There could also be a special dividend or a share buyback programme. At that price, same-store sales growth lagging nominal output growth looks decidedly less attractive. business helps push up National Grid profits: National Grid’s U.S. A High Court judge was forced to lift the gagging injunction that had blocked the media from reporting Sir Fred’s affair, after a Lib Dem peer used the protection of parliamentary privilege to expose its details.Halfords says Autocentres will prove to be engine for growth: Halfords has dramatically expanded its ambitions for car-servicing after finding that the number of potential sites for the business was 50% higher than first thought. Last year, investors in the average London IPO pocketed 11% gains on the first day; in New York the rise was 4%, according to Dealogic. Only with time – and by avoiding scandals – will the resources group merit the indifference Britons reserve for large quoted entities lacking consumer brands. However, the group has heavily invested in digital technology and, as long as there is a strong slate of 3D releases, its future in the near term looks bright. Though it did not mention its nemesis by name, only the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has spare capacity at near-record prices. The milk giant said its five key brands, which also include Clover spread, Frijj milkshakes and St Hubert spreads in France, enjoyed a market beating 7% rise in sales in the year to March.TalkTalk numbers up: Hard-pressed consumers looking for cheap phone and internet deals helped telecoms group TalkTalk boost profits despite problems from buying former rival Tiscali.Ban shopping bags says EU: The EU was under fire for seeking a ban on plastic shopping bags to fight pollution. Deal of the day: Medicsight soared 140% to 8.1p, after American regulators gave approval for its most important product to be sold there. business has narrowed the performance gap relative to the company’s U.K. He bungled communications with shareholders during last year’s abortive bid for AIG’s Asian operations, which cost Pru shareholders £377 million. A further 6% have reserved judgment. Natural, therefore, to feel compassion at the bloody nose inflicted on Harvey McGrath by shareholders at Prudential’s annual meeting. Cineworld expects a stronger line up of films in the remainder of its first half, including Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D) and The Hangover Part II. Oil is not quite as dear as it was, and punters backed the no-frills airline to deliver news of a pick-up in the number of passengers from its base at Stansted. Unite’s general secretary Len McCluskey will attend the conference of the Public and Commercial Services Union in Brighton to sign an agreement with his counterpart Mark Serwotka, pledging to co-ordinate industrial action.Administrator chases Tchenguiz Empire for £600 million: The administrator of Britain’s biggest property management group is going after Vincent Tchenguiz’s freehold empire in an attempt to recover nearly £600 million for creditors. It was the ultimate deal for two companies which had spent much of the preceding two decades growing helter-skelter by acquisition.Engineer plans to put three-way thinking into practice: After taking the temperature in the Invensys boardroom, the thermostat manufacturer’s chairman decided to open the window and defenestrate the Chief Executive. Over the last 35 years, investors in IPOs in the top one-third most volatile industries on the Nasdaq, Amex, and NYSE have profited 26% on the first day while the bottom third gained 11%.U.S. However, this downward trend is unlikely to continue. That move by Sir Nigel Rudd — a veteran of one or two corporate rows in his time — to rid the company of Ulf Henriksson a couple of months ago was as surprising as it was sudden.The Independent PRA set to challenge banks’ decision-makers: The bosses of the new financial watchdog warned bankers that their word would no longer be trusted and they will face “intensive” scrutiny.Richemont profits soar on demand for luxury goods: The world’s second-biggest luxury goods company, Richemont, said strong demand for its jewellery and watches had produced a surge in its annual profits and sales.High oil prices prompt IEA to call on producers to increase supply: Oil producers need to open the taps and increase supply to protect the global economic recovery, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a rare formal statement.Royal Wedding boosted sales, but not for long: Economists urged “extreme caution” about reading too much into a strong rebound in retail sales last month, as chains were boosted by the hottest April on record, a glut of bank holidays and the Royal Wedding.Bank says it has decided to ‘accept’ high inflation: The Bank of England has claimed for the first time that it has