Upstream Share Discussion Threads

[master rsi] 08/12/2024 19:03

SUNDAY PAPERS:

Share tips, comment and bids

Mail on Sunday: Aviva boss Amanda Blanc has more takeover targets in her sights after the insurer's swoop on its rival Direct Line last week.

The Sunday Telegraph (Comment): Why Ed Miliband’s net zero blueprint is unravelling.
The Sunday Times (Comment): The new boss trying to make the numbers add up at PwC.

The Sunday Times (Comment): Will Aviva’s plan to take over Direct Line mean higher premiums for drivers?

[master rsi] 08/12/2024 18:14

SUNDAY PAPERS:

Business and economics

The Sunday Telegraph: BT is to miss out on a £900m deal to upgrade police and ambulance radios after losing out to IBM.

Mail on Sunday: Global banks are rethinking moves from London to mainland Europe as political chaos engulfs the continent.

The Sunday Times: Frasers Group is pushing for Michael Murray to be appointed to the board of Hugo Boss, as the chief executive’s hopes of landing a £100m bonus fade.

The Sunday Times: A key director on the board of JD Sports has an undisclosed financial interest in one of its suppliers, raising fresh questions over corporate governance at the FTSE 100 retailer.

The Observer: Keir Starmer will meet Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of a controversial trip to the region this week designed to drum up investment for his pledge to overhaul British infrastructure.

The Sunday Telegraph: Keir Starmer will court the powerful bosses of United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth funds this week as he seeks to raise funding for the Sizewell C nuclear project.

The Sunday Times: Boohoo has stepped up security measures for senior executives who were allegedly followed in a concerted and brazen campaign of surveillance.

The Sunday Telegraph: Gatwick boss has said plans to raise the airport’s business rates bill by an estimated £200m are ‘not acceptable’ and risk deterring investment.

The Sunday Times: Rachel Reeves’s new National Wealth Fund is preparing to back a UK gigafactory as part of the efforts by its new chief executive to put £28bn of public money to use on green energy projects.

[master rsi] 08/12/2024 17:37

SUNDAY PAPERS:

Top stories

The Sunday Times: The water industry is bracing for a £400m hit from a rise in employers’ national insurance contributions over the next five years, as businesses continue to count the cost of Rachel Reeves’s budget.

The Sunday Times: Deloitte is suing three of its Asian partners, including one of its most senior Chinese executives, for allegedly trying to take confidential client information with them as they defected to a rival firm.

[master rsi] 07/12/2024 23:38

EEE 6.30p -0.20p

SP has been in the process of retracement for the last couple of days after the rise.

[master rsi] 07/12/2024 00:04

Best performing shares ( UPS ) during DECEMBER


Share
Mid
Highest
% Change
Rank


EEE
5.75
6.80
18.26
1


SFOR
37.46
40.00
6.78
2


GGP
7.35
7.80
6.12
3


TPT
39.50
40.40
2.28
4


ARB
6.125
6.25
2.04
5


KEFY
0.507
0.514
1.38
6

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 23:17

U.S. shares mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.28%

U.S. equities were mixed at the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Services, Consumer Goods and Technology sectors propelled shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Utilities and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.28%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.25%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.78%.

The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), which rose 2.94% or 6.48 points to trade at 227.03 at the close. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) added 1.40% or 3.29 points to end at 238.04 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 1.15% or 3.45 points to 303.98 in late trade.

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 22:49

In commodities

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.21% or 5.49 to $2,653.89 a troy ounce.

Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in January fell 1.64% or 1.12 to hit $67.18 a barrel,
while the February Brent oil contract fell 1.43% or 1.03 to trade at $71.06 a barrel.

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 22:31

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks mixed but US rate cut seen after jobs data

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 closed lower on Friday, hurt by weak utilities stocks, as investors assessed a mixed US jobs report.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 40.77 points, 0.5%, at 8,308.61. The FTSE 250 ended up 57.94 points at 21,059.00, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.30 points, 0.2%, at 738.22.

The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.5% at 834.32, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.3% at 18,536.44, and the Cboe Small Companies ended up 0.8% at 16,210.46.

For the week the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, the FTSE 250 gained 1.4% and the AIM-All Share climbed 1.1%.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 1.3%, boosted by strength in luxury goods stocks. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.1%.

