Upstream Share Discussion Threads

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 22:02

DOW

Finished 251 points higher...

Wall Street stocks were in the green at the close of trading on Monday as market participants looked ahead to key earnings from a number of major tech firms.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.67% at 38,239.98,
while the S&P 500 advanced 0.87% to 5,010.60
and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.11% firmer at 15,451.31.

The Dow closed 253.58 points higher on Monday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 16:13

How the UPS are performing today

[apotheki] 22/4/2024 16:00

Darktrace [LSE:DARK] boosted by BofA double-upgrade to 'buy'

Shares in Darktrace advanced as Bank of America double-upgraded its rating to 'buy'

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 15:13

Gem Diamonds discovers white diamond over 100 carats

Gem Diamonds Ltd - diamond miner which has operations in Lesotho and Botswana - Says that it recovered a 169.15 carat, type two white diamond, at the Letseng mine in Lesotho on April 18. This is the fourth diamond that Gem Diamonds has recovered this year which is over 100 carats.

It explains that the Letseng mine "is famous for the production of large, exceptional white diamonds, making it the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world".

Current stock price: 8.60 pence

[seedoftongo] 22/4/2024 14:56

Master , what tips do you have fella ?

You seem to love talking to yourself and providing an alternate news service but where do you think the money is going ??

Talk to the listeners ?

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 14:50

DOW

Opening higher with 99 points, but now only 53 poins up

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 14:31

Hornby shares fall as trouble in Red Sea hampers fourth quarter sales
Hornby shares fell 12% to 33.50 pence each in London on Monday afternoon.

(Alliance News) - Hornby PLC on Monday said its pretax loss widened in the second half of the year despite the company identifying a change in trajectory.

The Margate, England-based scale model railway manufacturer said sales for the year ended March 31 grew 2.0% to GBP56.2 million from GBP55.1 million last year.

Whilst the company's direct-to-consumer sales increased by 18% over the year, during the fourth quarter sales declined 8% year on year as ongoing hostilities in the Red Sea delayed deliveries.

The company said its loss before tax has widened since the half-year point, although this represents an improvement in second half profitability compared with the previous year.

This occurred despite the company facing increased costs from tooling amortisation and higher interest rate charges on borrowings.

Hornby's net debt position has increased to GBP14.3 million at the end of the year from GBP5.5 million, largely as a result of trading loss and capital expenditure.

Preliminary results for the year ended March 31 will be announced in June on a date yet to be confirmed.

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 12:15

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 11:17

Virgin Money reports trading remains in line amid Nationwide takeover
(Alliance News) - Virgin Money UK PLC on Monday said trading in the second quarter of 2024 to date has remained broadly in line with expectations.

In March, the Leeds-based lender accepted a takeover approach from Nationwide Building Society, a deal which will create "the second largest provider of mortgages and savings in the UK".

Nationwide will pay 220 pence per share, comprising 218p and a 2p dividend, and equating to a total valuation for Virgin Money of GBP2.9 billion.

Shares in Virgin Money rose 0.1% to 214.40p each in London on Monday.

Virgin Money and Nationwide said the scheme document, by which the deal will be facilitated, and assorted forms relating to the takeover have been sent to shareholders Monday.

This included the trading update from Virgin Money.

Virgin Money said over the the first half of 2024, it had delivered continued growth in relationship deposits and target lending segments, whilst maintaining a broadly stable margin, with ongoing cost efficiencies mitigating inflation.

Net interest margin continued to be resilient, despite competition and the interest rate backdrop, supported by ongoing effective interest rate outperformance in the credit cards portfolio.

Costs in the second quarter reflected the timing of annual wage rises and the new bank levy in the quarter, it said.

Asset quality trends remain broadly consistent with that seen in the first quarter, Virgin Money noted.

Virgin Money said it had maintained a robust liquidity and funding position, with a strong capital position which, relative to the first quarter, benefited from the cancellation of the share buyback programme.

Lower interest rates and competitive market dynamics are expected to be a headwind to net interest margin for the rest of the year, offset by reinvestment of the structural hedge, growth in target segments and ongoing credit cards effective interest rate outperformance.

The impact of persistent inflation and ongoing investment are expected to be headwinds to cost performance, partially mitigated by Virgin Money's existing cost saving programme, it commented.

Interim results are expected to be released on June 13 with an unaudited trading update on first half performance on May 14.

