BEST OF THE BROKERS
BARCLAYS
Shore Capital has reiterated its “buy” recommendation, saying it continues to view Barclays as the most attractively valued
UK bank on a risk/return basis. The broker has downgraded earnings and rebased dividend forecasts, reflecting a quieter fourth quarter for BarCap, tighter margins and a focus on capital preservation.
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Morgan Stanley says Shell’s miss of 20 per cent at the operating level was disappointing and reinforces its view that the Shell portfolio remains disadvantaged while refining and gas remain weak. It remains unconvinced that relative free cash
generation at Shell will increase significantly if capital intensity levels do not fall.
UBS
Evolution Securities remains negative on UBS and expects the bank to report a net profit of SwFr 64m (£38m), which is below the consensus of SwFr321m. It’s full-year loss estimate is SwFr 4bn. It says the main focus should be on 2010, which could hold hurdles for the investment bank, including a pension deficit of SwFr5.7bn.