Taking stock: Market news in brief
The Evening Standard's City team present sector-by-sector briefs on the latest stock market news.
Banking & finance
Barclays enjoyed a strong run-up to its full-year results, but has since given back all the gains, which Collins Stewart sees as unfounded. There was little wrong with the results, the broker points out, and the bank is due to begin a series of meetings with investors later this month which may throw up further positive comments.
Property & building
Merrill Lynch has repeated its neutral stance on Bovis Homes despite yesterday's 14% increase in pre-tax profits to £132m. Talk in the market claims these results could signal a fresh round of consolidation among the housebuilders, with Bovis getting together with Redrow. Persimmon is also sitting on a large parcel of cash.
Consumer
Consumer-products supplier Procter & Gamble is selling its western European tissue/towel business to Sweden's Svenska Cellulosa for about £346m cash. The deal, which represents about 1% of Procter & Gamble's total sales, includes the sale of the group's Tempo brand in Europe and Hong Kong.
Engineering
Goldman Sachs has raised its forecast for earnings at IMI this year by 7% - to 40p a share - and next year's by a similar amount, to 43p. It points out that last year the retail side of the business acted as a drag on profitability. However, Goldman believes recent management changes should lead either to a turnaround or to disposal.
Health
The City gave a thumbs- up to Protherics after it claimed a £10m milestone payment from partner AstraZeneca. Numis Securities says it brings the total received by Protherics to £26.3m, with the potential for a further £161m in milestones as well as a 20% royalty on any global net product sales of CytoFab.
Industrials
Coffers at Akzo Nobel are overflowing following the sale of its Organon division to Schering Plough for £7.37bn. Collins Stewart is one of those brokers that is convinced the Dutch chemicals giant will now turn its firepower on ICI. It says such a deal would make strategic sense and be packed with synergies.
Leisure
Playtech, a supplier of software to the gaming industry, says the migration of Tribecam and Tain poker networks onto the group's own networks has been completed a month ahead of schedule. During the past five months, the number of players during peak times has grown from 8400 to 20,000 following the acquisition.
Media
European cinemas are demanding that film studios slow down the speed with which they put movies out on DVD. They want to make universal the French law that decrees a six months lag. Studios do not want that change, with Paramount Picture International boss Andrew Cripps saying the marketplace should decide.
Natural resources
Alexander Mining has received approval from the Peruvian government to acquire the Molinetes gold property in the north of the country and plans to start exploration there. Molinetes is located in the district of Las Lomas, 120 kilometres east of the city of Piura. The concession covers an area of about 800 hectares.
Retailing
Panmure Gordon is one of those convinced that Kohlberg Kravis Roberts's bid for Alliance Boots will go ahead because the management believes the company is undervalued. The broker has raised its rating on the shares from sell to hold and set its target for the shares at 1000p. It warns the alternative to a take-out is unattractive.
Support services
Panmure Gordon and Charles Stanley have repeated their buy rating on Interserve despite a drop in profits last year following exceptional charges. Underlying trading at the building services group has remained strong, and that has helped the shares to rebound from their low of 260p in August last year.
Technology
Seymour Pierce has begun coverage of software specialist Autonomy with a buy rating and target of 750p. Autonomy is continuing to gain market share and the wider market's IT budgets are shifting to accommodate this change. It has concluded agreements with HP and Oracle, which could prompt upgrades for its current forecasts.
Telecoms
Aim-listed mobile phone gambler Probability has signed a one-year endorsement contract with astrologer Russell Grant to market a range of cash games. This includes an open-allhours bingo hall with draws every few minutes. The mobile phone will also be able to mark off the strips as the numbers are called.
Transport
Several potential bidders for DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division have met with the company's management prior to making their preliminary offers by the end of the month. The German parent company wants the bidding process to be at an advanced stage by 4 April when it holds a shareholders' meeting.
Utilities
Centrica's British Gas division is in "pole position" to be the big winner in the energy supply market, according to Evolution Securities. The broker praises Centrica for staging a profitable fightback to win household customers while also being proactive in reducing prices. British Gas announced a 17% cut in gas and 11% in electricity bills last month.
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