). [p.59]
The Independent
■ No Pain, No Gain: Derek Pain is ticking with Mears (MER) (Last IC rating: Hold, 13 Aug), 410.5p, now contributing an increased interim, Whitbread (WTB) (Last IC rating: Sell, 18 Jun) and Findel (FDL) (Last IC rating: Hold, 5 Jun). [p.63]
Daily Mail
■ Investment Extra: Emma Dunkley looks at UK Growth funds, and reports stock recommendations from Tim Steer of the Artemis fund of Howden Joinery, Sports Direct (SPD) (Last IC rating: Hold, 18 Jul) and William Hill (WMH) (Last IC rating: Sell, 8 Aug); fund tips from Juliet Schooling Latter of Chelsea Financial Services: Liontrust Special Situations (IC View: 20 Nov, 2012) and Axa Framlington UK Select Opportunities (Last IC rating: 18 Sept 2012); and from Gavin Haynes of Whitechurch Securities: Old Mutual Mid Cap fund (Last IC rating: 22 Aug). [p.90]
Sunday Times
■ Inside The City: Danny Fortson says White-collar recruiter Hays (HAS) has room to run, and is at a discount to rivals; buy (Last IC rating: Sell, 25 Oct).
■ Johnston Press (JPR) has more than tripled since Ashley Highfield took over in 2011; there must be a limit; but the possibility of UK regional news consolidation is always on the horizon (Last IC rating: Fairly priced, Mar 2011). [p.3.10]
Sunday Telegraph
■ Questor: John Ficenec says buy Wm Morrison (MRW), 293p, the shares rose by 2.5 per cent while FTSE stayed flat, yield a nice dividend and are at last online (Last IC rating: Sell, 17 May).
■ Buy GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), 13 medicines are to begin testing in the next 12 months, and a chunky 4.5 per cent dividend means investors can sit back and wait for approvals (Last IC rating: Hold, 24 Jul). [p.B8]
Mail On Sunday
■ Midas: Joanne Hart says UK winemaker Chapel Down Group, 19.75p, is fast-growing and has a focused and enthusiastic management team: buy (No IC rating). [p.82]
Business press headlines courtesy of Weekend City Press Review:
Ballmer to bow out of Microsoft
After 13 years as chief executive of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer is to step down within a year; Bill Gates will take a hands-on part in the search for a new leader 'to steer Microsoft into the mobile era'. The company has lost 40 per cent of its value since Ballmer took over, but leapt 8.7 per cent on the news. [Financial Times, pp.1, 12]
Regulator 'broke own rules'.
The British Retail Consortium has accused the Office for Fair Trading of breaching its own guidelines over an investigation into false pricing by six high street retailers. The OFT did not identify the companies, but the names quickly emerged. The BRC also accused the regulator of insisting on unrealistic deadlines for responses. Publicly traded Carpetright, down 5.5p to 665p, was forced to update investors; others reportedly contacted by the OFT were Bensons for Beds and Harveys, Dreams, DFS, ScS Upholstery and Furniture Village. [Times, p.51]
Raider set to double stake in ailing G4S
Scandinavian fund Cevian Capital, chaired by Lord Myners, is to double its stake in G4S (GFS) to 10 per cent, possibly forcing a break-up. The fund became the largest shareholder last week with a 5.1 per cent stake, worth £176m at the time of purchase. New chief executive Ashley Almanza is expected to unveil a 'root-and-branch' review of the business with the half-year results on Wednesday. [Sunday Times, p.3.1]
Foxtons bosses to grab £100m bonanza from float
Foxtons is expected to announce its intention to float on Tuesday, valuing the business between £400m-£500m; owner BC Partners' senior management hold about 20 per cent of the business and are in line for £100m. Foxtons saw sales grow by 2.7 per cent in the year to last December, with underlying earnings reaching a record £37.9m. [Sunday Times, p.3.1]
Co-op faces £1.6bn hit from bank rescue
The Co-operative Group is preparing to write-off £1.6bn on the value of Co-operative Bank. Losses on bad loans are nearly equal to the entire Co-op investment in the bank, and will wipe out any profits from the retail arm, leaving the group in the red. Unlike a normal debt restructuring, in which the value of shares must be wiped out before bondholders suffer losses, small investors will see the value of their holdings damaged first. [Sunday Times, p.3.1]
Carney defies City sceptics on rates
Mark Carney is to use his first big speech to business leaders in the East Midlands to respond to doubts over his policy of forward guidance. He is expected to tell business leaders in Nottingham that the Bank of England will be maintaining low interest rates for the next three years. [Sunday Times, p.3.2]
Nokia chief tipped to replace Ballmer at helm of Microsoft
Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop has been tipped as one of the favourites to succeed Steve Ballmer at Microsoft. Elop managed Microsoft Office before taking over at Nokia. Ballmer is seen as having failed to resist the shift away from Microsoft to Apple and Google; co-founder Paul Allen called the departure of Ballmer as 'a watershed opportunity to find ...a fresh approach'. [Sunday Times, p.3.2]
Ryanair told to end fight for rival
The Competition Commission is expected, in a ruling that may come on Tuesday, to demand that Ryanair (RYA) sell all or part of its 29.8 per cent stake in Aer Lingus (AERL). The Commission said earlier this year that the stake was anti-competitive for routes between the UK and Ireland, and could allow Ryanair to block corporate deals at Aer Lingus. In its third and latest bid to buy the airline, opposed by the Irish government which holds a 25 per cent stake, Ryanair offered €1.30 a share; Aer Lingus closed at €1.73 on Friday. [Sunday Times, p.3.3]
Lloyd's in sanctions inquiry
Lloyd's of London is concerned that members could potentially breach international sanctions, and began an investigation two months ago. Banks have been heavily fined by the Financial Conduct Authority for anti-money laundering failures, and it is feared that this may be the weakness of the 50 managing agents of Lloyd's. [Sunday Telegraph, p.B1]
Centrica could return more cash to shareholders
Centrica (CNA), part way through the programme it began after abandoning plans to invest in UK nuclear plants, and following a £500m share buy-back earlier this year, is considering extending the programme into 2014, perhaps with a recurring annual buy-back of £250-£300m, according to analysts. One blue-chip investor, however, expected the company to finance US expansion. [Sunday Telegraph, p.B1]
