This Morning in London shares opened lower, with the FTSE falling 33.9-points, but it has rallied somewhat. BAT's (BATS.L), Gallaher (GLH.L), Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L), AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) are just some of the stocks which investors are citing as “defensive,” and such have recorded good rises. The bid from Spanish group Iberdrola for Scottish Power (SPW.L) was eventually announced, valuing the Scottish utility at £11-6-billion. The shares had climbed 21.5p to 767.5p, boosted by news that Iberdola’s shares had been suspended in Spain, but when the bid was announced the shares plummeted to stand at 733p, off 13p, as the terms were digested and it was seen that it was not a cash offer, there were a number of Iberdola shares involved too. The shares have gained a little more composure as dealers are beginning to suggest that another bid could be forthcoming from a group offering cash. We wait and see. The shares now stand at 746p, unchanged on the day. There was interest in ITV (ITV.L), after the news that Michael Grade was to become Chairman. The shares gained 2p to 114.5p. At 11:20 the FTSE-100 stood at 6048.5, off 1.6-points, having recovered from early falls to stand up 12.7-points at 6062.8.
Santa Shortage
It seems that the German city of Berlin is facing an acute employee shortage. Not in general you understand, just in one area. It seems there is a worrying shortage of Santas, just a month before Christmas, says the head of a Father Christmas placement agency. The director of Berlin's Heinzelmaennchen agency, which provides Santas to thousands of Berlin families every Christmas Eve, says he is having trouble getting enough qualified help. He says that they prefer chubby men, of course, ideally with a real beard, however, he says that he is not picky and will take what he can get. The agency director is Rene Heydeck, whose official title is Ober-Weinachtsmann (chief Santa Claus). The Santas, many of whom are students, earn €28 a visit (just short of £19) for bringing a sack of presents, provided by the parents into each home and handing them out. However, Santas must also pay €45 for a costume and give the agency 15% of earnings in agency fees. Apparently for a lot of families in Berlin it's a tradition that carries on even after the children grow older. Well on that basis it’s all for a good Claus!
But... But...
A woman in Romania received a very odd parcel through the post. She was sent the body of her dead father. Why? Because the cemetery was sold to developers. Aurelia Cenusa, from Severin, said that clergy in her father's hometown of Darvari, which is 300-miles away, told her the graveyard where her father had been laid to rest, was to be sold, and his body exhumed. She said she thought the priest was joking when he told her to come and collect her father Rafaila Cojocaru's remains, or receive them in the post. Cenusa said that she had entered a lottery a few weeks earlier and when she got the large parcel she thought she had won a prize. She opened it up to find a banana crate containing the bones of her dead father. You could still see bits of his funeral suit, even though he had died 16-years ago. She admits that she did tell the priest to sell her father's grave, but had expected that the Church would bury him somewhere else. She had absolutely no idea he was being serious when he told her that she would be getting the skeleton through the post if she didn't go to collect the remains. Cenusa protested, "It's outrageous." She added that she intended to sue church officials. Local police have launched an investigation.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
Bridgewell reiterates buy Vectura (VEC.L) and has neutral on Innovata (IOV.L).
The broker says buy Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS.L) and neutral on Charteris (CAE.L).
Bridgewell has underweight on Dana Petroleum (DNX.L) and neutral on Future (FUTR.L) and GCap Media (GCAP.L).
The broker says buy Michael Page (MPI.L) (raising estimates), Tribal Group (TRB.L) and Topps Tiles (TPT.L).
Citigroup has downgraded VT Group (VTG.L) and Hikma Pharma (HIK.L) to hold from buy and says buy Homeserve (HSV.L).
Collins Stewart says buy Kelda (KEL.L) (804p target) and EMI (EMI.L) (330p target).
Credit Suisse has neutral on Kingfisher (KGF.L) (raising target to 225p from 210p) and outperform on Regus (RGU.L) (140p target) and Man Group (EMG.L) (500p target).
Deutsche has downgraded United Business Media (UBM.L) to hold from buy (raising the price target to 765p from 705p).
Dresdner Kleinwort reiterates hold Barclays (BARC.L) (700p target).
Evolution has reinitiated coverage of Sanctuary Group (SGP.L) appending a buy recommendation and reiterates reduce Barclays (BARC.L) (590p target).
The broker says buy De La Rue (DLAR.L) (665p target) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) (1690p target) and reduce Kelda (KEL.L) (922p target).
Evolution says buy Tribal Group (TRB.L) and Torotrak (TRK.L) (37p target).
