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Good Morning ShareCrazies
This Morning in London major shares opened higher, sentiment lifted after Wall Street rebounded yesterday. TUI Travel (TUI) gained 10.75p at 249.75p as the group said current trading has been 'encouraging' with strong demand across all its markets despite fears of a consumer downturn. The group said mainstream trading had been particularly strong in the period following Christmas, with sales significantly ahead of the prior year. Its peer Thomas Cook Group (TCG) was the top riser, up 16.25p at 262.75p. At 9:15 the FTSE-100 was up 75.1 points at 5,864.0 with the FTSE-250 ahead 166.2 points at 9,806.7.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
ABN says buy Charter (CHTR) (cutting the price target to 1096p) and in a European Media note the broker reiterates hold ITV (ITV).
Evolution has initiated coverage of Kazakhmys (KAZ) appending a buy recommendation and a 1475p price target and of Ultra Electronics (ULE) also appending a buy recommendation and a 1200p target price.
The broker reiterates reduce Autonomy (AU.) (825p price target) and says buy Dairy Crest (DCG) (target 700p) and Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) (885p target price).
Goldman has upgraded Micro Focus (MCRO) to buy from neutral (cutting the price target to 255p).
JP Morgan has reviewed its European Strategy and has raised European Equities to overweight and the Industrials to overweight from neutral, with Utilities to underweight from neutral.
Morgan Stanley has upgraded Carphone Warehouse (CPW) to equal-weight from underweight.
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York stocks closed near session highs, with financials fronting the climb, after bleak figures on the battered housing market further fueled hopes for another interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve later this week. Financial stocks were among those chalking up gains on the belief that lowered borrowing costs would boost bottom lines, with American Express rising 4.3% and Citigroup gaining 3.8%. The Dow Jones rose 176.7 points to 12,383.9, with 27 of its 30 components trading higher. The S&P gained 23.36 points to 1,353.97 and the Nasdaq climbed 23.71 points to 2,349.91.
On this day in:
2003 - Solicitor Sally Clark was cleared by the Court of Appeal of murdering her two sons. Clark had already served more than 3-years of a life sentence. Sally Clark on died 16th March 2007, her solicitor issued a statement saying that she had "never fully recovered" from the effects of the "appalling miscarriage of justice" she suffered, which saw her spend 3-years in jail.
2002 - In his State of the Union Address, American President George W Bush argued that there was an 'Axis of Evil', comprised of countries which were destabilising the world.
1998 - Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a fresh inquiry into 'Bloody Sunday', the killing of 14 people by Great British troops in Londonderry in 1972.
1996 - French President Jacques Chirac announced that France would no longer test nuclear weapons.
1987 - Philippine President Corazon Aquino surprised a rebel uprising in Manila.
1985 - As a form of protest against the Governments cuts to the education budget, Oxford University dons refuse to confer an honorary degree on British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
1979 - Deng Xiaoping, as deputy premier of China, met with US President Jimmy Carter in Washington. Together they signed historic scientific and cultural accords.
Deng - Xiaoping lived out the full and dramatic transformation of China. He joined the Chinese Communist party in 1920 and participated in Mao Zedong's Long March in 1934. He later became one of the first to advocate opening China to foreign investment, a position considered too radical by hard-liners. Because of his controversial economic beliefs, he was purged and reinstated several times during his long political career. In 1976, he consolidated his rule, and soon was seeking closer ties with the West. In 1979, the United States granted full diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China and Deng signed new accords with President Carter during a celebrated visit to the U.S.
Deng - continued to dominate Chinese politics throughout the 1980’s and instituted a variety of economic reforms. He resigned from his last party post in 1989 because of the controversy surrounding the government crackdown at Tiananmen Square. He died in 1997.
1976 - The IRA exploded a series of bombs in the West End of London.
1964 - Stanley Kubrick's film 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' opened in America.
1959 - Across Great Britain, thick fog brought the country to a stand still.
1942 - World War II: Iran signed an alliance with Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
1942 - The BBC radio broadcasted the first 'Desert Island Discs' programme.
1891 - Liliuokalani became Queen of the Hawaiian Islands. She was the last monarch of the Islands.
1886 - Karl Benz patented his 'Motorwagen'.
1856 - Queen Victoria instituted Great Britain's highest military decoration, The Victoria Cross.
1814 - France defeated Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
WEEKLY DIARY
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Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
