Market news round up, upgrades & downgrades courtesy of Cantor Index

Cantor Opening Call

UK Corporate Announcements

Mitie Group states that its four month progress has been in line with the forecasts
Sthree announces full 2012 revenues of £577m from £542m, and a pre-tax profit of £25.3m
easyJet’s details that its chairman Mike Rake plans to step down this summer
Aveva states that the group overall has continued to perform well

UK Market News

The Telegraph writers on how Ernst & Young’s managing partner for Europe has attacked moves for a ‘moral tax code’ stating that accountants have a duty to pay the lowest rate permitted and that if politicians were unhappy with the laws being used, then the laws should be changed
The Telegraph also details how 46% of the largest City firms are owned by foreign investors
UK House prices stayed flat in January, with the number of new buyers also slipping
The Independent highlights how final salary pension schemes continue to disappear, with just 13, of 6,000 final salary schemes still open to new workers
De La Rue has reportedly missed out on a possible larger contract to supply bank notes to China
Sunday Press suggest that Barclays is planning to raise £2bn through a capital raising, while reports also suggest that its Asian Sales Trading head Norris may leave

UK Analyst Upgrades

UK Analyst Cuts

FTSE 100 Movers

Major European Companies Reporting

European Market Summary

Ryanair has lifted its full year outlook to €540m from €490-520m
The chairman of UBS has reportedly suggested an industrywide libor settlement
Cyprus has had its ratings cut by two notches to B by Fitch, citing the ongoing bank bailout costs
Italy is to sell up €6.75bn in Bonds at 11:00, Germany sells €3bn in Bills at 11:30, and France sells up to €7.5bn in Bills at 14:50
Unemployment in the EU gained to 11.9% in December, with results for January expected to show unemployment up to its highest level since records began in 1995

S&P 500 Companies Reporting

American Electric Power Co Inc, Q4, 0.455, Biogen Idec Inc, Q4, 1.459, BMC Software Inc, Q3, 1.015, Caterpillar Inc, Q4, 1.703, Plum Creek Timber Co Inc, Q4, 0.286, Roper Industries Inc, Q4, 1.46, Seagate Technology PLC, Q2, 1.278, Yahoo! Inc, Q4, 0.279, Zions Bancorporation, Q4, 0.319

US Market News

The Fed has warned US banks that global regulators may not be united in their efforts to stop the failure of larger financial institutions
Apple closed down under $440 on Friday, when it was trading above $700 just a few months ago it was the largest company the world has ever seen, now it has moved to the second largest company in the world, back behind Exxon Mobil
Barron’s suggests that Dole Foods could gain by as much as 100% after its Asian asset sales, Ryman Hospitality is also flagged up as a possible gainer ahead, but also warns that US defense contractors could slide on the expected government spending cuts seen
The paper suggest that Apple now looks good value, as it could sell $50bn in debt and buy back as much as 10% of its own stock
Twitter has received funding from Blackrock valuing the social media group at $9bn
Transocean will be eyed after Carl Icahn files that he now has a 5.61% stake
The movement in Apple has allowed the VIX to tick higher in recent days, now up 1.6% to 12.89

Overnight Market News

China is reportedly looking at ending its decade long ban on the manufacture, sale and import of video game consoles, which could boost the likes of Microsoft and its Xbox against major Japanese rivals Nintendo and Sony
Zhejang Geely may buy out Manganese Bronze for less than £2.7m

Economic Data Due

Economic Events

US Durable Goods