Upstream Share Discussion Threads

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 22:52

DOW

Finished 45 points lower ....

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell for the fourth straight session, dropping 0.58% and 1.15% respectively, with both indices hitting their lowest levels since 21 February.

The Dow, which had snapped a six-day losing streak on Tuesday, was back in the red, falling 0.12% to 37,753.31.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 16:19

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 16:05

M Winkworth profit slumps amid challenging year for housing market
(Alliance News) - M Winkworth PLC on Wednesday said the company's recent performance was hampered by high interest rates and housing market uncertainty in the UK.

The London-based franchisor of real estate agencies reported a 15% decline in pretax profit to GBP2.2 million in 2023 from GBP2.5 million in 2022.

However, revenue remained largely unchanged at GBP9.3 million, and the company increased its dividend by 6.4% to 11.70 pence per share from 11.00p.

Chief Executive Officer Dominic Agace said: "Successive interest rate rises in 2023 brought considerable uncertainty to the sales market, with expectations as to when the tightening cycle might end fluctuating over the course of year. This led to a significant reduction in transactions.

He added: "2024 has had a stronger start than expected, with our sales agreed to the end of March 23% ahead of the same period in 2023, bolstered by mortgage providers reducing rates in anticipation of a rate cutting programme by the Bank of England."

So far this year Winkworth has opened three new offices and the company may open or relaunch eight additional franchisees in London over the next 18 months.

Looking ahead, the company anticipates a return to more normal economic conditions although believes house prices will remain broadly flat.

However, new interest from those held back over the past 18 months is expected to give rise to an increase in transactions throughout the year.

M Winkworth shares were up 8.9% to 177.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 15:45

Time Out signs deal to open market in Budapest
(Sharecast News) - Media and hospitality company Time Out Group announced plans for a new Time Out Market in Budapest on Wednesday, through a management agreement with Corvin Food Market.

The AIM-traded firm said the market, set to open its doors next year, would be the the ninth site in development by the group set to launch between 2024 and 2027.

Located in the historic Corvin Palace, Time Out Market Budapest would occupy a central position at Blaha Lujza Square.

With 25,000 square feet indoors on the first floor and an additional 9,000 square feet outdoors on the rooftop, the market would include 14 kitchens, four bars, and an event space.

The market would have a seating capacity of around 800, the company said.

Operating under a management agreement, Time Out would benefit from a share of revenues and profits, with a guaranteed consultancy fee, while abstaining from capital contributions toward the site's development.

"Budapest is amongst Europe's most beautiful cities in which both locals and tourists love to go out - to open a Time Out Market in one of the city's top locations, together with our partners in Budapest, is very exciting for us," said Time Out Group chief executive officer Chris Ohlund.

"Budapest offers both traditional, classic and modern, hip elements - it has a vibrant and diverse food scene which we will bring together under one roof at Time Out Market Budapest."

At 1153 BST, shares in Time Out Group were down 4.76% at 50p.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 15:03

IMF warns Jeremy Hunt at risk of missing debt target

Proactive Investors - Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is at risk of missing five-year debt targets for the UK economy after cutting national insurance during the Spring Budget, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Under self-imposed rules, each UK chancellor aims to get debt falling as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) by the final year of a five-year forecast.

However, the IMF forecasts UK debt to increase in every year until 2029, when it is expected to jump to 98% of GDP.

According to the IMF, such forecasts, which were higher than previously, were in part driven by Hunt’s move to cut national insurance by 2% in last month’s Spring Budget, as well as the Autumn Statement beforehand.

“Recent policy changes, such as a significant cut to NI in the UK, although part-funded by well-conceived revenue-raising measures, could worsen the debt trajectory in the medium term,” the IMF warned

“Population ageing and labour market mismatches are further expected to exert pressure on fiscal positions.”

The cuts had come as the government prepares for an inevitable general election, though the IMF warned those in power should refrain from such moves in the world's “biggest-ever election year”.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 14:48

DOW

on the up with 203 points

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 14:22

Hummingbird issues step-in notice regarding Kouroussa mine

Hummingbird Resources PLC - gold producer with operations in Mali, Guinea and Liberia - Says continued to engage with Ivory Coast-based Corica Mining Services, which had suspended mining activities on March 17, citing contractual disputes. Back then, Corica cited claims regarding unpaid invoices to Hummingbird totaling about USD27 million for work completed at Kouroussa mine in Guinea, which Hummingbird rejected. Hummingbird on Tuesday said it issued a step-in notice which allows it to take management control and issue instructions to Corica.