HSBC has issued a note on Global Metals and Mining, in which they have downgraded Anglo American (AAL.L) to underweight from neutral (cutting the price target to 2335p from 2400p), they reiterate neutral on Peter Hambro Mining (POG.L) (cutting the price target to 1400p from 1600p) and has overweight on BHP Billiton (BLT.L) and Vedanta (VED.L).
KBC Peel Hunt says buy Grainger Trust (GRI.L) and Kingston Communications (KCOM.L) and hold Tribal Group (TRB.L).
Merrill has issued a note on the UK Bus companies, in which they have downgraded Stagecoach (SGC.L) to neutral from buy and Arriva (ARI.L) to neutral from buy and reiterates buy for National Express (NEX.L) (raising the price target to 1183p), with neutral on Go-Ahead (GOG.L) and First Group (FGP.L).
The broker reiterates buy for Wilson Bowden (WLB.L) (raising the price target to 2450p) and has neutral on Mitie Group (MTO.L) and Big Yellow (BYG.L).
Merrill says buy British Land (BLND.L) and has neutral on Compass Group (CPG.L).
The broker has downgraded IG Group (IGG.L) to neutral from buy.
Morgan Stanley reiterates overweight on Amlin (AML.L) (315p target).
Numis says add Aveva (AVV.L) (raising the price target to 830p from 770p) and reduce FKI (FKI.L) (82p target).
The broker says add Qinetiq (QQ.L) (200p target).
Numis has upgraded Arena Leisure (ARE.L) to buy from add (a 56p target), Pendragon (PDG.L) to buy from add (590p target), Barratt Developments (BDEV.L) to add from hold (1215p target), Asos (ASC.L) to buy from hold (130p price target) and Neteller (NLR.L) to buy from hold (249p price target) and says buy GB Group (GBG.L) (69p target).
The broker has downgraded De la Rue (DLAR.L) to add from buy (672p target), EMI (EMI.L) to hold from add (271p price target), GCap Media (GCAP.L) to hold from add (222p target), Intermediate Capital (ICP.L) to add from buy (price target 1600p), ITV (ITV.L) to hold from add (111p target), Low and Bonar (LWB.L) to add from buy (153p price target) and Topps Tiles (TPT.L) to hold from add (250p price target).
Panmure Gordon says buy BAE (BA.L) (475p target) and Topps Tiles (TPT.L) (300p target) and has downgraded Debenhams (DEB.L) to sell from hold (180p target).
The broker has initiated coverage of Discover Leisure (DISL.L) appending a buy recommendation (25p target).
Panmure says buy BKN (BKN.L) (220p target) and sell EMI (EMI.L) (220p target).
The broker says hold ITV (ITV.L) (115p target) and sell GCap (GCAP.L) (185p target).
Panmure says buy Pendragon (PDG.L) (raising the target price to 700p from 630p).
Seymour Pierce says hold Asia Energy (AEN.L) and reiterates buy Ciref (CRF.L).
UBS has downgraded Speedy Hire (SDY.L) and Johnson Service (JSG.L) to neutral from buy.
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York it was not necessarily a good day. The Nasdaq lost more than 2%, after some positive preliminary results from the start of the holiday shopping season, were almost ignored after Wal-Mart Stores announced dull sales figures and dollar weakness. The Dow fell 158.38-points, to close at 12121.79, the Nasdaq dropped 54.34-points to 2405.92, while the S&P fell 19.5-points to 1381.90.
On this day in:-
1997 - In the House of Commons, a large majority of MP’s approved a Private Member's Bill, introduced by Labour MP Michael Foster, to ban fox hunting.
1967 - In Great Britain, horse racing was suspended after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease among cattle, with a ban on the movement of livestock around the country.
1948 - In the United States, the world's first polaroid cameras went on sale in Boston, Massachussets - developed by Edwin Land.
1948 - In America, 'Hopalong Cassidy' (played by William Boyd) became the first 'cowboy' on television.
1935 - Great Britain's first set of quads - Ann; Ernest; Michael and Paul Miles born in Cambridgeshire.
1919 - Viscountess (Nancy) Astor became Great Britain’s first woman MP, holding a safe Plymouth seat for the Conservative Party in a by-election, caused by her husband's elevation to the peerage. Nancy Astor was born in America.
1905 - Irish political party Sinn Fein was founded in Dublin by Arthur Griffith.
1843 - Great Britain and France formerly recognised the independence of Hawaii.
1821 - Panama declared its independence from Spain and joined the Republic Colombia.
1520 - Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the southern tip of South America and reached a new ocean, which he named the Pacific.
