This Morning in London the FTSE-100 was heavily impacted by falling mining shares, after lower copper prices created pressure on the sector. Anglo American (AAL.L) fell 55p, BHP Billiton (BLT.L) slipped 20.5p, Kazakhmys (KAZ.L) lost 25p, Rio Tinto (RIO.L) fell 60p, Vedanta (VED.L) was off 57p, with Xstrata (XTA.L) losing 46p. The winners in the Costain (COST.L) recommendations seem to be Dresdner Kleinwort over KBC and Costain are up 0.75p at 48p. At 10:49 the FTSE-100 stood at 6213.4, down 34.0.
Can you imagine this in bars in London? (It would save time though!)
A pub called The Tapped Bar, in Otley, West Yorkshire is allowing drinkers to pull their own pints. Drinkers pre-pay for their drinks by using a computer and then... well just help themselves. The tap automatically switches off once each pint has been poured. The landlord of the pub said that it’s a pain to queue for ages at the bar... “but not now." What happens if you want peanuts too?
A Big Big Big (priced) burger
A hotel in Indonesia is serving a hamburger that costs more than twice the monthly minimum wage in some parts of the country. The £56 hamburger, offered by the Four Seasons, is made of Kobe beef with foie gras, Portobello mushrooms and Korean pears, and is served with French fries. Funnily enough, they are not exactly selling like hotcakes (or even burgers) but the hotel says that it has sold 20 of the hamburgers since they were launched this month. Erwan Ruswandi, the chef of the restaurant offering the gourmet burger, says that burger is so expensive because the flavour is really different. One burger consists of has 225 grams of Kobe beef (the calves in Kobe get special treatment... they drink beer mixed with milk, vitamins and eat pesticide-free grass). They import all the materials and Mr Ruswandi says that they are of high quality, which is why they are so expensive.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
ABN reiterates hold Tate & Lyle (TATE.L) (860p target).
Bridgewell reiterates underweight on Burren Energy (BUR.L) and says buy Cookson (CKSN.L).
The broker has downgraded Evolutec (EVC.L) to neutral from overweight and has overweight on Local Radio Company (TLR.L).
Bridgewell has upgraded United Business Media (UBM.L) to buy from overweight and says sell Vanco (VAN.L).
Citigroup says buy BT (BT.L) and sell Carphone Warehouse (CPW.L).
The broker says buy Filtrona (FLTR.L), Intertek (ITRK.L), Provident Financial (PFG.L) and Tate and Lyle (TATE.L) and hold National Express (NEX.L) (raising the price target to 1066p from 930p).
Credit Suisse has downgraded Hays (HAS.L) to underperform from neutral.
Deutsche reiterates hold Misys (MSY.L) (190p target) and says hold National Express (NEX.L) (raising the price target to 986p from 946p).
Dresdner Kleinwort has upgraded SABMiller (SAB.L) to add from hold and downgraded Diageo (DGE.L) to hold from add.
The broker has upgraded Costain (COST.L) to buy from add.
Evolution reiterates buy Hanson (HNS.L) (830p target) and says add Smith & Nephew (SN.L) (560p target).
The broker says buy Tate & Lyle (TATE.L) (920p target) and add Wilson Bowden (WLB.L) (2380p target).
Evolution says reduce Wood Group (WG.L) (230p target).
WH Ireland has moved Provident Financial (PFG.L) to market-perform from outperform, retaining its 705p price target.
Kepler Teather & Greenwood has downgraded Business Post (BPG.L) to sell from buy and says buy Wilson Bowden (WLB.L), Restaurant Group (RTN.L), LaTasca (LAT.L), Clapham House (CPH.L) and Getech (GTC.L).
The broker says hold Hanson (HNS.L), Morgan Sindall (MGNS.L) and Wood Group (WG.L) and has initiated coverage of Libra Natural Resources (LNR.L) appending a buy recommendation.
Lehman reiterates equal-weight on Drax (DRX.L) (cutting the price target to 790p from 880p) and has overweight on Smith & Nephew (SN.L) (540p target).
Merrill reiterates buy National Express (NEX.L) (1230p target).
Numis says hold Blacks Leisure (BSLA.L) (downgrading the target price to 440p from 485p and cutting forecasts) and has upgraded Beazley (BEZ.L) to buy from add.
Panmure Gordon says buy Carnival (CCL.L) (2900p target, ahead of Thursday figures) and says buy Cookson (CKSN.L) (720p target).
Seymour Pierce has underperform on WH Smith (SMWH.L).
UBS has downgraded Redrow (RDW.L) and Croda (CRDA.L) to neutral from buy.
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York shares closed lower as investors decided it prudent to pocket some of their recent profits, notably in technology shares, tempering the boost from more M&A activity (including 2 leveraged buy-outs) and an upgrade of Citigroup. A fall in crude oil prices also affected energy shares, which set a clamp on gains for the broader market. The Dow closed down 4.25-points at 12441.27, the Nasdaq fell 21.63-points to 2435.57, while the S&P slipped 4.61-points to close at 1422.48.
On this day in:-
1990 - Albanian authorities formally recognised the country's first non-Communist political party.
1984 - Ted Hughes was named Poet Laureate in succession to Sir John Betjeman.
1984 - In Beijing, Great Britain and China signed an agreement for the return of Hong Kong to the sovereignty of China in 1997.
1981 - The 8-man crew of the Penlee Lifeboat all lost their lives attempting to rescue the crew of the coaster Union Star, which was wrecked in violent seas off the coast of Cornwall.
1972 - The US spacecraft Apollo 17 splashed down on target in the Pacific Ocean, bringing an end the United States Apollo programme of landing men on the Moon.
1972 - Irish footballer George Best was sacked from his club, Manchester United.
1957 - The start of a regular air service between London and Moscow.
1955 - American singer Carl Perkins recorded 'Blue Suede Shoes' in Memphis, Tennessee.
1946 - The start of war in Indo-china as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.
1941 - World War II: After a series of military setbacks, German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler dismissed his senior officers and took personal command of the German Army.
1915 - World War I: Great British, Australian and New Zealand troops began their withdrawal from Gallipoli, after failing to defeat the Turks.
1909 - Juan Gomez seized power in Venezuela.
1905 - The London County Council (LCC) sets up Great Britain's first motorised ambulance service, for the victims of traffic accidents.
1863 - In London, Frederick Walton patented a new floor covering called linoleum.
1842 - United States of America recognised the independence of Hawaii.
1793 - Napoleon Bonaparte took the French port of Toulon.
1688 - William of Orange entered London.