Meanwhile, the discussions about Kouroussa, which Hummingbird calls constructive, have the aim to ramp up operations under the existing mining contract between the two companies. Hummingbird says it is progressing with the restart and ramp up of mining activities at the mine. Further, it notes that operations at the mine have continued with the processing plant operating at the expected levels with mining via an existing support mining fleet.

Current stock price: 7.10 pence per share, 1.4% higher on Wednesday afternoon in London

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 13:51

Asiamet hails "outstanding" high grade copper sample results

Asiamet Resources Ltd - London-based mineral exploration company focused on copper, gold and polymetallic assets in Indonesia - Collects two samples from surface in the central area of the BKM deposit in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, which assayed 24.0% and 23.3% of copper. Says these high-grade results are consistent with previous surface sampling and reinforce the upside potential of both the BKM and BKZ deposits.

Chief Executive Officer Darryn McClelland says: "The recent due diligence site visits have been very positive with good feedback received from all groups. The assay results from these grab samples are outstanding and, specifically for BKM, provide encouragement for the company in the fact that samples of this grade are found at surface. Our current mine plan targets mining of high grade starter pits from the BKM resource delivering high grade feed early in the life of the project allowing strong ramp up of copper production."

Current stock price: 0.70 pence, up 3.6%

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 12:01

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 11:50

Safestay hails minimum 20-year management contract for hostel in Spain

(Alliance News) - Safestay PLC on Wednesday celebrated a management contract for an independent hostel in Spain for an initial 20-year term.

The London-based city centre hostels operator said it signed its first management contract to run the resort-based 120 bed Calpe Seafront Hostel on Spain's Costa Blanca on behalf of a property investment company.

Chair Larry Lipman said: "Safestay Calpe Seafront, while different in being resort based, is a unique hostel which will fit naturally into our network. I believe it will be a strong addition alongside our new Edinburgh hostel, which is also opening in June."

Safestay shares were flat at 19.00 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 11:11

Eckoh expanding availability of voice cloud platform

(Sharecast News) - Eckoh announced on Wednesday that it has augmented its global secure voice cloud platform, enhancing its availability and geographic coverage.

The AIM-traded company said its core cloud infrastructure, already operational across multiple regions and availability zones, had been bolstered by the launch of seven additional regional points of presence, including the introduction of its inaugural dedicated Asia-Pacific secure voice cloud platform in Sydney.

It said the expansion was crucial in meeting the escalating demands of its global customer base, which was increasingly transitioning contact centres to the cloud.

The shift was being driven by advantages including heightened scalability, flexibility, management, and customer experience.

Over the last three years, Eckoh said it had seen a notable rise in annual recurring revenue from the cloud, particularly in the pivotal North American market, where it had tripled.

With the momentum of contact centre migration to the cloud intensifying, the expansion of the secure voice cloud solidified Eckoh's position to support its growth aspirations and deliver interactions for its expanding clientele.

Its projections indicated a growth trajectory for the global cloud-based contact centre market, with estimates soaring from $17.1bn to $54.7bn by 2027, representing a robust compound annual growth rate of about 26%.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 10:54

Zephyr Energy begins drilling operations in flagship Utah project

(Alliance News) - Zephyr Energy PLC on Wednesday said it had begun rigging up operations to start the drilling process at the State 36-2R well, as part of its flagship Paradox project.

Zephyr Energy is an oil and gas company focused on resource development from carbon-neutral operations in the Rocky Mountains region in North America. Its flagship project is operating in the Paradox Basin in the US state of Utah.

Following its announcement last month, Zephyr Energy said the Helmerich & Payne Rig 257 has begun operations to spud the surface section of the new well over the next few days. Ancillary service providers are on the site for support, too.

The well is expected to recover all the drilling costs incurred by the well control insurance policy that the company had in place for the original State 36-2 well, Zephyr Energy said.

It added new well will target the Cane Creek reservoir and the over-pressured, gas bearing natural fracture system that was proven when the first well was drilled.

Drilling for the new well will reach a total measured depth of 10,362 feet, with the design also allowing the later drilling of a 10,000-foot horizontal section, if needed.

Zephyr Energy said its project is intended to confirm the presence of hydrocarbons in the new well, as well as assess the productivity of the Cane Creek reservoir through flow testing.

Drilling operations will take place 30 days from the beginning of the spud.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 10:35

EEE 7.95p +0.40p

A new intraday high as the bid and offer have been moved forward

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 10:12

The market is bouncing back not only here....