Stocks in New York were mixed at the London equities close, with the DJIA down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index 0.3% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.6% to the good.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in November, following an upwardly revised total of 36,000 in October.

Last month's figure was increased from 12,000, while November's total topped FXStreet consensus for a rise of 200,000. September's figure was revised up by 32,000 to 255,000 from 223,000.

October's figures were distorted by the impacts of hurricanes and strikes.

The BLS said the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1%, in line with expectations.

Wells Fargo said the payrolls figure was "robust" but the separate household survey was "underwhelming".

"The unemployment rate rose by one-tenth of a percentage point, the labour force participation rate fell one-tenth, and the underlying details of the survey were indicative of a labour market that continues to lose momentum gradually," it observed.

"Perhaps the only "hot" component of the report was the 0.4% increase in average hourly earnings that pushed the year-ago change for wages back up to 4.0%."

"On balance, today's employment data further reinforces our view that the FOMC will reduce the federal funds rate by 25 bps at its upcoming meeting," Wells Fargo said.

Citi's Andrew Hollenhorst felt the increase in the unemployment rate should be "more than enough evidence for Fed officials to conclude the job market is softening and cut in December".

"Payrolls were close to consensus", he observed, but "we think the unemployment rate is the better signal to watch in this labour market".

While investors weighed the labour market, the Federal Reserve said that inflation should remain the central bank's priority.

"I continue to see greater risks to the price stability side of our mandate, especially when the labour market continues to be near full employment," Fed governor Michelle Bowman told a virtual event hosted by the Missouri Bankers Association.

"I think we're still seeing that the US economy is strong," added Bowman, a permanent voting member of the Fed's rate-setting committee.

"But core inflation continues to be elevated," she said, referring to the underlying measure of inflation which strips out volatile food and energy costs.

The Fed's favoured inflation gauge ticked up slightly in October to 2.3%, slightly above the Fed's long-term target of two percent.

The pound was quoted higher at USD1.2748 at the London equities close on Friday, compared to USD1.2717 at the close on Thursday.

The euro stood at USD1.0569 at the European equities close on Friday, down against USD1.0568 at the same time on Thursday.

According to Eurostat gross domestic product in the eurozone expanded by 0.4% in the three months that ended September 30 from the three months that ended June 30. Growth picked up from 0.2% in the second-quarter from the first.

Year-on-year, the eurozone economy increased by 0.9% in the third-quarter, accelerating from a 0.5% increase in the second-quarter.

It was the fastest pace of annual growth since the first-quarter of 2023. Quarter-on-quarter growth was the strongest since the third-quarter of 2022.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY149.83 compared to JPY150.17 late Thursday.

On London's FTSE 100, property stocks and housebuilders took heart from figures from Halifax which showed UK house prices have risen at their fastest pace in two years.

The average house price was up 4.8% in November from a year prior, the biggest annual jump since November 2022. The average price climbed 1.3% from October to a record GBP298,083, the fifth monthly rise in a row.

Property portal Rightmove gained 1.4%, Barratt Redrow rose 1.1%, Vistry firmed 0.8% and Persimmon advanced 0.7%.

But fellow builder Berkeley missed out, falling 0.8%.

The Surrey, England-based property developer and housebuilder said there was good underlying demand for homes, as it reported revenue increased 7.2% in the six months to the end of October to GBP1.28 billion from GBP1.19 billion a year before.

But pretax profit was down 7.7% in the half-year to GBP275.1 million from GBP298.0 million in the first half of financial 2024.

Weighing on the blue-chip index, water suppliers Severn Trent and United Utilities were both down 3.1%.

Jefferies downgraded both to 'hold' from 'buy'.

While "cautiously optimistic" about the December 19 Final Determinations for the UK water sector, Jefferies thinks the the risk-reward looks more balanced on United Utilities and Severn Trent at their current valuations."

Morgan Stanley downgraded the European utility sector to 'in-line' from 'attractive'.

"With a finely balanced risk-reward outlook for 2025 amidst multiple uncertainties, we move our sector view to in-line. We prefer electricity networks, and would be selective elsewhere."

National Grid, down 1.5%, remains its top pick. SSE, another favoured Morgan Stanley stock, fell 1.3%.

Aviva was on the back foot, down 1.4%, after taking a step closer to sealing the takeover of Direct Line.

