FTSE 100	4202.13, +74.96	Dow	8331.68, +185.16
FTSE 250	7278.80, +94.37	Nasdaq	1793.21, +37.18
FTSE All Share	2145.48, +36.16	S&P 500	901.05, +21.92
Nikkei	9261.81, +211.48	Hang Seng	17884.88, +630.25
Oil (Crude)	$59.69	Gold	$922.50
Base Rate	0.5%	10 Yr Gilt	3.72%
£/$	1.629	£/€	1.1655
1 month LIBOR	0.6	3 month LIBOR	1.021

 

Markets

London - The FTSE 100 is currently 25.95 points higher at 4,228.11. Higher metal prices boost miners. Lonmin leads the risers, climbing 6%, followed by Fresnillo, up 5.8% and Randgold Resources adding 4.1%. Vodafone leads the fallers, down 1.8%, after UBS cut its rating on the stock to Neutral from Buy.

Also in the news, according to the Financial Times RBS’s chief executive will be given tougher performance targets to meet next year to collect his maximum bonus. Elsewhere, a group of Lloyds shareholders are demanding that the government reveal details of discussions between Gordon Brown and Sir Victor Blank chairman of Lloyds and HBOS, the Daily Telegraph said.

New York - US stocks rallied yesterday led by financial shares, following positive comments from influential banking analyst Meredith Whitney. The Dow Jones gained 185.16 points to close at 8,331.68 while the S&P 500 rose 21.92 points to end at 901.05. The Nasdaq added 37.18 points to finish at 1,793.21.

Goldman Sachs led financials higher after Whitney gave the firm the only Buy rating among the eight companies she covers. Shares in the Goldman, who report second quarter figures today, jumped 5.3% as a result. Bank of America surged 9.3% higher after the same analyst said the stock was the "cheapest" among US banks.

After the bell, Dell said it expects to see a slight increase in revenue from its second quarter results, but coupled with a small decline in gross margins.

US light crude oil for August delivery slipped $0.20 to $59.69 a barrel. COMEX gold for August delivery gained $10 to $922.50 an ounce. Treasury prices were almost unchanged, leaving the yield on the 10 year note at 3.3%.

Tokyo - The Nikkei climbed 211.48 points to close at 9,261.81, ending a nine day losing streak. Financials followed the US higher with Mizuho Financial Group (Japan’s second biggest listed bank) adding 2.6%. Komatsu Ltd, the world’s No. 2 maker of earthmoving equipment, climbed 6.6% on a newspaper report that the company made a profit in the April- June quarter.

Hong Kong - The Hang Seng is currently 630.25 points higher at 17,884.88. Stocks were driven higher after analysts forecast that China’s economy may have expanded 7.8% in the second quarter, boosted by record lending and surging investment.

 

Economics

UK RICS house prices (Jun) 00:01 BST

The Bank of England’s credit conditions survey showed that banks plan to make more mortgage finance available and, more importantly, that they plan on loosening lending terms. Analysts expect another sizeable improvement in this survey, suggesting the pace of price declines is moderating. UK DCLG house prices (May) 09:30 BST.

The DCLG (formerly ODPM) house price index is the last of the house price indices to be released for the month of May so tends not to be as significant for the markets as the Nationwide or Halifax release. The annual rate of house price deflation is expected to moderate.

UK CPI (Jun) 09:30 BST

Inflation has surprised to the upside in four of the last five months, which looks to be attributable to the pass through of rising import costs from weaker sterling. Largely imported goods such as cars and audiovisual equipment have seen the biggest price gains. Base effects from lower energy prices should see headline inflation fall to 2.1% in June and then fall below target by September. But recent gains in energy prices are likely to mean that the period of CPI inflation being below target will prove short-lived.

US PPI (Jun) 13:30 BST / 08:30 EDT

Gasoline prices have risen for six months in a row, including a 16% increase in June, which may give a sharp boost to headline PPI. Prices are now rising for a wide range of other energy goods including diesel, heating oil and fuel oil. Assuming an 8% increase for finished energy goods and a small drop for finished foods prices, analysts think headline PPI may rise 1.4% on the month (almost double the consensus expectation). The year-on-year rate of change could climb to -4.7% from -5.0%. However, the underlying trend in core PPI has been quite subdued for the past three months. The core PPI ex-autos fell 0.1% in both April and May and has been essentially flat since January. Analysts look for the core PPI to rise 0.1% in June, with the year-on-year rate slowing to 2.9% from 3.0%.