FTSE 100 7,854.51 +34.15 +0.44% DAX 17,854.55 +88.20 +0.50% Euro Stoxx 50 4,945.65 +28.66 +0.58%

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 09:57

GAS Prices ease slightly but supply risks remain

April 17 - Dutch and British wholesale gas prices eased on Wednesday morning but were still near their highest levels since January, as the market kept a close eye on potential supply disruptions of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub eased by 0.38 euro to 32.90 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0849 GMT.

It had opened at 33.87 euros/MWh, its highest level since Jan. 5, following strong gains on Tuesday.

The renewed threat to supplies from the rising tensions in the Middle East was the key driver for rising gas prices globally over the past week, Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Bank said in a daily report.

"Traders were keen to snap up any available cargoes amid the threat to LNG tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key choke point for deliveries from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, supplying 11.7% of Europe's and 24.4% of Asia's LNG imports, according to analysis firm Rystad Energy.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a container ship in the strait on April 13 days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route.

A wider conflict affecting trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz could result in 82.4 million tonnes or 112 billion cubic metres of LNG being removed from the global, senior Rystad analyst Lu Ming Pang said in a note.....

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 09:18

The Indices have been Moving higher for the last few minutes a change of heart after the recent movement lower.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 09:02

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks mixed as UK data douses BoE cut hope

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 underperforming European peers, with a hotter than expected UK inflation reading lifting the pound.

The FTSE 100 index opened just 1.54 points higher at 7,821.90. Stacked with international earners, a stronger pound is a headwind for London's blue-chip index.

The FTSE 250 was down 29.46 points, 0.2%, at 19,315.08, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.86 points, 0.3%, at 740.14.

The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.1% to 781.35, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% lower at 16,721.39, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 14,701.72.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.6% and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 0.2%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.2% higher on Tuesday in New York. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1%.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended 2.1% higher, though the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% in Sydney.

Against the dollar, sterling rose to USD1.2452 early Wednesday, from USD1.2435 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro was flat at USD1.0629. Against the yen, the buck bought JPY154.61, rising from JPY154.51.

The UK consumer price inflation rate was a touch loftier than expected last month, numbers on Wednesday showed, though it cooled to its tamest level since September 2021.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the year-on-year rate of consumer price inflation ebbed to 3.2% in March, from 3.4% in February.

A slowdown to 3.1% was expected, according to FXStreet cited consensus, however. Nonetheless, it was still the tamest rate of inflation since it sat at 3.1% in September 2021.

The ONS said food price growth slowed in March, key to the rate of inflation easing.

"Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 4.0% in the year to March 2024, down from 5.0% to February. The March figure is the lowest annual rate since November 2021," the ONS said.

Market Financial Solutions analyst Paresh Raja commented: "Inflation remains above the Bank of England's target of 2%, delaying an eagerly awaited rate cut for another couple of months at least. The over-riding sense is that the base rate will be cut in June, although all eyes are on the US Fed, with the Bank of England unlikely to act until cuts are made 'across the pond'."

Still to come on Wednesday, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks at an event in Washington at 1700 BST. Megan Greene, part of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee, speaks at the same event at 1305 BST.

Dutch bank ING said UK data this week has dashed rate cut hopes.

"The Bank of England has pinned the timing of the first rate cut on wage growth and services inflation. The former came in hotter than expected in data released on Tuesday, and now the latest data on the latter has come in stickier than expected too. The result is that markets are now only full pricing the first rate cut in November," ING analysts said.

The US Federal Reserve's ongoing fight against inflation could take "longer than expected," the head of the US central bank said Tuesday, further paring back the chances of early rate cuts.

But three months of higher inflation data since the start of 2024 have threatened to undermine the expectation of interest rate cuts this year, with one senior Fed policymaker recently suggesting that rates could remain at their current levels until 2025.

"The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence, and instead indicate that it's likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during an event in Washington on Tuesday.

"That said, we think policy is well positioned to handle the risks that we face," he added.

In March, Fed policymakers pencilled in three rate cuts for this year, leading markets to price in the first of them as early as June.

But hot March consumer inflation data caused many traders to reevaluate and push back their expectations.

In London, retailers traded largely lower in the wake of the data. Next lost 1.2%, while Marks & Spencer fell 1.1%.

Shielding the FTSE 100 from a deeper decline, however, was the mining sector. Anglo American rose 2.6%. Rio Tinto added 1.9%.

Rio Tinto rose despite it reporting lower quarterly iron ore shipments and production at its key Pilbara operation.

Antofagasta added 1.0%. It said copper output was weaker in its first-quarter, though it maintained guidance.

Mining shares had fallen on Tuesday following mixed Chinese data. China is a major buyer of minerals. The nation's gross domestic product grew in the first-quarter, though industrial production and retail sales readings were weaker than expected.