Direct Line rose 5.6% after it said it is "minded to recommend" an improved takeover approach from London-based insurer Aviva.

The proposed deal, announced in a joint statement, will see Aviva pay 129.7 pence in cash, and 0.2867 of a new Aviva share for each Direct Line share. Direct Line shareholders also would receive a 5p per share dividend before completion.

Based on Aviva's closing share price before the offer period started in November, the proposal values each Direct Line share at 275p, or around GBP3.6 billion.

Aviva's new plan represents a 10% premium to its initial approach of 250p per share made in November.

Matt Britzman at Hargreaves Lansdown felt the offer was "just too good to pass up".

"Direct Line’s board had been holding out, insisting they could make it on their own. But even they had to admit that Aviva’s proposal is a golden ticket they’d struggle to match independently," he added.

"Let’s not sugarcoat it: Direct Line has hit some serious potholes lately. Market share has been sliding, underwriting hasn’t exactly been flawless, and regulators have been knocking on the door."

Elsewhere, shares in National World rose 5.8% after said it was minded to accept an improved proposed offer from Media Concierge.

The Leeds-based owner of the Yorkshire Post and the Scotsman said Media Concierge had, on Tuesday, submitted a new 23 pence per share cash proposal. A bid at this level would value National World at around GBP61 million.

In a statement, National World said that it would be "minded to recommend" the improved proposal if a firm offer was made to shareholders on these terms.

In November, Media Concierge had offered 21p per National World share, valuing the firm at GBP56.2 million.

Media Concierge, a UK-based media representation and advertising services provider, is the largest shareholder in National World, with an around 28% stake.

Brent oil was quoted at USD71.22 a barrel at the London equities close Friday, down from USD72.22 late Thursday.

Gold was quoted at USD2,640.10 an ounce at the London equities close on Friday, up against USD2,635.39 at the close on Thursday.

Next week's UK corporate calendar has a trading statement from miner Anglo American, plus half-year results from industrial equipment supplier Ashtead and electricals retailer Currys.

The economic calendar sees interest rate decisions n Australia and Europe, US consumer inflation data and UK gross domestic product figures.

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 22:01

DOW

Finished 123 points lower

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 17:19

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 16:57

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 16:28

SYNC 101.80p -0.20p - Syncona hails positive trial data for new Beacon Therapeutics drug

(Alliance News) - Syncona Ltd on Friday reported promising trial results for the drug laru-zova, the lead asset of Syncona subsidiary Beacon Therapeutics Holdings Ltd.

The London-based investor in life science companies said data from the second-phase trial was positive. Beacon Therapeutics, a Florida, US-based opthalmic gene therapy company, assessed two different doses of its laru-zova drug in patients with X-linked retinitis pigmentosa.

This is an inherited retinal degenerative disorder that causes blindness, and in the case of Beacon's study, all participants had previously undergone gene therapy for the disorder, which primarily affects young males and currently has no treatment options.

Three-month safety and efficiency data for laru-zova showed the drug to be well-tolerated by all participants, with no adverse effects related to the drug detected during the trial period. The study also showed promising early improvements in low luminance visual acuity, which is used to measure visual function.

Beacon said it has built confidence in laru-zova as a potential treatment for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa. The next trial stage is currently enrolling, with a data readout expected in 2025 which will be used in applications for regulatory approval.

The trial results represented a "key value inflection point", Syncona said, indicating that Beacon has potential to drive significant growth in Syncona's net asset value.

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 16:16

Director dealings: Trufin director raises stake
rufin revealed on Friday that non-executive director Paul Dentskevich had acquired 41,000 ordinary shares in the London-listed software and niche lending solutions business.

Dentskevich, who joined Trufin in January 2018, purchased the shares on Thursday at an average price of 82.10p each, for a total value of £33,661.00.

Following the transaction, Dentskevich holds a beneficial interest in 86,000 ordinary Trufin shares, representing approximately 0.08% of the company's issued share capital.

