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For more research & Technical Analysis from Cantor Index click here to register. UK Corporate Announcements Headlam announces an H1 pre-tax profit of £10.8m from £10.4m on revenues of £279.4m from £296m and states that it is gaining market share Restaurant Group announces an H1 adjusted revenues of £252m and a pre-tax profit of £26.1m and states it stayed strong despite the difficult market Computacenter reports that it remains on track to meet its full year expectations as cites growth outside of the UK Marshalls announces H1 revenues of £165.5m down from £177.2m and a pre-tax profit of £9.5m from £13.7m Lavendon announces H1 revenues gained 8% to £114m and states that current trading is in line Bwin.Party announces H1 net revenues of €395m from €387m and states that it remains confident on the full year Charles Taylor announces that its full year results remain dependent on insured events as it announces an H1 adjusted pre-tax profit of £4.4m from £4.5m |
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UK Market News The BCC states that the Bank of England is likely to expand its bond buying program again, in what it called a ‘misguided’ move Redrow announces that it is forming a committee to review an approach at £152/share and urges shareholders to take no action at this stage The FT details how Qatar’s RasGas has become the latest Middle Eastern energy company to be hit by a severe computer virus attack in the past few weeks UK press highlights how the UK government has finally agreed to abolish squatters rights, the new offence which comes into force tomorrow means persistent squatters can face a maximum prison sentence of 6 months, a £5,000 fine, or both RBC and Lloyds have come under pressure to let their basic account holders have access to the cash machines of other providers The UK judge is expected to announce today his decision on the legal battles between Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky The UK sells £3bn in bills at 11:10 |
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UK Analyst Upgrades Admiral Pt Raised 4% To 866P At Exane; Kept At Underperform GDF Replaced With Sse In Most Preferred Utilities At Ubs |
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UK Analyst Cuts WPP Pt Cut 4% To 1,020P At Exane; Kept At Outperform |
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UK Insider Buying Astrazeneca Plc, (AZN), 1 insider(s) bought 3,000 shares, £29.5 F&C Asset Management Pl, (FCAM), 1 insider(s) bought 15,000 shares, £0.9 Halfords Group Plc, (HFD), 1 insider(s) bought 21,052 shares, £2.37 TT Electronics Plc, (TTG), 1 insider(s) bought 50,000 shares, £1.48 |
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UK Insider Selling Bunzl Plc, (BNZL), 1 insider(s) sold 19,167 shares, £11.05 Pennon Group Plc, (PNN), insider(s) sold 630 shares, £7.41 Vitec Group Plc/The, (VTC), insider(s) sold 1,740 shares, £6.69 |
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Major European Companies Reporting Aeroports de Paris, S1, 1.617, Bankia SA, S1, 0, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PLC, S1, 0.084, Cie Generale d’Optique Essilor International SA, S1, 1.45, Etablissements Maurel et Prom, S1, 0, Eurocommercial Properties NV, R, 1.013, Hermes International, S1, 3.12, Iliad SA, S1, -15.96 |
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European Market Summary The FT writes that the EC is looking to give the ECB oversight of all banks in the euro zone Germany’s Finance Minister states that cash bonuses for bankers should be capped and require shareholder approval for longer term incentive plans Moody’s stated late yesterday that it may still cuts its rating on Spain, and that its review will continue through September Spain is reportedly looking at recapitalising Bankia without aid from the EU Lufthansa cabin crews are striking today to protest against pay levels Lagardere is reportedly looking to restart the IPO process of its Canal Plus unit |
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S&P 500 Companies Reporting S&P 500 Ex Dividends (gross):- Avery Dennison Corp, AVY, (.27), Computer Sciences Corp, CSC, (.20), Halliburton Co, HAL, (.09), Kohl’s Corp, KSS, (.32) |
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Major US Stock Movers After Hours SAIC gained over 9% in late trading as it announces it was to split into two companies Splunk gained over 12% as it announces a narrower than expected Q2 loss and increases its full year revenue forecasts Omnivision also gained over 10% as it states its sees Q1 revenues ahead of the expectations Zynga came off a touch in late trading on reports that two more Vice president are leaving Gordman came off 12% as cuts its full year sales forecasts after reporting Q3 numbers under the forecasts |
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US Market News US markets move into an extended weekend with markets closed for the Labor Day holiday on Monday, and with trading seen light ahead of Bernanke’s statements at Jackson Hole due this afternoon Goldman is seen rethinking plans to offer bonds on a range of music writes, including the songs of Bob Dylan after some limited investor appetite The WSJ suggests that JP Morgan is reviewing the levels of risks with various brokerages that use it to settle trades, so as to better compare the risk levels with the revenues brought in PepsiCo is reportedly testing a possible new formula for its Diet Pepsi drink Bloomberg has an interesting article today on how the US financial sector has become accustomed to paying large ‘settlement’ fees, while accepting no guilt, and that the common practice on Wall Street may have been copied by the likes of Lance Armstrong recent no-contest to drugs charges, and could yet become a model for other sectors |
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Overnight Market News Asian markets have had a fairly subdued session ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting due ahead today The Telegraph writes on how China was warned about “austerity overkill” as Europe’s ‘crumbling demand’ was increasingly affecting Asian exports, but does indicate that it will keep buying eurozone bonds, but as yet has refrained from stating that it would provide meaningful aid The Standard in China writes on how 214 primary schools have now stated that they will not teach the recently introduced national education on fears it would brainwash the pupils Beijing Enterprises confirms that it is in talks to buy China Kingway Brewery A court in Tokyo has ruled that Samsung did not infringe upon Apple patents, while Reuters suggests that both Larry Page at Google and Tim Cook at Apple have been talking behind the scenes on a ‘range of intellectual property matters’ Lenovi responds to market talk and states that it was not yet interested in the US smartphone market Sources suggest that Nomura is looking to cut costs by as much as $1bn and is set to do so mostly overseas |
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Major Global IPOs Due Today Eland Oil & Gas PLC, (0547186D), GBP 1 |
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FX Summary Safe haven buying in the yen continues after Spain delays asking for formal aid, keeping concerns high of further eurozone shocks A lobby group for the City of London Corp states that 38% of global FX trades in April were accounted for in the UK, up 1% from a survey six months ago, with twice as many US dollars are traded in the UK than in the US, and also twice as many euros traded in the UK than the eurozone combined |
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Commodity Summary The Iranian oil minister has stated that $130 was a reasonable price for oil |
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Economic Data Due 00:01 UK August GfK Consumer Confidence, -28 exp. -29 previous 00:30 Japan July Jobless Rate, 4.3% exp. 4.3% previous 10:00 Eurozone August CPI Estimate, 2.4% exp. 2.4% previous 10:00 Eurozone Unemployment Rate, 11.3% exp. 11.2% previous 15:00 US July Factory Orders, 2.0% exp. -0.5% previous |
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Economic Events WTO Dispute Settlement Body Meets Bernanke speaks at Jackson Hole Lagarde speaks at Jackson Hole |