US IBD/TIPP economic optimism (Jul) 15:00 BST / 10:00 EDT

Recent consumer confidence readings have started to disappoint, including a 6pt drop in June’s Conference Board survey and a downward trend in the weekly ABC News consumer comfort readings since mid-May. Analysts look for July’s IBD/TIPP index to fall to 48 from 50.8, including a 4pt decline in the personal finances component, as gasoline prices have continued to climb higher.

US Business inventories (May) 15:00 BST / 10:00 EDT

Manufacturing inventories fell 0.6%, and wholesale inventories fell 0.8% in May. Assuming a 0.8% decline in retail inventories, analysts expect total business inventories to drop by 0.7%.

Corporate

Britvic said today it expects its full year results to be ahead of market forecasts having seen particularly strong trading in the third and fourth quarter to date. Analysts forecasts for full year underlying pre-tax profit range between £64m-£82m. Britvic said total revenues for the third quarter to July 5 increased by 5.9 percent from the previous year to £249.1m. Revenues in the Great Britain and international divisions grew by 11.6 percent to £209.4m. However, Britvic Ireland saw sales volumes declined by 20.3 percent, reflecting a "particularly challenging" trading environment in May and June.

Renold said today the fall in orders seen since the third quarter of its financial year had continued, as it reported a 69 percent fall in pre-tax profit. The company said sales were down 25 percent in the first quarter to end June and added it had decided to suspend dividend payments. Chairman Matthew Peacock said "We have entered our next financial year with caution regarding the outlook for the global economy". It posted pre-tax profit of £2.9m for the year to March 31, down from £9.3m the previous year.

CVS Group said it expected its full year earnings before interest, tax, depreciations and amortisation to be broadly in line with market expectations, aided by organic growth and acquisitions. For the year ended June 30, the company said total sales rose 23 percent, with £6m of additional sales delivered by businesses acquired during the period. Like for like sales growth was 2 percent for the year. CVS said its acquisition pipeline continued to be buoyant. The company said "Market demographics, the fragmented nature of vetinary practice ownership, the availability of laboratories and pet crematoria combined with the cash generative nature of our business are expected to facilitate future growth".

Alphameric swung to a profit in the first half, helped by growth in subscribers for its TurfTV joint venture and an improved performance from Alphameric Solutions. Alphameric posted pre-tax profit from continuing operations of £4.1m in the six months to end May, after a loss of £3m in the year earlier period. Sales rose 17.4 percent to £19.9m. The group said it would pay an interim dividend of 0.75p per share, after no payout a year ago. Chairman Peter Bertram said "Given an acceptable environment the group is well positioned to deliver a robust level of financial performance and to sustain a progressive dividend policy". The company said its TurfTV joint venture with racecourse association Racecourse Media Services had increased its subscriber base to about 95 percent of licensed betting offices in the UK and Ireland after signing up BetFred in April.

Headlam Group forecast first half earnings in line with management expectations despite falling sales and profit margins as recession hit demand. The firm said revenue fell 8.2 percent in the six months to June 30. Like for like revenue in the group’s UK businesses fell 10.7 percent, whilst Continental Europe it fell 9.7 percent. Headlam said gross margin eased compared with 2008, principally because of a less profitable mix of products sold. The company said "Based on this performance, earnings for the six months ended June 30 are likely to be in line with management’s expectations".

Statpro said trading for the first half was significantly above the year ago period and was ahead of its estimates, helped by new contracts. StatPro said it was confident of the full year results as market conditions in the fund management sector appeared to remain stable for the second half of 2009. Operating cash inflow in the first half continued to be strong, resulting in a reduction in net dent to about £10.8m at June 30, from £14.6m at Dec 31.

Maxima Holdings forecast full year revenue and operating profit to be in line with market view as trading remained steady, but said it expected some impairment charges due to a review of the intangible assets. The company said the charges were expected to be mainly non cash items and were likely to result in an overall statutory loss for the year. Maxima said its net debt on May 31 was slightly lower than expected at £15.5m.

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The above details are provided for information only and are not intended to be construed a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any particular investment nor as specific investment advice.

 

Posted: July 14th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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