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London Market Reports
Footsie through 6,000 again
Market Movers
FTSE 100 6,021.42 +0.40%
techMARK 1,925.06 +0.84%
FTSE 250 11,719.83 +0.46%
After an uncertain start, Footsie has now pushed on through the 6,000 barrier as miners rally from some early profit taking.
Gold miner Randgold Resources shrugged off operational and political setbacks in 2010 to post a sharp increase in profit, helped by the increase in the price of gold.
Profit before income tax and financing activities for 2010 rose to $136.14m from $113.76m in 2009. Randgold Resources' group production for 2011 is forecast to be between 750,000 and 790,000 ounces, which represents an increase of more than 70% on the preceding year.
Other miners are finding progress harder with early falls for ENRC, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta.
AstraZeneca's run of disappointing drug development results has continued with the early end to a trial of prostate cancer treatment zibotentan.
Banks are going well after weekend reports suggested big bonuses won't spark a crackdown from the government. RBS and Lloyds are the best of the sector so far.
Property developer St Modwen Properties is confident about the future after making an annual profit for the first time since 2007. The company posted a profit before tax of £37.5m for the 12 months to 30 November compared with a £119.4m loss in 2009 and £73.1m deficit the year before that.
Housebuilder Bellway has been encouraged by the pick up in site visits and reservations in 2011 following the cold snap in December. The group said it sold 2,332 homes in the six months to end-January, an increase of 85 on the corresponding period a year earlier. The average sales price over the period rose to £168,000 from £155,871 a year earlier, largely as a result of selling more traditional two storey homes and fewer flats.
Shares in Exillon Energy started the week on the front foot after test well results in the West Siberia basin kept up the oil producer's 100% drilling success rate since 2006.
Bid target 888 ended the year strongly as talks continue with bookmaker Ladbrokes over a possible takeover of the online gamer. Operating Income rose 18% to $71m in the three months to December, up 18% on the previous three months.
Scanning software specialist Kofax delivered record first half results after a bumper performance at its software business and expects 14% revenue growth for the full year. The group, which is proceeding with the disposal of its hardware business, said adjusted EBITA for the six months ended 31 December rose to $23.5m from $8m in 2009. Revenues increased 20% to $121.7m.
Mobile messaging services provider Synchronica said full year revenue surged 86% from the year before after an, 'extremely strong end to the year'. The group, which last week announced the purchase of US firm Neustar for $0.25m, said it produced around $11m in revenue during 2010, up 86% from the 2009.
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UK Event Calendar
INTERIMS
Kofax
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
BT Group
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Money Supply (JPN)
Current Account (JPN)
Trade Balance (JPN)
Sentix Investor Confidence (EC) (09:30)
Factory Orders (GER) (11:00)
Consumer Credit (US) (20:00)
Q4
Randgold Resources Ltd.
GMS
Oilex Ltd.
FINALS
Amino Technologies, St. Modwen Properties
ANNUAL REPORT
Wynnstay Group
EGMS
Brookwell Ltd. 'B' Shares
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bellway
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Scottish Inv Trust
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European Market Reports
Stocks edge higher
European stocks edge cautiously into higher territory, taking their lead from Asian markets.
The Paris CAC is up 11 at 4,058, the Frankfurt DAX is up 5 at 7,222 while the Swiss Market index is 33 points better at 6,618.
Italian banks shrug off a downbeat report on the sector from debt ratings agency Moody’s.
The agency said it will keep its negative outlook on the sector until Italian banks address the issues of asset quality and capital adequacy.
German sportswear giant Adidas is set for another year of strong growth, according to its chief executive officer Herbert Hainer.
In a television interview Hainder predicted growth of 15 to 20% annually in China over the next five years.
The due diligence being performed on US drug maker Genzyme’s books is still in progress, French pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi-Aventis said over the week-end. The French firm hopes to finalise its $19bn bid for Genzyme over the next few days.
Swiss bank Julius Baer is to buy back up to SFr.500m of shares. The group, which announced a 6% increase in net profit in 2010, also announced an increase in its dividend.
CAC 40 - Risers
Credit Agricole (ACA) € 11.26 +2.69%
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) € 2.57 +1.99%
Natixis SA (KN) € 4.03 +1.98%
Societe Generale (GLE) € 47.47 +1.42%
Alstom (ALO) € 41.99 +1.38%
Veolia Environnement (VIE) € 23.13 +1.25%
AXA (CS) € 15.75 +1.22%
ST Microelectronics (STM) € 9.07 +0.97%
EADS (EAD) € 20.50 +0.79%
BNP Paribas (BNP) € 56.21 +0.72%
CAC 40 - Fallers
Schneider Electric (SU) € 111.35 -0.76%
L'Oreal (OR) € 88.28 -0.55%
Carrefour (CA) € 35.42 -0.52%
Michelin (ML) € 55.41 -0.31%
Technip (TEC) € 73.05 -0.20%
Total (FP) € 43.44 -0.20%
Air Liquide (AI) € 93.40 -0.16%
Danone (BN) € 44.93 -0.09%
Cap Gemini (CAP) € 39.03 -0.04%
Pernod Ricard (RI) € 70.30 -0.01%
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US Market Reports
Dow rises after jobs data
US shares staged yet another late rally to close a strong week in good shape. Dow Jones added 29 at 12,092. Nasdaq added 15 to 2,769, while the S&P 500 added 3 to 1,310.
