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London mid-morning: Inflation boost for equities
Wed, 08 Feb, 2012
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London mid-morning: Inflation boost for equities
Tue, 15 Jun 2010, 09:48:00
The Footsie has limped into positive territory after London received a lift from better than expected inflation figures. The annual rate of inflation fell to 3.4% in May from 3.7% the previous month. The fall was more than had been expected, but inflation is still some way ahead of the Bank of England's 2% target. <b>BSkyB</b> is the morning's big story. The satellite broadcaster rejected a 700p per share offer from News Corporation, the vehicle of media magnate Murdoch and said 800p per share is a more likely level for any deal to be considered. <b>Tesco</b> said it is continuing to see evidence of a steady consumer recovery in Britain as it reported UK like for like sales (lfl) growth of 1.1%. With the effects of January's VAT increase stripped out, UK lfl sales growth was 0.1% in the thirteen weeks ending 30 May. Total group sales increased by 8.2%, while growth excluding petrol was 6.9%. Satellite company <b>Inmarsat </b>is the worst performing blue-chip, and it is not because the company has launched its new global handheld satellite phone, the IsatPhone Pro, which the company said will retail for "as little as" $500. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the reason for the share price weakness; the broker has cut its rating on the shares from "neutral" to "underperform", saying the company will have to spend piles of cash to replace its older satellites. In contrast broker comment from Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale is prompting demand for hotels chain <b>Intercontinental Hotels</b>. Housebuilder <b>Bellway</b> said uncertainty surrounding the new government's fiscal policy has resulted in a slight reduction in visitor site visits and weekly sales rates. "Nevertheless, with a strong forward order book, net cash in the bank of £55 million and expected future margin improvement, Bellway remains well positioned to continue to deliver earnings growth," it said. Fashion retailer <b>Ted Baker</b> has seen a spurt in sales in the year to date, with its wholesale business also seeing a marked upturn. Total group revenue jumped by 18% in the 19 weeks from 31 January to 12 June. Gross margins were maintained in line with expectations, it added. Things were not so cheery at fellow fashion retailer <b>Alexon</b>, which said recent like-for-like sales were down due to volcanic ash cloud disruptions and the general election. Group like-for-like sales for the 19 weeks ended 12 June 2010 fell 5.4%. Healthcare staff supplier <b>Healthcare Locums</b> today confirmed that all discussions in relation to its recent bid approach have now ended. <b>CML Microsystems</b>, which manufactures semiconductors, narrowed losses for the year as the value of its semiconductors increased. Pre-tax losses came in at £386,000 against the loss of £2m last year as revenues rose 12% to £18.02m. <b>Oxford Instruments</b>, which supplies tools for industry and research, saw profits rise for the year as it continued to see growth in its research and industrial markets. Pre-tax profit for the year to March rose to £27.4m from £18.1m before on revenue that rose 2.4% to £211.5m. Crash repair and accident administration firm <b>Nationwide Accident Repair</b> Services said trading since the beginning of the current financial year to date has been encouraging. Cinven Limited confirmed that it made an approach to <b>Spice</b> but it was rejected by the support service group. The group said it made the approach on 24 May 2010, indicating an offer price of 56p per share, a 51.4% premium to the share price at the close of business on 21 May 2010. TV shopping channel <b>Ideal Shopping</b> said it expects to report a "substantial" profit in the first half of 2010. The group also said that it feels it can reintroduce a sustainable dividend policy when the interim results are announced in September. Instant service equipment group <b>Photo-Me International</b> said it expects pre-exceptional, pre-tax profits to top current market forecasts by at least 20%.
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