A court meeting, and general meeting, of shareholders will be held on May 22 to approve the scheme of arrangement by which takeover by Nationwide will be facilitated, Virgin Money stated.

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 10:17

South32 copper output down 15% in 3rd quarter; keeps outlook
(Alliance News) - South32 Ltd on Monday reported a mixed production performance for the third quarter, with copper output down sharply, but kept its annual production guidance unchanged, with the exception of estimate for Australian manganese.

The Perth-based miner said copper production declined 15% to 45,500 tonnes in the nine months that ended March 31 from 53,400 tonnes a year earlier. Output fell by 10% to 13,900 tonnes in the third quarter from 15,500 tonnes in the same quarter a year before and by 11% from 15,600 tonnes in the second quarter.

Aluminium production for the nine-month period edged up 0.7% to 853,000 tonnes from 847,000 tonnes, as Hillside Aluminium achieved record production and Brazil Aluminium continued to ramp up toward nameplate capacity. Output inched down 0.4% to 278,000 tonnes on-year from 279,000 tonnes and was down 3.1% from 287,000 tonnes in the previous quarter.

Year-to-date, alumina production slipped 1.0% to 3.81 million tonnes from 3.85 million tonnes, as South32 completed planned calciner maintenance at Worsley Alumina, while Brazil Alumina remained on track to achieve production guidance. For the third quarter alone, production was up 0.1% to 1.24 million tonnes annually from 1.23 million tonnes. But quarter-on-quarter output was down 3.4% from 1.28 million tonnes.

For nine months, zinc production was 0.7% higher at 43,300 tonnes from 43,000 tonnes. Output rose 13% to 14,300 tonnes in the third quarter from 12,600 tonnes a year before, but was down 9.5% from 15,800 tonnes in the second quarter.

Lead production for nine months grew 14% to 83,600 tonnes from 73,400 tonnes. For the third quarter, output rose 18% to 24,800 tonnes annually from 21,000 million tonnes, but it fell 18% quarterly from 30,300 tonnes.

Silver production increased 21% to 10,049 ounces year-to-date from 8,291 ounces a year before. Production rose 23% to 3,050 ounces year-on-year in the third quarter from 2,479 ounces, but dropped 16% from 3,624 ounces quarterly.

Nine-month nickel production fell 4.9% to 29,100 tonnes from 30,600 tonnes. Third-quarter output rose by 5.9% to 10,800 tonnes on-year from 10,200 tonnes and by 8.0% from 10,000 tonnes on-quarter.

Coal production declined 24% to 3.0 million tonnes for the nine-months from 3.9 million tonnes a year before. Output for the third quarter was up 0.3% to 1.244 million tonnes from 1.240 million tonnes a year before and surged 67% from 744,000 tonnes in the second quarter.

Manganese production declined 5.5% to 3.96 million wet tonnes for nine months from 4.19 million wet tonnes a year before. For the third quarter, output fell 6.8% to 1.17 million wet tonnes annually from 1.26 million wet tonnes, and was down 7.6% from 1.27 million wet tonnes on-quarter.

South32 withdrew its annual production guidance for its manganese business Groote Eylandt Mining Co Pty Ltd, which remained temporarily suspended due to Tropical Cyclone Megan.

But the miner otherwise kept its annual production guidance for 2024 financial year unchanged.

South32 Chief Executive Officer Graham Kerr said the latest quarterly performance represented "improved operating results".

"With the exception of Australia Manganese, our FY24 production and operating unit cost guidance is unchanged, placing us in a strong position to capitalise on strengthening market conditions for many of our key commodities," he said.

South32 shares up 3.7% to 174.60 pence early Monday in London. They were up 1.5% to ZAR40.90 in Johannesburg.

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 09:35

BITCOIN/ BTC $66.136 +1,316

Is continuing with the bounce back since last week

[thelung] 22/4/2024 09:05

Eyes on EST for an imminent JORC

[master rsi] 22/4/2024 08:35

FTSE

Opens well up with 94 points higher

[apotheki] 22/4/2024 07:20

KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC / LSE:KAV

ZIM: Hillside Exploration & Production Update

Kavango Resources plc (LSE: KAV), the Southern Africa focussed metals exploration company, is pleased to announce an exploration and production update for the Hillside Gold Project ("Hillside") in Zimbabwe.