taken a conscious decision to “accept a temporary period of above-target inflation” – words that analysts queried as an accurate account of the Bank’s recent behaviour.Lagarde the early favourite to take over as head of IMF: After Dominique Strauss-Kahn yielded to the intense pressure on him to jump before he was pushed and resign as head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, the French Finance Minister and described by her admirers as a “financial rock star” emerged as favourite to succeed him.Virgin in West Coast extension talks: Virgin Rail, the joint venture between Virgin and the transport group Stagecoach, is in talks with the Department for Transport about an extension to the West Coast rail franchise agreement. Questor first recommended the shares at 120p on 15 March, 2009, and they now 71.25% higher, compared with a FTSE 100 up 53% over the same period. Aside from some quite useful research reports and co-ordination of emergency stockpiles, the IEA mostly serves as a sort of sinecure for European bureaucrats. All this makes the company confident of meeting full year market expectations. Stuart Gulliver, Chief Executive of HSBC, said that despite losing money in both countries the lender would hold on to the businesses because of its requirement for large yuan and rupee deposits.The Questor Column:Cineworld hopes to find treasure in 2011: With cinema holding up well in recent years despite tough economic conditions, Cineworld has been strongly tipped by Questor. This can be necessary as a common measure of the listing’s (and banker’s) success is a stock’s performance on its first day of trade. Questor Says “Buy”.The Guardian Gordon Brown makes IMF pitch as race to succeed Strauss-Kahn intensifies: Gordon Brown will stake his claim to be the next head of the International Monetary Fund with a speech in South Africa on Friday urging rich western nations to meet their pledges on education to the world’s poor.Latest manufacturing data looks brighter after recent slowdown: The U.K.’s manufacturing recovery remains on track after the sector reported strong orders for the next three months in the CBI’s monthly industrial trends survey.Prudential investors turn on McGrath as 27% fail to support his re-election: Prudential has been forced to race to the defence of its chairman after about a quarter of the insurer’s shareholders failed to endorse Harvey McGrath’s continuing in the role on Thursday.West begs Opec to raise oil production: The International Energy Agency (IEA), the intergovernmental body representing Britain and other major western economies, has pleaded with Middle Eastern oil producers to increase supplies in a bid to keep down global crude prices.Hornby’s final pay cheque totals £2.4 million: Andy Hornby, who suddenly quit as Chief Executive of Alliance Boots in March, has been handed £450,000 to stop him joining a rival healthcare group.Daily MailGlencore trading gets off to solid start: Trading in commodities giant Glencore started off on a steady footing as the shares were issued at 530p and moved up to around 541p by lunchtime.Marston’s scores with bargain pub grub: A value-for-money strategy at pub group and brewer Marston’s helped it overcome a challenging market and notch up a 5% increase in profits. A slow-mo replay of a boxer taking a haymaker to the face inspires flinching empathy, no matter how sloppily the pug has fought. But angry retailers say any move would hit sales, while doing nothing to save the environment.Chris Huhne will face formal inquiry: Cabinet Minister Chris Huhne is facing a formal investigation into allegations that he dodged a traffic offence by asking his wife to accept his speeding points, police said. 205.5p +11.5p. media. An influential newspaper has thundered that the “secretive” company’s valuation of $61 billion (£38 billion) would make it “six times larger than Marks and Spencer”. That doesn’t stop it from dreaming: With its duck pond, and lawns ringed by well-tended shrubs and borders, Edge Hill University in West Lancashire is an attractive if compact campus, accommodating just 1,500 of its 7,500 undergraduates and 17,000 postgraduates in low-rise halls of residence.Private colleges can reinvigorate public universities: The coalition’s intention to encourage a market in British higher education has prompted considerable debate, much of it quite negative, but I believe the outlook is, in fact, quite positive. lender.Lex:Oil: insipid IEA vs toothless Opec: They were hardly quaking in Riyadh after Thursday’s stern press release from Paris. While the results were not quite celebratory, they were hardly funereal. On average top lines were up five% year-on-year, while same-store sales came in around 2%. It is even less relevant than when its 16 founders started it in 1974, having added not one of the energy-guzzling Bric