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Good Morning ShareCrazies
This Morning in London shares traded close to the flatline in early deals, with Sainsbury (SBRY) and M&S (MKS) holding back progress. Among early movers, J Sainsbury was a prominent faller, off 26.75p at 378.75p, after The Times reported the UK's third-biggest supermarket chain is understood to have missed internal sales and profit targets in the crucial run-up to Christmas. According to the newspaper, industry sources said the group was forced into heavy discounts of unsold produce amid fierce competition. It is the first of the supermarkets to report third-quarter figures, with results covering the festive period out this Thursday. At 9:50 the FTSE-100 was up 4.2 points at 6,352.7 with the FTSE-250 off 112.5 points at 10,152.8.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
ABN Amro has looked at the Banking Sector and says, avoid capital market banks.
Citigroup has reviewed the UK Asset Managers Sector, in which they have downgraded Schroders (SDR) to sell from hold (cutting target to 1082p) and New Star Asset Management (NSAM) to hold from buy.
Credit Suisse has cut its stance on the Telecom Equipment Sector to marketweight from overweight.
KBC Peel Hunt reiterates hold Aggreko (AGK) and says sell Game Group (GMG) (raising estimates).
The broker says buy Osmetech (OMH).
Lehman has reviewed the European Media Sector, which includes downgrading ITV (ITV) and Pearson (PSON) to underweight from equal-weight and Reed Elsevier (REL) to equal-weight from overweight.
Seymour Pierce has downgraded Monterrico Metals (MNA) to underperform from hold (290p target price).
SG Securities’ 2008 Strategy is, to stay defensive until the 2007 reporting season comes to an end and has upgraded CRH (CRH) to hold from sell.
UBS has upgraded Autonomy (AU.) to buy from neutral (cutting the price target to 185p) and has neutral on Misys (MSY) (cutting the price target to 185p from 205p) and VT Group (VTG) (raising the price target to 700p from 660p).
The broker says buy Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) (target 310p).
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Friday in New York shares sank for a third time this week, with the Nasdaq recording its steepest fall since 27th February 2007, after a jump in unemployment spelled a likely recession for investors. The Dow Jones closed down 256.54-points at 12800.18, the Nasdaq lost 98.03-points to 2504.65, its 6th-consecutive day of losses, while the S&P declined 35.53-points to close at 1411.63. On the week the Dow fell 4.3%, the Nasdaq dropped 6.4%, while the S&P lost 4.5%.
On this day in:
1610 - Italian astronomer Galileo discovered the 4 satellites of the planet Jupiter.
1785 - Hot-air balloonists Jean Pierre Blanchard and Dr John Jeffries made the first aerial crossing of the English Channel.
1789 - In the first American national election George Washington became the first President of the United States of America.
1927 - Costing £15 for three-minutes, the first transatlantic telephone service began between London and New York.
1927 - The world most famous basketball team, the 'Harlem Globetrotters' played their first competitive game of basketball.
1934 - The premiere of the first 'Flash Gordon' film.
1953 - U.S. President Harry Truman announced that the United States of America had developed a hydrogen bomb.
1979 - Pol Pot overthrown, Vietnamese troops seized the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, forcing Pol Pot and his communist Khmer Rouge forces to retreat into the jungle.
1990 - In Italy, the 'Leaning Tower of Pisa' was closed to the public for the first time in more than 800-years so restoration work can begin to stop it leaning any further.
1999 - In America, the start of the trial to decide if President Bill Clinton should have become the first U.S. President to be removed from office.
WEEKLY DIARY
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Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