Top Director Buys

Frasers Group (FRAS)

Director name: Bottomley ,Richard

Amount purchased: 7,390 @ 672.50p

Value: £49,697.75

Trufin (TRU)

Director name: Dentskevich,Paul

Amount purchased: 41,000 @ 82.10p

Value: £33,661.00

Frasers Group (FRAS)

Director name: Daly,David

Amount purchased: 3,084 @ 645.10p

Value: £19,894.88

Audioboom Group (BOOM)

Director name: Tobin,Michael

Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 292.50p

Value: £14,625.00

Ethernity Networks Ltd (ENET)

Director name: Levi,David

Amount purchased: 5,000,000 @ 0.13p

Value: £6,500.00

Renalytix (reg S) (RENX)

Director name: McCullough,James Renwick

Amount purchased: 53,300 @ 7.50p

Value: £3,997.50


Top Director Sells

Smith & Nephew (SN.)

Director name: Nath,Deepak

Amount sold: 34,033 @ 981.20p

Value: £333,931.81

The Revel Collective (TRC)

Director name: Pitcher,Rob

Amount sold: 1,293,498 @ 0.50p

Value: £6,467.49

The Revel Collective (TRC)

Director name: Davies,Danielle

Amount sold: 665,224 @ 0.50p

Value: £3,326.12

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 16:00

TRADING UPDATES: SDX plots AIM exit; Celadon receives funds
SDX Energy PLC - Middle East and North Africa-focused exploration & production - Proposes delisting from AIM and re-registering as a private limited company. General meeting for vote on proposal is on December 31. Cites the "considerable cost and management time and the legal and regulatory burden" associated with the public listing, and "limited liquidity" in its ordinary shares, as well as market volatility. Adds that being unlisted would allow it more flexibility to enter deals with investors and suppliers; allow it to implement decisions more quickly; and give it more opportunities to raise equity and debt financing. Explains: "The majority of the potential investors the company has recently engaged with have expressed a preference to invest in the company if the ordinary shares were not traded on AIM."

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Celadon Pharmaceuticals PLC - London-based pharmaceutical company, which is focused on cannabis-based medicines - Receives balance of GBP150,000 due from subscriber of shares. "We are grateful to the subscriber, and to our other shareholders, for their ongoing support. As we approach year end, I would like to thank the group's employees for their continued hard work to improve the quality of patient's lives through improving the yields on our harvests, furthering the group's intellectual property development and remaining a key player in the UK's developing pharmaceutical cannabis market," Chief Executive Officer James Short says.

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Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC - London-based biopharmaceutical company focused on treatments for blood diseases - Reports "breakthrough" in delivery chimeric bait receptors to innate immune cells. "The company believes that this innovative approach to myeloid immune cell transduction will significantly accelerate the development of CBR-based product candidates," Hemogenyx says. "The company's first-class scientific team continues to make good progress with CBR and, once sufficient resources are provided, the company anticipates moving new CBR-based product candidates into clinical trials, bringing them closer to addressing unmet medical needs."

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Castillo Copper Ltd - copper exploration company, with projects in Australia and Zambia - Hails "notable find" as exploration planning is underway at Harts Range project in Northern Territory, Australia. A 500 metre long pegmatite was observed, it says. "The geology team consider this to be prospective for uranium-niobium-heavy rate earth mineralisation," Castillo adds.

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Ormonde Mining PLC - natural resources company with assets in Newfoundland and Scotland - Notes investee TRU Precious Metals Corp reports "high grade gold" assays from sampling at Golden Rose asset in Newfoundland. Ormonde owns just over 36% of TRU. "We echo the sentiments of TRU's CEO, Steve Nicol, with the high-grade results returned as part of this programme of rock sampling demonstrating the scale of potential for Golden Rose. This is an extraordinary asset which has been optioned by a major gold company and we believe Ormonde offers heavily undervalued exposure to it. We look forward to updating shareholders in due course on continued progress at Golden Rose," Ormonde Executive Chair Brian Timmons says.

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Crushmetric Group Ltd - Operations in US, Hong Kong and Singapore and makes range of consumer products including pens, chairs and tumblers made by denting aluminium cans - Completes placing of 798,448 new ordinary shares at 12.5 pence each to two individual shareholders. It raises GBP99,806. "The placing proceeds are being used for general working capital purposes," it adds. In addition, it adds that subsidiary Star Collaboration signs settlement agreement in legal proceedings with distributor. Star C will pay GBP166,000.