countries as a member.IPOs: beginner’s luck: Rock concert promoters love to drum up hype and set ticket prices that will clear the market. But while the latter could long make the world quake by threatening to tighten the oil spigots, consumption is far tougher to adjust by fiat. Shops in Britain could be outlawed from stocking them, or alternatively there might be a new tax to dramatically reduce their use. He might have escaped more lightly a few years back. Founded after the Arab oil embargo as an “energy Nato”, the IEA’s statements might be taken more seriously if it had actual guns and bombs. The promoters of initial public offerings are in a similar position. The company made an underlying pre-tax profit before one-offs of £29.2 million in the six months to 2 April.Southern Cross needs rent deal for survival: Embattled care home owner Southern Cross has a ‘reasonable’ chance of agreeing a deal to save it, chairman Christopher Fisher said.Broker Views:Yell Group: Exane BNP Paribas maintains a “Outperform” rating on the stock, with a target price of 19.00pPlaytech Ltd: Evolution Securities maintains a “Buy” rating on the stock, with a target price of 550.00pSportingbet: Numis Securities Ltd maintains a “Buy” rating on the stock, with a target price of 82.00pITV: Sanford C. are illegally prevented from exploiting low tax rates in other European Union countries, the EU Commission has ruled – the latest twist in a row over how to prevent profits that should be taxed in Britain from being diverted overseas.Takeover battle for Micro Focus looms: Advent International has emerged as the second private equity suitor to approach Micro Focus about a potential takeover, people close to the situation said, prompting talk of a possible bid battle.Mobile operators in charge challenge to Ofcom: Leading mobile operators have launched an appeal to try to overturn the industry regulator’s move to force through steep cuts in the charges they levy for connecting phone calls to their networks. The franchise, which is currently run by Virgin Rail through its Virgin Trains brand, was due to expire in March next year.Two Directors to leave Carphone: Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone and electricals retail group, is to Part Company with two Directors after a management restructuring.Growing demand for gold bars and coins: Demand for gold remained strong over the first three months of the year, rising by 11% to 981.3 tons, according to figures from the World Gold Council.Financial TimesMoD under fire for ‘unstable’ planning: Britain’s armed forces will face a shortage of armoured vehicles for the next 15 years because of procurement failures that have cost taxpayers at least £300 million, the National Audit Office reports.Brussels attacks barriers to capital flows: Multinationals based in the U.K. Revenues for the 19 weeks to 12 May were down 8.9%, while box office sales fell 7.8% compared with last year. retail: shopaholic investors: A dozen prominent American retailers displayed their financial wares last week, from big boxers (Walmart, Target) to hip clothiers (Abercrombie & Fitch, Urban Outfitters) to niche sellers (Petsmart, Williams-Sonoma). With a few exceptions (looking at you, Staples) there were no awful surprises. Ivan Glasenberg will be catapulted into the ranks of the world’s richest people by the listing of Glencore International on the London Stock Exchange, with his personal holding worth $9.5 billion (£5.8 billion).Sir Fred exposed as injunction breached: Sir Fred Goodwin, the banker who cost the taxpayer a £45.5 billion bailout, was dramatically exposed over a privacy order that he had obtained to hide an alleged sexual relationship with a woman who worked for him. Zolfo Cooper said it had discovered an outstanding loan of £594 million from one of the Tchenguiz Family Trust’s companies that never actually reached its Peverel management group.Edge Hill has no spires. Cinema is clearly a risky business – Cineworld is heavily reliant on studios. The spread over bunds widened by the same amount to 27 basis points.Wife’s $6 million frees Strauss-Kahn on bail: Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be tried for the alleged attempted rape of a hotel chambermaid, but he is to be released from the notorious Rikers Island jail on $6 million bail, he learnt. And there are rumours of a sizeable protest vote at annual meeting of Alliance Trust, the big, poorly performing investment trust.Glencore’s reputation test: Glencore, whose shares closed bathetically at their subscription price on Thursday, has been greeted with exuberant incomprehension in sections of the U.K. If the retail results this week were so pedestrian, however, why do investors seem to treat the sector like shoppers with unlimited credit? The share prices of the 12 companies trade at an average prospective