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Good Morning ShareCrazies
This Morning in London major shares opened higher, as investors hope the credit crunch in 2007 will not continue in 2008. M&A speculation sent Alliance & Leicester (AL.) shares higher, jumping 51.5p to 699.5p. The Financial Times said this morning talks between Alliance & Leicester and Banco Santander are not dead. At 9:25 the FTSE-100 was up 39.1 points at 6,496.0 with the FTSE-250 ahead 50 points at 10,707.8.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
Citigroup in its 2008 Strategy, has placed a FTSE-100 year-end target of 7000.
Goldman reiterates buy British Energy (BGY) (raising the price target to 693p from 680p) and has neutral on Debenhams (DEB) (cutting the price target to 80p from 99p), Kesa (KESA) (cutting the price target to 235p from 295p), McBride (MCB) (cutting the price target to 114p from 182p), Halfords (HFD) (reducing the target price to 320p from 371p), SIG (SHI) (cutting the price target to 825p from 1130p) and Woolworths (WLW) (reducing the price target to 16p from 18p).
The broker says buy Drax (DRX) (cutting the price target 877p from 938p), Marks & Spencer (MKS) (cutting the target to 640p from 745p) and Next (NXT) (cutting the price target to 1830p from 2290p).
KBC Peel Hunt reiterates buy Rightmove (RMV) (715p target price).
Morgan Stanley reiterates overweight on Urals Energy (UEN) (raising the price target to 604p from 529p) and has overweight on Carnival (CCL) (2700p target price).
Panmure has upgraded Informa (INF) to buy from hold (raising the target to 550p from 530p) and reiterates buy Delek Global Real Estate (DGRE) (195p target price).
The broker says sell Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) (cutting the price target to 400[p from 475p) and says buy nCipher (NCH) (280p target price).
SG Securities and reiterates sell Centrica (CNA) (305p target price) and sell Sainsbury (SBRY) (364p target price).
UBS have downgraded EMAP (EMA) to neutral from buy (cutting the price target to 931p from 950p) and has neutral on Intertek (ITK) (cutting the price target to 1100p from 1150p) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) (price target of 1350p).
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Monday in New York stocks dropped on the final trading day of 2007, but finished the year higher as technology stocks fronted the benchmark index's best finish since 2003. Stock losses accelerated toward the close, with the market taking little comfort in a report that existing-home sales rose slightly last month. The Dow Jones fell 101 points to 13,264.82, led by IBM, which lost 1.8% following a report that it's in talks to buy Israeli storage-technology company XIV for $300 million to $350 million. The S&P, which is weighted toward financials, fell 10 points to 1,468.36 on Monday, and the Nasdaq lost 22 points to 2,652.28. The benchmark indexes slumped in the fourth quarter. The Dow fell 4.5%, the S&P fell 3.8% and the Nasdaq lost 1.8%. For December, the Dow shed 0.8%, the S&P shed 0.9%, and the Nasdaq gave up 0.3%.
On this day in:-
1993 - Warring factions discussed peace for Bosnia in Geneva. It was the first time that the head of the Muslims, Serbs, Bosnians and Croats had met face to face since the outbreak of the war in Yugoslavia.
1980 - Steel workers called a national strike for the first time in more than 50-years in an attempt to increase their pay.
1979 - In response to Soviet military intervention into Afghanistan in December 1978, US President Jimmy Carter requested that the Senate postpone action on the SALT-II nuclear weapons treaty and recalled the US ambassador to the Soviet Union.
1979 - Sid Vicious (real name Simon John Ritchie-Beverly), the lead singer of the punk-rock band The Sex Pistols, went on trial in New York for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Having been released on bail, Vicious died from a drugs overdose.
1971 - Football disaster at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. 66 football fans were crushed to death on the exit steps of the ground towards the end of a match between Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic.
1968 - Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch took control of the News of the World newspaper group.
1960 - Massachusetts Senator, John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Democratic Presidential nomination.
1958 - In Rome, celebrated Soprano Maria Callas walked off stage after only the first act of a gala performance of Bellin’s Norma. As was characteristic of the flamboyant star she claimed to be suffering from an illness.
1955 - The assassination of Jose Antonio Remon, President of Panama.
1942 - Manila, the capital of the Philippines, was captured by the Japanese.
1905 - The Russian commander of Port Arthur, China, surrendered to the Japanese. This was the first in a series of defeats for Russia which would contribute to the 1905 revolution.
1871 - Amadeus I became King of Spain.
1842 - The first wire suspension bridge opened to traffic in Fairmount Pennsylvania.
1788 - Named after King George II, Georgia became the fourth state of the U.S.A.
1757 - Great British General Robert Clive, known to history as 'Clive of India', captured Calcutta after its seizure by the Nawab of Bengal. The latter imprisoned 146 British prisoners in the notorious 'Black Hole'. Only 23 survived.
1492 - The kingdom of Granada fell to the Christian forces of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, as a result, the Moors lost their last foothold in Spain. In the 13th century, the Christian Reconquest forced Spanish Muslims to flee south, and Granada was established as the last Moorish refuge. The kingdom flourished for the next 200-years, but in the late 15th century internal feuds and a strengthened Spanish monarchy signaled the end of nearly 800-years of Moorish civilisation in Spain. On 2nd January 1492, King Boabdil surrendered Granada, and in 1502 the Spanish crown ordered all Muslims converted to Christianity. In 1609, the last Moors still adhering to Islam were expelled from Spain.
WEEKLY DIARY
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Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