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Eight Capital Partners PLC - London-based fintech - Signs deal to sell holding in a 1AF2 Ltd bond to SFE Equity Investments Sarl for EUR40 million. "The directors believe that the sale represents a positive step forward for the company, providing additional funding options for investment in the fintech sector and strengthening its balance sheet through the addition of GBP20.4 million of net assets when compared to the company's last published balance sheet as a result of prior impairments to the value of the 1AF2 bond by the same amount," Eight Capital says. It purchased the bonds in 2021. 1AF2 is a subsidiary of Avantgarde Group Spa an Italian private holding company invested in fintech, Eight Capital explained in July.

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 15:15

Shield Therapeutics to raise USD10.0 million via AOP subscription

(Alliance News) - Shield Therapeutics PLC on Friday said it intends to raise USD10.0 million via a share subscription, and launched a retail offer to raise a further GBP1.0 million.

The Newcastle, England-based commercial-stage pharmaceutical company said it has entered into a subscription agreement with AOP Health International Management AG for over 256.4 million new shares priced at 3.00 pence each.

The company is also offering just over 33.3 million shares at 3.00 pence each in a retail offer, with maximum proceeds of GBP1.0 million, conditional on the completion of the subscription offer. This is at a premium of 5.3% to the December 5 close price.

Shield Therapeutics said AOP will only proceed with an equity investment if it obtains a controlling interest as a result. This would require approval from shareholders at a general meeting.

The company warned that if this investment is not approved, it will not receive the funding which would be used to help the company achieve its target of becoming cash flow positive by the end of 2025.

Shield Therapeutics also said that AOP has confirmed it is not prepared to make an offer for the company, which is usually required in these circumstances. The panel has agreed to waive this requirement if it is passed at the general meeting.

The retail offer is expected to close on December 20.

Shares in Shield Therapeutics were up 2.9% to 2.93 pence each in London on Friday afternoon.

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 14:44

DOW

Opening 76 points higher

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 13:42

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Blue chips stall but CAC 40 soars on luxury lift

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 traded around opening levels at midday on Friday, lagging European peers, ahead of the key US jobs report.

The FTSE 100 index fell 6.69 points, 0.1%, at 8,342.69. The FTSE 250 rose 37.00 points, 0.2%, at 21,038.06, and the AIM All-Share climbed 1.31 points, 0.2%, at 738.23.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 837.74, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18,540.25, and the Cboe Small Companies rose 0.4% to 16,141.48.

In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris stormed 1.3% higher despite ongoing political uncertainty while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt climbed a more modest 0.2%.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB said French luxury names are leading the recovery in Paris.

Hermes rose 2.6%, LVMH climbed 3.2% while Gucci owner Kering jumped 5.3%.

"Hopes of a Chinese stimulus package that focuses on the consumer are building, as Beijing officials meet to discuss 2025 growth targets. Added to this, French luxury names are less impacted by domestic political travails as most of their sales are generated overseas. They are likely to be more impacted by Donald Trump winning the US election than by whatever happens to President Macron. Overall, a technocratic government is on the cards, the fiscal can has been kicked down the road and although forging a new budget is a tough endeavour, the organs of French government can roll over the 2024 budget month on month in 2025, and there is no chance of a US-style government shut down," Brooks said.

French President Emmanuel Macron is holding talks with French political leaders on the left and right as he seeks to name a new prime minister and find a way out of France's political crisis.

Macron adopted a defiant tone in an address to the nation late Thursday, 24 hours after Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government was ousted in a historic no-confidence vote.

Macron vowed to name a new prime minister in the "coming days", rejected growing pressure from the opposition to resign and blamed an "anti-republican front" of the hard left and far right for France's woes.

Meanwhile, data showed the eurozone economy grew at the pace expected in the third-quarter of the year.

According to Eurostat gross domestic product expanded by 0.4% in the three months that ended September 30 from the three months that ended June 30. Growth picked up from 0.2% in the second quarter from the first.

Year-on-year, the eurozone economy increased by 0.9% in the third-quarter, accelerating from a 0.5% increase in the second-quarter.

It was the fastest pace of annual growth since the first-quarter of 2023. Quarter-on-quarter growth was the strongest since the third-quarter of 2022.

Investor attention now switches to the US nonfarm payrolls data at 1330 GMT, seen as pivotal in determining whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its December meeting.

Bank of America expects nonfarm payrolls to rise by 240,000 in November after coming in at just 12,000 in October.

"This above-consensus forecast is driven by expected payback for the temporary drag on payrolls in Oct due to Hurricane Milton and the Boeing strike," it explained.