price-to-earnings ratio of 17 times (excluding Sears, whose lack of earnings inflate the ratio). clearance for Medicsight’s ColonCAD was the driving force behind its stock market flotation.Gilts: Gilts eased as shares rallied and American jobs data provided encouragement. The June gilt future settled 19 ticks lower at 120.48, while the equivalent bund future was down 18 ticks at 124.13. Furthermore, research by Emory and Purdue University found the more volatile the stock’s industry, the higher the expected first day profit. In a rare statement from its governing board, the International Energy Agency said it was “prepared to consider using all tools that are at the disposal” of its 28 members to coax more oil out of producers. The TimesBet of the Day: Spread-betters were buying Ryanair’s share price ahead of annual results next week. But investors are evolving backbones. Guidance was middling. Heavens! What is the world coming to when Swiss commodities groups are valued above Middle England’s favourite purveyor of underpants? One where multinational companies are worth more than the domestic kind, perhaps?The Daily TelegraphEuropean Central Bank threatens to pull the plug on Greek lending: The European Central Bank has threatened to stop lending to banks using Greek government bonds as collateral if Athens changes the terms of the debt, a move which could bring down the country’s banking system.George Soros sells his gold: George Soros, the hedge fund investor who called gold “the ultimate bubble”, has sold almost his entire holding of the precious metal, leading to fears that the price is about to fall.Earthquake and tsunami push Japan back into recession: The devastation wreaked on Japan by the March earthquake and tsunami helped push the country’s economy into its third recession in the space of a decade, official figures showed. Sir Fred Goodwin anonymity order lifted by High Court judge: A court order granting anonymity to Sir Fred Goodwin, the former Royal Bank of Scotland Chief Executive, who won an injunction preventing publication of details of a “sexual relationship”, was lifted at the High Court.Insurance giant Munich Re admits it used prostitutes to reward staff: Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance company, has admitted it used prostitutes to reward staff after details of a 2007 sex party were discovered by a concerned shareholder.Al Gore says News Corp abused its position of power: Al Gore has accused Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation of abusing its position of power by forcing the former U.S. The biggest stores (Home Depot, Walmart, Target) had a hard fight against market saturation and the law of large numbers, but most managed to produce some kind of growth. That has to hurt. Mr McGrath deserves his punishment. Cineworld. Instead, the IEA is really an anti-Opec. Standard Life this week suffered a mini-revolt over remuneration. In the cash market, ten-year gilt yields rose one basis point to 3.39%. Investec looks to shift operations from U.K.: South Africa’s Investec is considering shifting parts of its business out of the U.K., in response to the regulatory changes expected to emerge from the Vickers review into the structure of the British banking system.Treasury provokes banks over loans: The government and banks are again at odds, amid fears that their three-month old Project Merlin peace deal is not delivering enough credit support to Britain’s smaller companies.Oil groups go to the ends of the earth: When Pete Landau went to Somalia – amid a civil war – to search for oil in early 2006, a local adviser gave the Chief Executive of Range Resources two choices: either travel with enough security to repel roaming warlords or go pretty much alone so as not to attract attention.Property groups returning to strength: The property sector continued its strong run on Thursday on the back of upbeat results from several residential and commercial real estate groups. U.S. Bernstein & Co upgrade the stock to “Outperform” and increased the target price to 100.00pRicardo: Jefferies upgrade the stock to “Buy” and increased the target price to 400.00pAviva: CA Cheuvreux downgraded the stock to “Underperform” and decreased the target price to 450.00pDaily ExpressAppetite For Big Brands Boosts Dairy Crest: A growing appetite for big dairy brands such as Country Life butter and Cathedral City cheese has helped serve up higher profits at Dairy Crest. It has identified up to 600 potential locations for its car-servicing business, up from about 400 when it acquired Nationwide Autocentres last year.Back on track after ridiculed rebranding: The BTR merger with Siebe in 1999 had most of the elements of that fin-de-siècle corporate madness, which among other things, drove the FTSE 100 to a never-since-seen high on the last trading day of the millennium. energy