This Morning in London equities lost ground in opening trade, as pharmaceutical stocks fell on worries that the US Congress, now in Democratic hands, could tighten regulation of the industry. The FTSE-100 opened 0.4% lower at 6,209.5, a loss of 21 points. The mid-cap FTSE-250 was was 0.2% weaker at 10,570.6, falling 20 points.
UK women to become 'tribal wives'
A new TV reality show is sending six British women to be "second wives" to tribesmen in some of the world's most remote communities. The women will spend a month shadowing actual wives in villages in Papua New Guinea, Greenland, Africa and Northern Mongolia, for the new BBC series. They will attempt to eat, sleep, and work exactly as the real wives do to "immerse themselves" in their cultures. Tribe members will be interviewed each week to assess how the British women have been accepted. Producers say the series, entitled Women of the Tribe, will examine the hosts' perceptions of western culture through their visitors. Richard Klein, BBC commissioning editor, said: "Woman of the Tribe will give UK audiences and the six western women a real insight into how tribal women really live, the everyday issues they deal with, their hopes and fears, and their views on life. "Viewers will see the women of the tribe speak with passion, emotion and humour about their lives, in a way that has not been explored before."
Culture Club postpone tour dates
Reformed 80s band Culture Club have postponed their December tour because they need more time to practise. The band said they could not "prepare adequately" due to a heavy recording schedule and did not want to deliver a "less than incredible show". In a statement, Culture Club said the tour will now tie in with the release of their next single in 2007. The band recently fell out with former lead singer Boy George over comments he made about his replacement Sam Butcher. Boy George called Butcher "terrible" and "dreadful". Jon Moss responded by saying Boy George had been "rude" to him for years, following the collapse of a romantic relationship between the pair at the height of the band's success in the 1980s. The 12-date UK tour, Culture Club Reborn, was due to start on 7 December. Fans can get a refund if they wish.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
ABN Amro downgrades Sainsburys (SBRY.L) to sell from hold, has a buy for Management Consulting (MMC.L), upgrades Uniq (UNIQ.L) to buy from hold and has a buy for Balfour Beatty (BBY.L), raising target to 446p from 410p.
Altium reiterates add for Ricardo (RCDO.L) and has a hold for Dimension Data (DDT.L).
Bear Stearns has upgraded Cable & Wireless (CW.L) to outperform from peer perform with a 177p target.
Bridgewell has a neutral for Aegis (AGS.L), buys for Balfour Beatty (BBY.L), Corporate Services (CSV.L) and Vega (VEG.L), downgrades Enterprise (ETR.L) to neutral from overweight, has an overweight for Hornby (HRN.L) and a neutral for Imagination Technologies (IMG.L).
The broker initiates coverage of Aveva (AVV.L) with a buy rating and 710p target price.
Citigroup initiates coverage of Dignity (DTY.L) with a sell and 579p target, has a hold and 720p target for Paragon (PAG.L), downgrades Invensys (ISYS.L) to hold from buy raising target to 280p from 235p, has a hold for Galiform (GFRM.L), cutting target to 112p from 125p, lowering estimates and downgrades International Power (IPR.L) to hold from buy, raising target to 350p from 345p.
Collins Stewart has a sell and 420p target for BSkyB (BSY.L).
Credit Suisse has an outperform for Nokia (NOK.L).
Deutsche Bank has a buy and £12 target for SABMiller (SAB.L), a hold for Punch Taverns (PUB.L) and a buy for Invensys (ISYS.L), raising target to 310p from 265p.
Dresdner Kleinwort, in a note on UK restaurants, initiates coverage of The Restaurant Group (RTN.L), La Tasca (LAT.L) and Clapham House (CPH.L) with buy recommendations, Prezzo (PRZ.L) with an add and Carluccios (CARL.L) with a hold.
The broker reiterates buy for 3i Group (III.L), has a buy for Punch Taverns (PUB.L), raising target to £14 from £10.60 and a buy and £22.50 target for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).