For the week, the Dow added 2%, S&P 500 was up 2.7%, while Nasdaq increased by more than 3%.
The late rally followed reflection on the monthly employment figures. Non-farm payrolls rose just 36,000 last month, according to the Labor Department, well below forecasts of at least 140,000. December’s number was revised up to 121,000 from 103,000.
A big drop in the unemployment rate took everyone by surprise, tumbling from 9.4% in December to 9% last month. The market had predicted an increase to 9.5%.
In company news, allegations that JP Morgan Chase was warned of Bernard Madoff’s ponzi scheme years before it blew up unsettled the bank's share price.
Appaloosa Management has bought a 6.1% stake in Goodyear Tire & Rubber.
Meat processor Tyson Foods reported much better than expected first quarter earnings.
Health insurer Aetna is looking good after fourth quarter earnings beat estimates, while communications equipment firm JDS Uniphase smashed earnings forecasts late Thursday. Email marketing services provider Constant Contact disappointed the market by saying that its first quarter earnings will be no more than 4c a share.
S&P 500 - Risers
JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) $22.76 +26.94%
Aetna Inc. (AET) $37.42 +12.47%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $83.63 +5.76%
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $18.56 +5.69%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) $24.35 -5.14%
Life Technologies Corp. (LIFE) $52.38 -4.42%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $58.17 -4.07%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $60.28 -3.27%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $31.19 +1.46%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $52.53 +1.16%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $63.61 +1.13%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $19.30 +0.68%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $44.61 -1.87%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $14.29 -0.97%
General Electric Co. (GE) $20.56 -0.92%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $17.14 -0.41%
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Newspaper Round-up
Energy groups, Retail sales, RBS...
The big six energy companies could be driven from Britain if they are treated too harshly in any pricing investigation, a senior minister has told The Times.
In an intervention likely to put pressure on regulators, Charles Hendry said that suppliers might be too important to future energy security to be exposed to the full rigours of a competition investigation. The warning from the Energy and Climate Change Minister came amid speculation that the Competition Commission could be called in to rule on whether the suppliers are profiteering.
Britain's biggest utility investor has dumped his £250m stake in Northumbrian Water, bringing his total recent disposals in the "over-regulated" water sector to almost £700m. Neil Woodford, the manager of Invesco Perpetual, had already sold sizeable stakes in Severn Trent and United Utilities, complaining that regulations mean investors cannot make adequate returns, the Telegraph reports.
Fears over a double-dip recession appear to have receded after the high street enjoyed surprisingly robust trading last month, boosted by continued hefty discounting and catch-up shopping after December's snow. Confounding fears of an early new year "bloodbath", mid-market retailers delivered like-for-like sales up 9.1%in January, BDO's High Street Sales Tracker found. The British Retail Consortium is also expected to report positive underlying sales growth for the sector in January, but its closely-watched monthly figures are not expected to be quite as bullish, the Independent reports.
The UK's economic output will be boosted by rising exports during the next decade, driven by improved competitiveness and soaring demand from the fast-growing "Bric" economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, an influential forecasting group says today. Following a decade of underperformance, the total value of UK goods and services exported will leap by 8.5 per cent a year, says the Ernst & Young Item Club (Item), compared with a fall of 1.8 per cent between 2008 and 2010, the Independent reports.
Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, has accused the UK's big supermarkets of being "barons of politics" and having "enormous lobbying power". The politician lashed out on a radio programme yesterday after MSPs last week rejected his party's plans to introduce an extra tax on supermarkets in Scotland. The so-called "Tesco Tax" would have increased retailers' rates bills on some individual stores by 30%, the Telegraph reports.
The grocer Morrisons is in advanced talks with the fashion designer George Davies to launch a clothing range to take on its bigger rivals – Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's. Mr Davies, who launched the George at Asda brand 20 years ago, could sew up a deal over the coming weeks, the Independent reports.
Nicolas Berggruen, the Paris-born billionaire investor, is seeking to raise £700m ($1,126m) in a flotation of a cash shell on the London Stock Exchange in the coming weeks. The vehicle, called Justice, is looking for an acquisition worth between £1bn and £5bn, including debt. It has the backing of Mr Berggruen’s long-term business partner, Martin Franklin. Bill Ackman, the activist investor who heads Pershing Square Capital Management, is also believed to be on board, the FT reports.
The chief executive of Associated British Foods is overpaid by £200,000, investors have been told. George Weston’s £866,000 annual base salary is far more than expected when the company is ranked against its peers in the FTSE food producers sector, according to a specialist on executive pay. The report from Inbucon, run by two former pay consultants, comes as investors step up their scrutiny of base pay, the Times reports.
Commercial property owners and developers are in breach of covenants on four out of every five loans, with £194bn at risk, according to an unpublished report for the Bank of England. Lenders with £243bn outstanding to commercial property companies are still heavily exposed to bad loans and could take heavy losses in the coming years. The Bank of England Commercial Property Forum said that three years on from the start of the credit crunch many of the key property loan risks identified in 2009 were still relevant, the Times reports.
Royal Bank of Scotland has moved to head off a growing row over its chief executive’s bonus by setting up a £100m fund to support business franchises. The state-backed bank, which is facing a public backlash over Stephen Hester’s bonus of an estimated £2m, said that the fund would offer cut-price fees and capital-repayment holidays, the Times reports.