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Good Morning ShareCrazies
This Morning in London major shares were modestly higher in opening deals, recouping some of yesterday's losses. The retail sector was under pressure after DSG (DSGI) warned that after a disappointing Christmas trading period it now expects full year profits before tax to be some £40m-£50m lower than current expectations. In reaction DSG shares fell 18%, or 20p, to 88p. Elsewhere in the sector, Next (NXT) shares fell 60p to 1,606p despite saying it expects a year to January 26th 2008 pretax profit in the region of £492m-£502m, 'slightly ahead' of market expectations, but warned it is 'extremely cautious' about the new year. Home Retail Group (HOME) fell 25p to 295p, Kingfisher (KGF) dipped 6.7p to 140p, M&S (MKS) was off 10p at 550p and midcap peer Kesa (KESA) down 8.5p at 226p. At 9:20 the FTSE-100 was down 8.6 points at 6,408.1 with the FTSE-250 off 89 points at 10,561.7.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
Altium has upgraded Britvic (BVIC) to buy from add and buy Majestic Wine (MJW).
Citigroup says hold Cattles (CTT) and buy BT (BT.A) and Provident Financial (PFG).
Credit Suisse has downgraded EMAP (EMA) to neutral from outperform (raising the target to 931p from 890p).
Dresdner Kleinwort says buy Ladbrokes (LAD) (cutting the price target to 420p from 450p) and William Hill (WMH) (cutting the price target to 710p from 750p).
Goldman has neutral on Centrica (CNA) (cutting estimates and easing the target price to 425p from 427p) and Northern Foods (NFDS).
Investec has upgraded FKI (FKI) to buy from hold.
Kaupthing says buy Kesa (KESA) and JJB Sports (JJB) and has a fair value target price in Next (NXT) of 1710p.
Merrill has upgraded Alliance & Leicester (AL.) to neutral from sell (lifting the fair value to 732p).
Panmure Gordon has upgraded Marks & Spencer (MKS) to buy from hold and says hold Barratt Developments (BDEV) and DSG International (DSGI) (cutting the price target to 100p from 125p).
The broker says buy Next (NXT) (cutting the price target to 2150p from 2400p), Balfour Beatty (BBY), Keller (KLR), SIG (SHI) and Wolseley (WOS).
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York stocks started off 2008 with a whimper instead of a bang as escalating commodity prices and a gauge of manufacturing activity fueled worries about the economy, propelling the Dow to its steepest start-of-a-year point drop ever. The Dow Jones fell 220.9 points to close at 13,044, after falling as low as 12,991.4 during the session. The Dow's slide marked its biggest point drop yet for the first trading day of the year, and its largest percentage decline since 1983, when the index fell 1.86%. Equities enjoyed a brief but short-lived lift after a summary of the Federal Open Market Committee's December meeting offered hopes for additional interest-rate cuts. The broader indexes also closed with losses. The S&P shed 21.2 points to 1,447.16 and the Nasdaq lost ground for a fourth consecutive day, shedding 42.65 points to finish at 2,609.63.
On this day in:-
2000 - Having first appeared in 1950, the last daily Peanuts comic strip was published as Charles Schulz retired. The comic strip followed the exploits of Charlie Brown and friends and his dog Snoopy.
1999 - The Mars Polar Lander launched from Cape Canaveral, U.S.A.
1993 - Russia and the USA signed the second START agreement in Moscow. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was a further indication that the Cold War was over.
1991 - Following threats of attacks on Western targets, the Great British Government expelled eight Iraqi embassy officials from the country.
1990 - The former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces. He was subsequently tried and convicted in America for drug and money laundering offences.
1977 - Roy Jenkins MP announced that he was to leave the House of Commons to become President of the European Commission.
1961 - President Eisenhower closed the American embassy in Havana and severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.
1959 - Alaska became the 49th, and largest, American State.
1958 - The West Indies Federation was formed.
1946 - Nazi Propagandist William Joyce, the notorious radio broadcaster known as 'Lord Haw-Haw', was hanged for treason.
1925 - In Italy, Mussolini announced his dictatorial intentions for the first time.
1924 - English explorer Howard Carter found the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamen in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
1911 - Police, with the army in attendance, storm a house in London's East End were it is thought a gang of wanted anarchists are hiding. Newspapers dub the incident 'The Siege of Sidney Street'.
1777 - George Washington defeated the British at the Battle of Princeton.
1521 - Pope Leo X issued the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, which excommunicated Martin Luther from the Catholic Church.
WEEKLY DIARY
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