The FXStreet consensus is for payrolls to increase by 200,000 in November.

BofA estimates that the hurricane took at least 60,000 off October's payrolls, while strikes, which have mostly since ended, accounted for an additional 41,000 drag.

ING said given expectations of a bounce back after last month's weather and strike-hit figure, the market now probably "sees less than 200,000 as a bad number and above 300,000 as a good number."

The pound was quoted at USD1.2763 early Friday afternoon, up from USD1.2753 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The euro stood at USD1.0582, up from USD1.0568. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY150.56, up from JPY150.17.

Back in London, shares in FTSE 250-listed Direct Line rose 7.1% after it said it is "minded to recommend" an improved takeover approach from London-based insurer Aviva.

The proposed deal, announced in a joint statement, will see Aviva pay 129.7 pence in cash, and 0.2867 of a new Aviva share for each Direct Line share. Direct Line shareholders also would receive a 5p per share dividend before completion.

Based on Aviva's closing share price before the offer period started in November, the proposal values each Direct Line share at 275p, or around GBP3.6 billion.

Aviva's new plan represents a 10% premium to its initial approach of 250p per share made in November.

Panmure Liberum thinks the revised offer is "good for both sets of shareholders – Aviva has not overpaid and Direct Line shareholders crystalize an attractive return."

Aviva shares eased 0.5%.

Elsewhere in the FTSE 100, Spirax was under pressure, falling 2.0% after JPMorgan downgraded to 'neutral' from 'overweight'.

Also in the red, water suppliers Severn Trent and United Utilities, down 2.4% and 2.0% respectively.

Jefferies downgraded both to 'hold' from 'buy'.

While "cautiously optimistic" about the December 19 Final Determinations for the UK water sector, Jefferies thinks the the risk-reward looks more balanced on United Utilities and Severn Trent at their current valuations."

Morgan Stanley downgraded the European utility sector to 'in-line' from 'attractive'.

"With a finely balanced risk-reward outlook for 2025 amidst multiple uncertainties, we move our sector view to in-line. We prefer electricity networks, and would be selective elsewhere."

National Grid, down 0.6%, remains its top pick.

Housebuilder Berkeley Group slipped 2.5% after its half-year results.

The Surrey, England-based property developer and housebuilder said there was good underlying demand for homes, as it reported revenue increased 7.2% in the six months to the end of October to GBP1.28 billion from GBP1.19 billion a year before.

Pretax profit was down 7.7% in the half-year to GBP275.1 million from GBP298.0 million in the first half of financial 2024.

Berkeley said it is on track to achieve pretax profit guidance of GBP525.0 million for the full-year, and at least GBP450 million for the following year.

It also set out a new ten-year growth strategy to provide a new capital allocation framework.

As part of the plan, Berkeley has identified GBP7.00 billion of free cash flow to invest over the next ten years.

There was good news elsewhere for housebuilders as a survey from Halifax showed UK house prices have risen at their fastest pace in two years.

The average house price was up 4.8% in November from a year prior, the biggest annual jump since November 2022. The average price climbed 1.3% from October to a record GBP298,083, the fifth monthly rise in a row.

Among small-caps Quiz plunged 41%.

The Glasgow, Scotland-based omnichannel fashion brand said it has seen a "marked decline" in traffic both online and in-store in November compared to previous months and the prior year.

Sales in the fourth months to November were down 5.7% to GBP24.9 million.

As a result, the firm warned cash headroom available was lower than anticipated and that existing bank facilities could be fully utilised in the first-quarter of 2025.

It launched a financing and strategic review but anticipates that additional funding will be required in the first-quarter of 2025.

Brent oil was quoted at USD71.40 a barrel early Friday afternoon, falling from USD72.22 late on Thursday. Gold was higher at USD2,638.58 an ounce from USD2,635.59.

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 12:37

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 12:04

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 11:02

Wheaton Precious Metals acquires gold stream at Ethiopia project


(Alliance News) - Wheaton Precious Metals Corp on Friday said it has a struck a streaming agreement with Allied Gold Corp at the Kurmuk project in Ethiopia.

The Vancouver-headquartered precious metals company said the precious metals purchase agreement with Allied Gold is valued at USD175 million, to be paid by Wheaton in four equal instalments during construction.

Wheaton will buy 6.7% of the mine's payable gold until 22,000 ounces has been delivered, after which it will buy 4.8% of payable gold for the mine's lifetime.