assets, helping to push its profits up 25%.BofA sells final BlackRock stake for $2.5 billion: Bank of America has agreed to sell its remaining stake in BlackRock for $2.5 billion, severing ownership ties BlackRock forged with Merrill Lynch before the financial crisis forced the bank’s merger with the biggest U.S. The AIM Company’s computer-aided detection software helps to diagnose colon cancer. Operating margins for the 12 companies on average expanded a bit. Issues by Glencore, LinkedIn and Renren prove they know how to create a spectacle. Vice President’s television channel off air in Italy.HSBC reiterates Asia focus as it looks for savings: HSBC will not exit its Indian and Chinese retail banking businesses despite losing money in the countries as deposits there are needed by the bank. For a similar or lower valuation investors can have Apple, which grew 80% last quarter, or SABMiller, whose exposure to emerging markets any American retailer would give their eye teeth for.Lombard: Pru revolt shows shareholders are pulling no punches: Strewth. Then there is also a robust slate of releases in the second half that includes the finale of the Harry Potter series. The disgraced politician, who resigned as the head of the International Monetary Fund, was told by a judge in New York that he would be under armed guard 24 hours a day in an apartment in Manhattan until least until the next hearing on 6 June.Unions agree deal to combine mass strikes this summer: Britain’s biggest union will sign an unprecedented accord with the biggest civil servants’ union, increasing the chances of widespread strikes this summer and beyond. One-fifth of them think he is unfit to chair the group. New relationships between publicly funded institutions and their younger, private sector counterparts are developing every day, and these relationships are based very much on collaboration and mutual benefit.Billionaire ignored children’s pleas to stop toxic pollution from mine: On the day that a Chief Executive of an international company became an instant billionaire, it emerged that he had failed to reply to ten African children who had written begging him to stop the pollution from a mine that was blighting their lives. In 2007 the prospect of U.S. But success can be easily bought under this definition, and underpricing to ensure a first day “pop” is common.
New homes are on the rise as Britain’s builders bounce back: Housebuilding is on the rise as Britain’s construction industry kicks back into life, official figures show. The firm, which has 155 stores, reported same-store sales growth of 8.2% in the 15 weeks between 30 January and 14 May, which lifted gross profit by 9.8%. April surge in retail figures ‘just a one-off seasonal rise’ warn analysts: A winning combination of the royal wedding and unseasonably warm weather triggered a bigger-than-expected jump in UK retail sales last month, official figures revealed. Moss Bros has a pattern for sales growth: Moss Bros hailed its turnaround plans as the menswear retailer unveiled a boost to like-for-like sales. The dairy giant reported a 7% rise in sales for its five key brands, which also include Clover and St Hubert, while the volume of milk sold to major retailers jumped 9% after a new deal with Tesco.Brewer’s taste for emerging markets: Strong growth in the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and Latin America helped brewing giant SABMiller beat forecasts with a double-digit rise in annual profit while Europe and North America proved tougher. And Mr Bean, one of the six members of the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee who has been voting in recent months to continue to hold UK base rates at a record low of 0.5% in spite of a minority call for a rise, hammered home the benefits of the MPC’s no-change stance.New extension for Cairn India business sale further deadline extension for Cairn India sale: Cairn Energy has extended the deadline again for completion of the multi-billion-pound sale of the bulk of its Indian business as the campaign to win official approval for the deal drags on.Flu helps Axis sales: Axis-Shield, the Scottish-Norwegian maker of medical diagnostic kits, said trading in 2011 has started well, with revenues and profitability in line with market expectations, writes Mark Smith.Engineering Chief Hughes urges rethink over energy: Peter Hughes, Chief Executive of industry body Scottish Engineering, called on First Minister Alex Salmond to reconsider Scotland’s energy policy and appealed for all available proven technologies including nuclear to be included.Ayrshire firm Maxi bucks the trend despite a profits dip: Maxi Group, the Ayrshire haulage-to-construction firm, unveiled a slight dip in profits, hampered by unprecedented rises in the cost of fuel and shipping, along with intense competition. The