This Morning in London newswires informed us that Merrill Lynch had placed 14-million Rentokil (RTO.L) shares at 150p. There has been no comment on who the shareholder might have been but the placing was completed very quickly. The shares now stand at 150.5p. Altadis bid speculation has lifted Gallaher (GLH.L) this morning, having climbed 47.5p at its peak, they now stand at 947p, up 12.5p. Forth Ports (FPT.L) looks as though they may go the same way as Associated British Ports (ABP.L), as market rumours suggested a bid of £23 for the group which owns 8 ports, Dundee on the Tay Estuary, Tilbury on the Thames, and 6 on the Forth Estuary (Leith, Grangemouth, Granton, Methil, Burntisland, Kirkcaldy and the Port of Rosyth). The shares are currently up 100p at 2012. There is conjecture that a deal between Scottish Power (SPW.L) and its Spanish suitor may be forthcoming before the end of the week. Scottish Power are up 10p at 765p. Corus (CS.L) seems to have every international steel company looking at it. Tata having made a bid, now has CSN looking at the former British Steel, plus, if newspaper reports are to be believed Severstal is interested and now Thyssen has been mentioned. All of which has served to lift Corus 4.75p to 506.75p. At 10:57 the FTSE-100 was up 18.3 at 6222.8.
Music catches a thief, and it wasn't recorded by the Police!
A man who stole diamonds worth more than a million dollars from a jewellery store in India was arrested in a dance bar, after he showered money on people to ensure the band repeatedly played his favourite song. Indian carpenter Divesh Borse decided to let his hair down in Mumbai, after selling part of his haul from the raid. During 2 evenings at the bar, Divesh spent hundreds of dollars, as he requested that the Bollywood song “Humko Deewana Kar Gaye” (He Made Me Crazy) by Himesh Reshammiya, be played over and over again. Whilst in a drunken state Borse insisted on the song for a 3rd-consecutive evening, but others in the bar protested. So, in an effort to influence them he started showering 1,000 rupee notes on dancers, but what he had not counted on, was the presence of a police informer, who alerted officers.
You see, it's not just us!
It's nice to know that it's not just dealers in the City that suffer from "Fat-Finger Syndrome." Here's a tale of a gambler, who... well, slipped-up. The man's "FFS" cost him £237,500. He had meant to place a bet on a horse running at Wolverhampton, but instead accepted wagers of 999-1. One punter snapped up the odds and won £214,000. The transaction took place on internet betting website Betfair, where the site allows punters to lay wagers against each other. The man, who has not been named, tried to place a bet at 999-1 on 15-8 favourite Peregine Falcon, but unfortunately he hit the key to accept the odds and his error was seized upon. Smaller bets were also placed, meaning the man lost in total £237,500. Tony Calvin of Betfair said that the client "simply made a mistake." Ouch!
Citigroup has downgraded Johnson Services (JSG.L) to sell from hold.
Credit Suisse has initiated coverage of Hogg Robinson (HRG.L) appending an outperform recommendation and a 120p price target.
The broker has initiated coverage of Home Retail (HOME.L) appending an outperform recommendation and a 120p target.
Lewis Charles has upgraded Speymill (SYG.L) to buy from speculative buy.
Merrill reiterates neutral on Bovis Homes (BVS.L) and says buy Aggreko (AGK.L) (raising the target price to 430p from 390p) and buy Kelda Group (KEL.L).
The broker is neutral for Ladbrokes (LAD.L) (cutting estimates).
JP Morgan reiterates overweight on Ladbrokes (LAD.L).
Morgan Stanley has downgraded Taylor Woodrow (TWOD.L) to equal-weight from overweight.
Panmure Gordon says buy WPP (775p target) and has downgraded nCipher (NCH.L) to hold from buy (300p target).
The broker says hold CML Microsystems (CML.L) (cutting the price target to 200p from 230p) and ScS Upholstery (SUY.L).
Panmure believes that Experian (EXPN.L) doesn't look expensive and says sell Uniq (UNIQ.L) (145p target).
The broker says buy SIG (SHI.L) (raising the price target to 1090p from 1020p) and has downgraded Enterprise Inns (ETI.L) to hold from buy (1250p target price).
Seymour Pierce says buy Theo Fennell (TFL.L) and Maxima (MXM.L) and hold ScS Upholstery (SUY.L) and Experian (EXPN.L).
SG Securities has initiated coverage of Carnival Corporation (CCL.L) appending a buy recommendation and a 3000p fair value price.
The broker says sell Burberry (BRBY.L) (545p fair value, raising estimates).
UBS is neutral on Anglo Irish Bank (ANGL.L) (raising the target to €14.60 from €13.50) and says buy for Sage Group (SGE.L).
The broker says reduce Cable & Wireless (CW.L) (raising the price target to 136p from 90p) and buy Shire (SHP.L).
UBS is neutral on Detica (DCA.L) (raising the price target to 380p from 370p).
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York shares closed mixed, with the Dow Jones (alas) breaking 6-consecutive days of gains. The Dow closed down 26.02-points at 12316.54, the Nasdaq added 6.86-points to 2452.72, while the S&P lost 0.70 to close at 1400.50.
On this day in:-
1995 - Presidents of Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia accepted a US-brokered peace deal to end the 43 month war in Bosnia.
1974 - Bombs planted by the IRA in 2 Birmingham pubs killed 22 people and injured a further 120.
1958 - Work started on the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland.
1955 - Rock star Elvis Presley signed an exclusive record deal with RCA.
1953 - The discovery of the Piltdown Man skull by Charles Dawson in Sussex in 1912 was finally revealed to have been a hoax.
1936 - Great Britain got its first television gardening programme, 'In Your Garden' with Mr Middleton.
1934 - Cole Porter's musical 'Anything Goes' opened in New York, making American actress/singer Ethel Merman an overnight star.
1918 - At the end of World War I, the German Fleet was surrendered to Great Britain at its northern naval base at Scapa Flow.
1843 - Thomas Hancock patented vulcanised rubber.
1783 - French inventor Jean François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, the Marquis d' Arlandes, made the first manned hot-air balloon flight, travelling 5-miles over Paris in 25-minutes. Their cloth balloon was crafted by French papermaking brothers Jacques Étienne and Joseph Michel Montgolfier, who believed that smoke, not hot air, caused balloons to rise. Fueling the balloon's burner with a combination of damp straw and rags, Pilâtre and d'Arlandes took off from the Chateau de la Muette and ascended as high as 3,000 feet before returning safely to earth. The previous September, the Montgolfiers sent a sheep, a rooster, and a duck aloft in one of their balloons in a prelude to the first untethered manned flight. The barnyard animals stayed afloat for 8-minutes and landed safely 2-miles from the launch site.