The Kurmuk gold stream is forecast to produce an average of 16,000 ounces of gold per year for the first 10 years of production, with first production expected to begin in mid-2026.

Wheaton Chief Executive Officer Randy Smallwood said: "Wheaton is pleased to announce a streaming agreement with Allied to advance the construction of the Kurmuk project, which is set to be the first commercial gold mine in Ethiopia. This fully permitted, high quality development project offers significant exploration potential, supported by a team at Allied with a proven operating track record. We are excited to partner with Allied to unlock opportunities that empower the local communities and help drive the growth of Ethiopia's emerging metals and mining sector."

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 09:49

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks mixed while house prices hit record high (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mostly lower on Friday, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer attempts to sell his "plan for change".

Starmer made living standards a key target as he outlined his "next phase" on Thursday, saying he wanted to see real household disposable income rise by the next election.

But in an interview with BBC Breakfast, Starmer said: "I want people to feel better off straight away – feel better off in the sense of more money in their pocket, feel better off because they've got a secure job that they know is guaranteed to give them the money they need."

Also on Friday, Halifax reported that the average UK house price hit a new record high of GBP298,083 in November. Property values rose by 1.3% month-on-month, marking the fifth increase in a row, Halifax said.

On an annual basis, house prices increased by 4.8% in November, accelerating from 4.0% growth in October.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "Latest figures continue to show improving levels of demand for mortgages...However, despite these positive trends, many potential buyers and movers still face significant affordability challenges and buyer confidence may be tested against a changeable economic backdrop.

"As we move towards the end of the year and into 2025," she continued, "positive employment figures and anticipated decreases in interest rates are expected to continue supporting demand. This should underpin further house price growth, albeit at a modest pace as borrowing costs remain above the average of a few years ago."

The FTSE 100 index opened down 14.89 points, 0.2%, at 8,334.49. The FTSE 250 was up 13.63 points, 0.1%, at 21,014.69, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.22 points at 736.70.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 837.33, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 18,510.21, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 16,085.35.

The big news on Friday centres around Aviva, which was down 0.4% on the FTSE 100. On the FTSE 250, Direct Line Insurance rose 7.4%.

Direct Line has agreed to a takeover bid from Aviva worth 275 pence per share, consisting of 129.7p cash and 0.2867 of an Aviva share.

The proposal is a 73% premium to Direct Line's share price on November 27, and 16% above its closing price of 237.80p on Thursday. Aviva has until December 25 to make a firm offer.

J Sainsbury led the FTSE 100, rising 1.2%. The supermarket firm repurchased 947,888 shares at average 266.37p on Thursday. Spirax led the laggers, down 2.1% after JPMorgan cut it to 'neutral' with a price target of 7,800p, down from 9,300p.

Frasers was down 1.4%.

The retailer which owns Sports Direct and House of Fraser said it plans to make a voluntary offer for Norwegian sports retailer XXL ASA at NOK10.00 or around 71 pence per share. Frasers is currently XXL's second-largest shareholder.

The offer values XXL at NOK246.4 million, or about GBP17.4 million.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was basically flat.

The pound was quoted at up USD1.2763 early on Friday in London, compared to USD1.2753 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro stood higher at USD1.0581, against USD1.0568. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY150.33 compared to JPY150.17.

In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.0%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.6%.

In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.

US data out today includes nonfarm payrolls and consumer sentiment.

Brent oil was quoted at USD71.99 a barrel early in London on Friday from USD72.22 late Thursday.

Gold was quoted at USD2,641.58 an ounce against USD2,635.39.

Still to come on Friday's economic calendar, eurozone GDP and unemployment readings are out later this morning.

[master rsi] 06/12/2024 09:22

Frasers launches bid to take over Norway's XXL

(Sharecast News) - Mike Ashley's Frasers Group said on Friday that it was launching a voluntary offer for all the shares in Norwegian sporting goods retailer XXL that it does not already own at 10 Norwegian kroner per share.

The offer values XXL at approximately NOK246.36m.

Frasers is currently the second largest shareholders in XXL with an interest of just under 26%.

Chief executive Michael Murray said: "Our strategic vision and industry experience position us uniquely to help XXL navigate its current challenges. We are committed to ensuring that XXL reaches its full potential."