comments by Hector Sants, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the proposed new boss of the Prudential Regulation Authority, coincide with the controversy about the much-delayed FSA report into Royal Bank of Scotland’s collapse.Clydesdale adds extra £100 million for PPI claims: Clydesdale Bank and its sister UK operation, Yorkshire Bank, revealed they will take an extra £100 million provision against the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). His comments at the firm’s AGM in Edinburgh came after Cairn and Vedanta extended the deadline for the deal until after Indian government ministers meet to consider the sale of a 40% stake.New financial regulator ‘must be able to report on failed giants’: Britain’s new financial regulator must be able to publish reports on big financial firms that fail in order to maintain public trust, its Chief Executive-designate has warned. The world’s second-largest brewer and maker of Miller Lite, Peroni and Grolsch said trading in its emerging markets, which provide more than 80% of earnings, were improving led by Africa and Asia. A lack of finance for both building projects and consumer mortgages has seen many sites mothballed and other developments shelved over the last three years.The Scottish HeraldBank Deputy Governor Bean warns of difficult times: Bank of England Deputy Governor Charlie Bean warned that the next few years were likely to be “rather difficult” for households and consumer-facing businesses. While the upturn, which marks the biggest rise for the month of April since 2002, will provide some relief to retailers who have been hard-hit by weak consumer morale, analysts stressed that underlying sales growth remained weak as Britons face squeezed household budgets.Co-op sees 33% surge in cattle and sheep sales: One of Scotland’s leading livestock co-operatives, Farm Stock (Scotland) has just reported a 33% increase in the year-on-year numbers of cattle and sheep it is now handling. Both herds of pure-bred Aberdeen-Angus are run on strictly commercial lines with ease of calving, low maintenance on home-grown forages and strong market demand being cited as reasons for choosing the breed.Dairy Crest churns out rising profit: Dairy Crest said market-beating performances by brands including Cathedral City cheese and Country Life butter helped profits rise 5%. The decision by the UK operations of National Australia Bank (NAB) came after the British Bankers Association (BBA) recently decided not to appeal against an adverse ruling on the issue in the High court.LinkedIn debuts on NYSE – and sparks investor fight for $45 shares: LinkedIn took the New York Stock Exchange by storm on its market debut as investors fought to get a slice of the first social networking firm to go public. Privately owned Maxi, which has its headquarters in Irvine, posted pre-tax profits of £3.3 million for the year to the end of September, compared with £3.5 million of pre-tax profits in the previous year.The ScotsmanCairn reveals sale plan if Vedanta deal falls through: Cairn Energy Chief Executive Sir Bill Gammell told shareholders he would consider selling a small stake in his firm’s Indian subsidiary to fund drilling in Greenland if the £5.9 billion sale of Cairn India to Vedanta falls through. Operating in the Borders, west, south-west and Central Scotland, the company is owned by six regional livestock marketing groups, including, Scott Country Lamb, Buccleuch Farmers, Lothian lamb, Ayrshire lamb, and Galloway lamb.Scot runs top Aberdeen-Angus herd: Aberdeen-Angus herds in Scotland and Wales have claimed the top two places in the annual Aberdeen-Angus suckler herd of the year awards. Its stock nearly doubled in value in early trading after being priced at $45 a share on Wednesday night – valuing the business at $4.3 billion (£2.7 billion) – the highest valuation for an internet company since Google’s flotation in 2004.
Individuals and other investors should note that investing in shares carries a degree of risk and the value of investments can go up or down. Individuals and other investors should seek independent financial advice which considers their specific risks, objectives and specific constraints, and make their own informed decisions. Investments should be made with regard to an investor’s total portfolio. Guardian Stockbrokers, its independent third party provider and its employees make no representation or guarantee with regard to any investment noted on this report, and shall therefore not be liable with regard to any loss. The background of any individual or other investor has not been considered in providing this report. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Any report is prepared for informational purpose only, with no recommendation or solicitation to buy or to sell.
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