Highlights

· Upgrade of exploration target at Prospect 4:

o Up to five potentially mineralised shear zones identified from an Induced Polarisation ("IP") survey, over a 700m width and currently mapped 500m strike.

o Two of the zones identified from the IP survey appear to coincide with a series of parallel artisanal workings.

o Three additional shear zones have been interpreted under slightly thicker cover and remain undiscovered by the artisanal miners with no indications of historic workings.

o Kavango to drill a fence of six holes to test potential for a bulk-minable gold deposit at Prospect 4.

· Final refined gold production at Hillside in March was 899.6g of gold.

o Kavango Mining anticipates significant increase in production, as it commences direct mining.

Ben Turney, Chief Executive of Kavango Resources, commented:

"We are looking forward to testing the bulk-minable gold potential at Prospect 4. The possible presence of four parallel, gold-bearing shear zones makes this an increasingly attractive exploration target.

We were originally looking for an additional high-grade ore source for production at Hillside. Hole SKDD001 was designed simply to test underneath current artisanal gold mining. We initiated the IP survey after the hole was completed.

In terms of the original goal, Hole SKDD001 has been a significant success. Our team saw the opportunity and moved quickly to test it. We are confident in the commercial potential of Prospect 4 to make a meaningful contribution to Kavango Mining. The high-grade upper intersection in Hole SKDD001 represents a near-term, minable opportunity well within trucking distance of the Hillside stamp mills. Kavango Mining is currently developing a work plan to pursue this.

However, it is the presence of the smaller, low-grade lower intersection in the same hole that our exploration team is now pursuing. Hole SKDD001 appears to have clipped a second shear zone, as indicated by results from the IP survey.

We now plan to return to Prospect 4 and drill a fence line of holes to test the IP anomalies and additional parallel artisanal mine workings we have identified. If these prove to be wide gold-bearing shear zones, Prospect 4 could represent an unanticipated bulk-minable opportunity.

We are currently drilling at the Nara Project and will mobilise the rig immediately back to Hillside on completion there.

In the meantime, I am very pleased to report that Kavango Mining was operationally profitable in March, its first month of trading. We produced 899g of gold. Our original goal was to reach 1kg of production over the course of 2024, so we are well ahead of schedule.

We now anticipate Kavango Mining is on course to be a consistently profitable business unit over 2024. We have a strong foundation to build on, as we increase direct production, open new sources of ore and invest in production capacity at Hillside. We look forward to providing further updates on our progress."

[master rsi] 21/4/2024 22:39

Sunday newspaper round-up: IDS, Ocado, Foxtons

(Sharecast News) - Asset manager Redwheel told regulators they should reduce the UK postal service's legal obligations. The move followed a failed buyout attempt by Daniel Kretinsky for International Distributions Services, its parent company. The billionaire investor was said to be evaluating a possible improved bid. The company meanwhile has petitioned Ofcom to let it cut the number of days per week during which it must deliver second-class mail from six to two or three. That would save the company £300m and see it shrink its workforce by 1,000. According to Redwheel, as first reported by the Sunday Times, the enforced costs of its legal obligations left the company "vulnerable to corporate predators". - Guardian

Ocado's shareholders are pushing the company to study the possibility of a New York listing as opposed to that in London. Indeed, the idea was discussed in detail with shareholders in recent weeks. Those discussions follow the 90% drop in the company's share price from its peak hit during lockdown. At one point, Ocado's market value had overtaken those of Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and Morrison's combined. - The Sunday Telegraph

Foxtons has brought on NM Rothschild as advisers following pressure from some large shareholders for the company to delist and pursue a sale. But other big investors believe that the outfit is on the mend under its new boss, Guy Gittins, who was chosen in 2022. Michael Rapps from Converium Capital thinks Foxtons could fetch between 70p or £1 a share if sold. Among the potential buyers are Platinum Equity, Oakley Capital and European private equity outfit Emeria. - The Sunday Times

888, the owner of William Hill, has put aside over £100m to cover possible legal action overseas. A court in Austria has ruled that any companies doing business in the country have broken the law and must return players' losses. That is because Casinos Austria, which is backed by the state, has had a monopoly on gambling in Austria since 2016. Hence, some gamblers in Europe had moved to recover their losses. 888 however said that its "extensive" legal advice and opinion received left it "absolutely confident" of its legal and regulatory position. - Financial Mail on Sunday