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This Morning in London blue chip shares shares opened lower, taking the lead from overnight losses in New York and in Asian markets this morning. Cadbury (CBRY) investors will be hoping for a continued strong sales figures when the company releases its first-half trading update today. Also due to publish an interim trading statement is Centrica (CNA). The UK energy supplier is expected to give an indication of possible retail energy price rises later in the year. At 10:54 the FTSE-100 was up 3 points at 5,759.9, whilst the FTSE-250 was down 59.9 points at 9,474.9.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
* Collins Stewart has a sell for HBOS with its target price under review
* Numis has a buy and 572p target for HBOS
* Merrill Lynch has an underperform and 370.5p target for HBOS
* Lehman Bros reiterates underweight and 180p target for Friends Provident
* Cazenove, in a note on Lloyd's underwriters downgrades Lancashire Holdings to underperform from outperform, Amlin to in-line from outperform, reiterates in-line for Brit Insurance, has an in-line for Hiscox and an outperform for Catlin.
The broker reiterates outperform for Tesco and has in-line ratings for Sainsbury and William Morrison
* Altium Securities reiterates buy Norcros, cutting target to 50p from 70p,has a buy and 16p target for Workplace Systems, a buy for Mulberry, raising target to 261p from 250p and a buy and 265p target for RPC, raising estimates
* Investec has buys for BHP Billiton, with a £29 target Anglo American and ITIS Holdings, with a 60p target and holds for RPC, Misys and De La Rue
* JP Morgan has an outperform and £10 target for Intercontinental Hotels, has a neutral for Sainsbury and a neutral for Scottish & Southern Energy raising target to £17.40 from £17
* Collins Stewart has a buy and 230p target for PZ Cussons and a sell and £14.20 target for Thomson Reuters.
The broker has a buy for Accsys Technology
* Seymour Pierce reiterates buy Harvey Nash with a 65p target
* Landsbanki Securities reiterates hold Spirax Sarco but prefers Spectris where it has a buy rating, has a reduce and 118p target for Misys, buys for Cattles and Mulberry, a buy and 440p target for Research Now and a buy for Park Group, raising target to 30p from 28p.
* Citigroup reiterates buy Go-Ahead Group with a £23 target, downgrades Lamprell to hold from buy, raising target to 550p from 480p and initiates coverage of Fresnillo with a hold and 550p target
In a note on UK housebuilders the broker reiterates Hold Barratt, cutting target to 125p from 270p, has a buy and 910p target for Bellway, a buy and £12.80 target for Berkeley Group, a buy and 780p target for Persimmon, a hold for Taylor Wimpey, cutting target to 100p from 165p, upgrades Bovis Homes to hold from sell with a 480p target and upgrades Redrow to buy from sell with a 265p target
* Credit Suisse has a neutral for Petrofac, raising target to 880p from 682p, raising estimates, has a neutral and 951p target for Liberty International and an underperform and 535p target for ICAP.
The broker reiterates sell ITV with a 60p target
* Goldman Sachs upgrades Cairn Energy to buy from neutral and downgrades Venture Production to neutral from buy
* Sanford Bernstein upgrades BG Group to outperform from market perform and has an outperform and £16.20 target for SABMiller
* Morgan Stanley reiterates equal-weight Misys with a 165p target, has an equal-weight for Punch Taverns, cutting target to 640p from 800p and an overweight and £20 target for European Natural Resources, its top sector pick.
In a note on UK water the broker reiterates equal-weight Northumbrian Water, raising target to 375p form 350p, has an underweight for United Utilities, raising target to 675p from 670p, upgrades Pennon Group to overweight from equal-weight, raising target to 730p from 645p and downgrades Severn Trent to equal-weight from overweight cutting target to £15.55 from £15.70
* Merrill Lynch downgrades IMI to underperform from neutral, cutting target to 520p from 570p, upgrades Bodycote to neutral from sell, raising fair value to 240p and initiates coverage of New World Resources with a buy and £23.60 target.
The broker has an underperform for British Energy, raising target to 625p from 500p, reiterates neutral and 720p target fpor Cadbury, has a buy and 266p fair value for Cattles and a buy and £20 target for Go-Ahead Group
* Numis has a buy and 770p target for Cadbury, a hold and 154p target for Cattles, a buy and 880p target for Keller and a buy and 38p target for Software Radio
* Panmure Gordon has a buy and £30.75 target for AstgraZeneca, a hold and £13.04 target for Aveva, a buy for Cadbury, raising target to 730p from 692p, a buy and 200p target for Dolphin Capital, a sell for DSG International, cutting target to 40p from 55p a buy and 997p target for Fidessa, a buy and £20.50 target for Go-Ahead Group, a buy and 48p target for Harvey Nash, a buy and 505p target for Inchcape, a buy and 500p target for Informa, a buy and 750p target for Keller and a buy for RPC, trimming target to 254p from 258p
* KBC Peel Hunt upgrades GW Pharma to hold from sell, reiterates buy Protonex and has a negative view on Cattles
* Arbuthnot reiterates buy Vitec with a 685p target, has a strong buy and 500p target for Goldenport, a strong buy and 130p target for Statpro and a buy for Braemar Shipping Services, raising target to 600p from 560p and raising estimates
* Piper Jaffray reiterates buy Misys with a 194p target
* Normua reiterates buy Vodafone
* WH Ireland has an underperform for Powerleague and maintains outperform and £500p target for Mouchel
* Brewin Dolphin retains buy and £20.50 target for Go-Ahead, buy for Scott Wilson and Buy for Vitec.
LAST NIGHT IN NEW YORK
Shares fell sharply for a second day, with the Dow Jones registering a 3-month low, after economic bellwether FedEx delivered disappointing results and regional banking powerhouse Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its dividend, thereby highlighting the impact of rising fuel prices and the credit crisis.
The Dow closed down 131.24-points at 12029.06, the Nasdaq lost 28.02-points 2429.71, while the S&P fell 13.12-points to close at 1337.81.
ON THIS DAY
1999 Prince Edward, he fourth child of the Queen, married Sophie Rhys-Jones at Windsor Castle. The couple became the Duke and Duchess of Wessex.
1997 William Hague became the youngest leader of the Conservative Party for 200-years - beating Kenneth Clarke in the election following the resignation of former Prime Minister John Major, who lost the general election on 1st May 1997.
1970 The Conservative Party won the general election - Edward Heath became Prime Minister following the defeat of Labour leader Harold Wilson.
1967 The Monterey Pop Festival in America - featuring Jimi Hendrix; Otis Redding; Janis Joplin and The Who. (For those who want to read more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterey_Pop_Festival)
1964 In America, the House of Representatives passed the Civil Rights Bill. It was passed by the US Senate on 2nd July
1953 In New York, the execution in the electric chair of Ethel and Julius Rosenburg - found guilty of spying for the Russians.
1944 World War II: Battle of the Philippines Sea between US and Japanese fleets near the island of Saipan.
1910 In Germany, the launch of the first Zeppelin (airship) airliner. It crashed a week later.
1885 In America, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, arrived in New York.
1846 In America, the first official game of baseball was played at Hoboken, New Jersey.
1829 The founding of the Metropolitan Police Force in London, by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel.
1820 Conductor Ludwig Spohr became the first musician to use a baton to conduct an orchestra, during a performance in England
(Source: History Channel, added information from Wikipedia)
WEEKLY DIARY
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Compiled in association with HB PLC and WH Ireland Ltd