Evolution reiterates buy and 290p for European Goldfields (EGU.L), has a buy for Galiform (GFRM.L), raising target to 135p from 115p, a buy for Invensys (ISYS.L), a buy and 16p target for Pipex (PXC.L), a reduce for William Morrison (MRW.L), raising target to 260p from 230p, an add for Sainsbury (SBRY.L), raising target to 425p from 405p and an add and 540p target for Smith & Nephew (SN.L).
Fox-Pitt, Kelton reiterates underperform for Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA.L).
Lehman Bros has an overweight for 3i Group (III.L) with a £10.90 target and an equal-weight and 115p target for ITV (ITV.L).
Merrill Lynch has a neutral for ITV (ITV.L), a buy for SABMiller (SAB.L) and a buy and £22.61 target for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).
The broker reiterates neutral for Invensys (ISYS.L).
JP Morgan has a neutral for Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA.L), raising target to 155p from 140p, an underweight and 219p target for Invensys (ISYS.L), upgrades Vodafone (VOD.L) to neutral from underweight with a 129p target, has a neutral for FirstGroup (FGP.L), an overweight for Punch Taverns (PUB.L), raising target to £13 from £11 and an overweight for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).
Morgan Stanley, in a note on metals and mining, has an overweight in Aquarius Platinum (AQP.L), raising target to £14 from £13, an overweight in Lonmin (LMI.L), raising target to £42 from £40.
The broker has an equal-weight for Cadbury (CBRY.L), an equal-weight for EMI (EMI.L), cutting target to 270p from 300p and lowering estimates, an overweight and £12.30 for SABMiller (SAB.L) and downgrades Smiths Group (SMIN.L) to underweight from equal-weight, cutting target to 900p from 975p.
Seymour Pierce has an outperform rating for Hornby (HRN.L) and an underperform for Sainsbury (SBRY.L).
UBS has a buy for Signet (SIG.L), a buy for Cairn Energy (CNE.L), a reduce for Punch Taverns (PUB.L), raising target to £10.20 from 980p, a neutral for Rentokil (RTO.L) and a buy for Aegis (AGS.L).
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York stocks finished lower on as investors weighed losses in the healthcare sector against gains from the energy sector and further technology sector advances led by Cisco Systems. By the close, the Dow Jones was down 73 points at 12,103.30. The Nasdaq was up 8.9 points at 2,376.01. Whilst the S&P was down 7.4 points at 1,378.34.
On this day in:-
1775 - The founding of the U.S. Marine Corps.
1871 - American journalist Henry Morton Stanley, sent to Africa by his newspaper to find Scottish missionary Dr David Livingstone, finally made contact with him in Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, historically asking, 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?'.
1928 - Hirohito was crowned Emperor of Japan aged 27.
1938 - 'Kristallnacht' or 'night of (broken) glass in Germany, the night members of the Nazi Party set fire to more than 250 Jewish synagogues and smashed the windows of thousands of Jewish homes and businesses.
1944 - World War II: The Germans launched V2 rockets against London.
1958 - Great British speed enthusiast Donald Campbell broke the water speed record of 248-mph.
1968 - The England and Yorkshire fast bowler Fred Trueman announced his retirement from cricket.
1982 - British spy Geoffrey Prime was jailed for 35 years.
1988 - George Bush was elected U.S. President.
1989 - Following the East German Government's decision to allow free access between East and West Germany, bulldozers began demolishing the 28-year old Berlin Wall.
1991 - In Calcutta, a record 95,000 people watched South Africa's return to Test Match cricket, after the lifting of the ban on South African sport introduced as an international sanction against Apartheid.
1996 - Death of The Daily Mirror's 'Agony Aunt' Marjorie Proops.
1997 - British au pair Louise Woodward walked free from a court in America, when judge Hiller Zobel reduced her murder conviction to manslaughter, cutting her sentence to 279-days, which was the exact length of time she had already spent in jail, after being charged with killing youngster Matthew Eappen.
