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Press tips & headlines: Carrs Milling, Dairy Crest, Sainsbury

Here is a selection of today's business press headlines.
July 16, 2014

Investors should 'buy' shares of Carr's Milling Industries (CRM), according to the Questor column in The Telegraph, which believes that the stock is "overlooked and undervalued". The paper explained that Carr's Milling is often overlooked by the market given that analysts struggle to put a value on the company, which is an "odd mix" of flour milling facilities, a nuclear robotics engineer and an animal feed business. Questor said that the firm's third-quarter trading update on Tuesday showed a "strong performance across every division". What's more, the shares are rated on a "fairly conservative" 13.8 times earnings - the multiple falls to 12.1 times next year - which is why the paper rates the stock as a 'buy'.

Meanwhile, Questor has rated Dairy Crest (DCG) as a 'hold' but said that the stock's "chunky" 5 per cent dividend yield is "well worth a closer look". The dairy group said on Tuesday that full-year expectations remain unchanged, with analysts currently estimating a 21 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £65.4m."Questor thinks those forecasts should be manageable, in which case the shares - trading on 11.5 times forecast earnings, falling to 10 times next year - are fairly valued," the paper said. However, it believes the dividend is the "key attraction" of the shares.

BUSINESS PRESS HEADLINES:

Mark Carney has rejected calls by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for a swift return to normal interest rates, lambasting the lauded Swiss institution for operating "in a vacuum" and "outside political and economic reality". The Governor of the Bank of England said that BIS, considered to be the "bank of central banks" and a bastion of monetary policy, was issuing recommendations from a false premise. - The Telegraph

Stansted airport has unveiled plans to go head-to-head with Gatwick and offer an alternative to Heathrow for London-bound long-haul carriers. Long written-off under its previous owners — the Spanish-led consortium that owns Heathrow — as an airport to service the short-haul market, London's third airport believes it can attract Middle Eastern airlines, such as Emirates and Etihad, to Essex. - The Times

Microsoft is expected to cut thousands of jobs in its biggest cull in at least five years. The bulk of the reduction in its 127,000 workforce is expected in the Nokia handset business, which it took on earlier this year. The latest job cuts could exceed the 5,800 posts axed in 2009. But according to reports yesterday, the company's engineering and marketing functions, including the European Xbox team in Reading, are also likely to be affected. - The Scotsman

They used to be deadly rivals in the early days of the personal computer wars who barely acknowledged each other's existence. Last night, however, in a sign of just how far, and fast, the world of technology is changing IBM and Apple joined forces to create easy-to-use business apps and to sell iPhones and iPads to IBM's customers. - The Times

Tesco (TSCO) is facing criticism from farmers for promoting New Zealand lamb at the height of the British season for the meat, despite its promises to back local producers. National Farmers' Union (NFU) president Meurig Raymond said he was angry and disappointed that Tesco was promoting imported meat just 18 months after promising farmers at their annual union conference that it would source more red meat closer to home in the wake of the horsemeat scandal. - The Guardian

J Sainsbury (SBRY) is to convert part of one of its supermarkets into a Netto store as the company relaunches the discount chain in the UK. This means the Netto venture, which is a partnership with Dansk Supermarked, will help Sainsbury's tackle two challenges in the grocery industry - the rise of the discounters and declining sales for out-of-town hypermarkets. - The Telegraph

Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan reported better-than-expected earnings on Tuesday even as poor trading conditions and a sluggish economy continued to be a drag on the Wall Street banks' profits. - The Guardian