Asos shot up 9.3% as it said it is becoming "faster and more agile". The fashion retailer said revenue in the 26 weeks to March 3 fell 18% to GBP1.51 billion from GBP1.84 billion a year earlier. Its pretax loss, however, narrowed to GBP270.0 million from GBP290.9 million.

Asos hailed "disciplined inventory and cost management".

CEO Jose Calamonte said: "At the beginning of this year we explained that FY24 would be a year of continued transformation for ASOS as we take the necessary actions to deliver a more profitable and cash generative business. Under our back to fashion strategy, we set out three priorities for the year - to offer the best and most relevant product, to strengthen our relationship with customers and to reduce our cost to serve. We have delivered on each of these in the first half of the year."

It reiterated its guidance for a 5% to 15% sales decline for the full-year.

It named Dave Murray as chief financial officer, with effect April 29. Interim CFO Sean Glithero will stick around for a handover period but depart the company thereafter.

Liontrust rose 3.1%, reporting a fall in assets under management and advice over its financial year, but noting "continuous flows" into its European Dynamic Fund. It also reported "positive net sales by the Global Innovation team".

Assets under management and advice as of March 31 totalled GBP27.82 billion, down 11% from GBP31.43 billion at the start of the financial year. It suffered GBP6.08 billion worth of net outflows during the year, including GBP1.21 billion during the fourth-quarter. The fourth-quarter outcome was better than the GBP1.66 billion worth of net outflows it reported for the third.

Chief Executive Officer John Ions said: "Liontrust has improving investment performance in the short term as well as excellent performance over the long term and it appears the UK and other developed economies have reached peak interest rates. This follows a period in which many of our core investment strategies, notably quality growth, small/mid-caps and UK equities, have been out of favour, impacting both performance and flows.

"Of our product range, we have seen continuous flows into the European Dynamic Fund - with its AuMA increasing from GBP747 million as at 31 March 2023 to more than GBP1.4 billion as at 31 March 2024 - and positive net sales by the Global Innovation team in the period. We have made continued progress against our strategic objectives, enabling us to seek to generate growth through an expanding product range, distribution and client base."

Anglo Asian Mining fell 5.5% as it reported a decline in first-quarter output due to its "operations remaining partially shut down".

Anglo Asian is awaiting permission in Azerbaijan "to raise its tailings dam wall", which would get output back to a normal level.

Total production in the first-quarter declined to 2,548 gold equivalent ounces, from 10,969 a year earlier.

"Amid what has been a challenging time for the company, we have made important operational progress and our portfolio of development assets is progressing in line with our expectations. We await government permission to raise our tailings dam wall, a necessary step for resuming normal production levels and our ability to issue production guidance for the year. We anticipate the permit will be issued shortly and this will enable us to take advantage of the current strong metal prices," Chief Executive Reza Vaziri said.

It now expects first production from the Gilar mine in the fourth-quarter, and not the third.

A barrel of Brent oil fell to USD89.46 early Wednesday, from USD90.21 at the European equities close Tuesday. Gold traded at USD2,378.56 an ounce, falling slightly from USD2,379.66.

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 08:30

UK Inflation falls at a snail's pace
Proactive Investors - The March inflation print came in hotter than expected at 3.2% against market forecasts of 3.1%, though this still makes for the lowest year-on-year rate since August 2021.

Annual core inflation (which is a better indicator of consumer income pressures) slowed to 4.2% in March, the lowest since December 2021 and down from 4.5% in February.

Retail prices, which also came out this morning, decreased to 4.3% year on year in March from 4.5% in February, marking the lowest rate of retail price inflation since July 2021.

It paints a picture of dogged determination for the economy to cool, though at a slower rate than policymakers might hope.

Office of National Statistics chief economist Grant Fitzner noted that “food prices were the main reason for the fall, with prices rising by less than we saw a year ago”.

“Similarly to last month, we saw a partial offset from rising fuel prices,” he added.

George Lagarias, chief economist at Mazars said: “UK headline inflation is coming down at a snail's pace. While producer prices fell further, services inflation saw the biggest jump in over six months.

"The UK is hitting the same ‘sticky’ inflation patch as the US, the point where energy and goods have stopped dis-inflating prices, but services persist as the labour market remains tight.

“However, there is one big difference with the US: the British economy is in a technical recession, and demand is much weaker.

“Despite the slightly stronger than expected inflation number, the shallow economic trajectory still allows the Bank of England enough room to begin cutting rates this year."

[master rsi] 17/4/2024 08:19

FTSE

Not going anywhere yet but are down 6 points