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Good Morning ShareCrazies
This Morning in London major shares were lower in early deals, with Experian (EXPN) down after a disappointing trading statement. Elsewhere, Rio Tinto (RIO) was 176p lower at 4,820p after the world's third-largest miner said iron-ore production rose 9% in 2007 to a record 179 mln metric tonnes, which could reduce the chances of a takeover. The record output came as the group, listed both in the UK and Australia, continues to resist a takeover proposal from the world's largest diversified mining group, BHP Billiton (BLT). Sector peers also fell, hampered by lower metal prices, Xstrata (XTA) lost 110p to 3,308p, Lonmin (LMI) gave away 191p to 3,351p and BHP Billiton (BLT) fell 42p at 1,442p. At 9:30 the FTSE-100 was down 53.3 points to 5,972.3 with the FTSE-250 off 180.4 points at 9,585.4.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
Goldman has upgraded AstraZeneca (AZN) to buy from neutral (2525p target price) and British Airways (BAY) to buy from neutral (cutting the price target to 330p from 350p).
Lehman has upgraded Diageo (DGE) to overweight from equal-weight (1200p price target) and downgraded SABMiller (SAB) to equal-weight from overweight (1450p target).
The broker has reviewed the Telecom Services Sector, cutting the sector stance to neutral from positive and includes a downgrade on Vodafone (VOD) to equal-weight from overweight.
Morgan Stanley has upgraded Pearson (PSON) to overweight from equal-weight (785p target price) and downgraded Cable & Wireless (CW.) to equal-weight from overweight.
The broker has initiated coverage of Care UK (CUK) appending an overweight recommendation and a 540p target price.
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York stocks plunged, with the major indexes all closing at their lowest levels yet this year, after dismal December retail sales heightened anxieties about the economy and raised questions about the Federal Reserve's ability to stem the damage. The Dow Jones, which has shed nearly 6% of its value since the year began, fell 277 points to end at 12,501.1. The broader indexes also fell, with the S&P finishing down 35.3 points at 1,380.95. The Nasdaq shed 60.71 points to finish at 2,417.59.
On this day in:-
2006 - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated as Liberia's new president. She was the first elected female Head of State in Africa.
2001 - The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Laurent Kabila, was shot by one of his own bodyguards. He later died from his wounds.
2001 - The fuel supply tanker ‘Jessica’ ran aground off the island of San Cristoba, part of the Galapagos Islands.
1992 - The Chapultepec Peace Accords were signed in Mexico City, which brought an end to the civil war in El Salvador.
1981 - The Northern Ireland civil rights campaigner and former Westminster MP Bernadette McAliskey and her husband were shot by gunmen who burst into their home in Northern Ireland.
1979 - Faced with an army mutiny and violent demonstrations against his rule, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi is forced to flee the country. Pahlevi was 22 when, in 1941, he inherited his father's title of Shah of Iran. Initially, the Shah sought to modernise Iran, introducing in 1963 'The White Revolution', a series of reforming measures, which included improving the rights of women.
1969 - In Prague, student Jan Palach sets himself on fire to protest against the Soviet invasion that ended the 'Prague Spring'. Palach died from his burns.
1919 - The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the 'manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes', achieved the necessary two-thirds majority for state ratification, and thus became the law of the land.
1917 - World War I: German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann set a telegram to the German Ambassador in Mexico instructing him to approach the Mexican government to propose a German-Mexican alliance against the United States.
1916 - World War I: Austro-Hungarian troops seized control of Montenegro.
1909 - The Great British Antarctic Expedition, led by Ernest Shackleton, located the magnetic South Pole.
1572 - Thomas Howard, the Fourth Duke of Norfolk, was tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. He was later executed at the Tower of London.
1556 - Philip II became King of Spain.
1547 - ‘Ivan The Terrible’ (Ivan IV Vasilyevich) was crowned Tsar of Russia. He was the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of Tsar.
27 BC - The Roman Senate gave the title of Augustus, to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian.
WEEKLY DIARY
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Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
