This Morning in London the Footsie was boosted by last night's 119-point rise on the Dow Jones and very quickly gained 17.3-points to 6241.8. Having seen such a good rise, profit-takers took the index 4-points below yesterday's close, but the positive sentiment in the market has lifted the FTSE-100 up 5.1-points to stand at 6229.6, at 11:22. Henderson Group (HGI.L) was the subject of a placing by UBS of 48-million shares at 111p. The placing was done very quickly. And the shares now stand at 111.5p, off 3.5p on the day. Press reports of a possible bid of 365p for EMI (EMI.L) from the Dubai governments investment agency Istithmar have not been confirmed... as yet, so the shares have eased from last night's close and now stand at 277.75p, off 4p.
Balls!?
The football used in this year's World Cup final between Italy and France has sold at auction for a staggering $3.1-million (£1.6-million). The ball, which has been signed by the Italian team, which beat France on penalties, was snapped up by Qatar's "emir-in-waiting," Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani, who will display it in Doha during the Asian Games next month. The Sheikh actually attended the World Cup final and says that the ball has a sentimental value for him. He also says that he has supported Italy since he was young. The ball was donated by Asian Football Confederation president, who is himself a Qatari. The money will be donated to the Reach Out To Asia charity initiative which raises funds for the disadvantaged and underprivileged across the region. The Asian Games will be held in Qatar from 1st – 15th December, with athletes from 45 countries and regions taking part.
Heh!! What are you doing down our chimney??
Today Christmas stamps go on sale and already the 1st Class stamps have created a bit of interest. There is jolly old Santa on the roof of a house, but the way he is sitting on the chimney, actually looks as though he should be sitting in the "smallest room" of the house! The collection has upset the Church of England, which claims they contain no Christian message. There are snowmen, reindeer and a Christmas tree but no Three Wise Men, no manger and perhaps even worse... no baby Jesus. A Church spokesperson said they regretted the Royal Mail had decided against continuing last year's welcome return to Christian-themed designs. However, a spokesperson for the Royal Mail claimed that its stamps swapped between religious and non-religious themes each year.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
Altium reiterates buy Entertainment Rights (ERT.L) (47p target).
Bridgewell reiterates neutral Bespak (BPK.L) and says buy Dicom (DCM.L).
The neutral for Penna (PNC.L), overweight in Persimmon (PSN.L), downgrades Quantica (QTA.L) to neutral from buy and has buys for Serco (SRP.L), Cookson (CKSN.L) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L).
Citigroup has initiated coverage of BAE (BA.L) appending a buy recommendation and reiterates buy Marks & Spencer (MKS.L).
The broker says sell BSkyB (BSY.L) and Electrocomponents (ECM.L) and hold Ladbrokes (LAD.L).
Citigroup says buy Ryanair (RYA.L) and Yell (YELL.L).
Credit Suisse reiterates overweight on AB Foods (ABF.L).
Evolution reiterates buy Acambis (ACM.L) (270p target) and says reduce AB Foods (ABF.L) (920p target).
The broker says buy Cookson (CKSN.L) (670p target) and Oxford Biomedica (OXB.L) (40p target).
Evolution says reduce Skyepharma (SKP.L) (23p target) and add Standard Life (SL.L) (285p target).
Goldman reiterates neutral on Tate & Lyle (TATE.L) (raising the price target to 850p from 700p) and has neutral on Yell (YELL.L).
The broker says buy Pearson (PSON.L).
HSBC has initiated coverage of British Land (BLND.L) and Slough Estates (SLOU.L) appending an overweight recommendation on both.
ING says buy Rentokil Initial (RTO.L) (cutting the price target to 174 from 176p).
KBC Peel Hunt says buy Arena Leisure (ARE.L) and reduce Game Group (GMG.L).
Merrill says buy Ryanair (RYA.L) (raising the price target to €10.3 from €9.3), Northern Rock (NRK.L) (raising the price target to 1395p from 1250p), Punch Taverns (PUB.L) (raising the price target to 1300p from 1000p) and Stagecoach (SGC.L) (raising estimates).
The broker has downgraded Yell (YELL.L) to neutral from buy and says buy Northern Rock (NRK.L) (1395p target) and Barclays (BARC.L) (908p target).
JP Morgan reiterates overweight on International Power (IPR.L).
Morgan Stanley reiterates equal-weight on Tate & Lyle (TATE.L) (raising target to 780p from 750p).
Panmure Gordon has downgraded Management Consulting (MMC.L) to sell from hold (cutting the price target to 42p from 52p) and says hold Northgate (NTG.L).
The broker says buy easyJet (EZJ.L) (575p target) and AB Foods (ABF.L) and hold Devro (DVO.L) (118p target) and Yell Group (YELL.L).
Panmure says sell Ladbrokes (LAD.L) (350p target) and buy Rank Group (RNK.L) (280p target, after a site visit).
The broker says hold Marks & Spencer (MKS.L).
Seymour Pierce says buy Antofagasta (ANTO.L), Focus Solutions (FSG.L) and Inspace (INSP.L) and has outperform on Torex Retail (TRX.L).
The broker says hold Yell Group (YELL.L), Bema Gold (BAU.L) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L).
UBS has downgraded Meggitt (MGGT.L) to neutral from buy and says reduce Punch Taverns (PUB.L).
The broker has neutral on JD Group (JD.L) and says buy Croda (CRDA.L) (raising the price target to 610p from 580p).
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York shares closed sharply higher, breaking a run of 6-consecutive down days for the Dow Jones, following upbeat remarks from a Federal Reserve official and a $3.7-billion takeover bid for Four Season Hotels. The Dow gained 119.51-points to 12105.55, the Nasdaq added 35.16-points to 2365.95, while the S&P put on 15.48-points to close at 1379.78.
On this day:-
1997 - Despite him being instrumental in their overnight phenomenal international success of the pop group, 'The Spice Girls' sacked their creator and manager Simon Fuller.
1990 - Mary Robinson became the first woman President of the Irish Republic.
1984 - In the American presidential elections, Republican Ronald Reagan won a second 4-year term in office.
1974 - The mysterious disappearance of Lord Lucan following the murder of his children's nanny and a serious assualt on his wife.
1967 - Great British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper beat challenger Billy Walker to becomes the only boxer to win 3 Lonsdale Belts outright.
1956 - An official ceasefire during the Suez Crisis following the Great British and French invasion of Egypt, after President Nasser had announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal.
1935 - Australian pilot Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith was seen flying over Calcutta on a flight from England, but never seen again.
1917 - Vladimir Lenin seized power from the Czarist regime in a stunning coup d'etat. Widespread starvation and catastrophic military failure in World War I left Russia ripe for revolt. Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate on 15th March 1917, and an ineffectual provincial government was established in his place. Contemptuous of what the revolution had accomplished thus far, Lenin returned from exile in Switzerland to spark his Bolshevik revolutionaries, culminating in the coup of 7th November. He led the Soviet Union until his death in 1924 and was succeeded by Joseph Stalin.
1885 - Completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
1832 - In the United States, Andrew Jackson, nominated from the first Democratic Convention to be held, defeated Henry Clay in the presidential elections.
