BEST OF THE BROKERS January 25, 2012 PHOSAGRO UBS has upgraded the London GDR listing of the Russian fertiliser group from “sell” to “neutral” after a sell-off over the past couple of months that has seen the stock lose nearly 30 per cent. The broker sees no reason to change its 2012 estimates or price target of $9, despite a weak market [...]
Project Beetle ends in tears for hedge fund manager and City banker January 25, 2012 Project Beetle was the name used for a £350m fund-raising in 2009 that made a critical reduction in Punch Taverns’ £4bn debt pile. Those who worked on the ultimately successful transaction, which included bankers from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, and lawyers from Slaughter & May, had every reason to celebrate the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS CAIRN’S STATOIL DEAL A SHREWD MOVE TO REDUCE RISK? January 23, 2012 SANJEEV BAHL | NUMIS Statoil brings credibility to the project, but uncertainty remains on how much cash Cairn is to throw at further high risk/reward exploration. STUART JOYNER | INVESTEC This is a good move for Cairn, as it reduces their risk in Greenland and is a positive tie-up. Statoil is solid and will provide [...]
Turmoil hits Aberdeen’s fund flows January 19, 2012 INVESTORS pulled a net £2.8bn from Aberdeen Asset Management in the final three months of last year as fears mounted over the Eurozone crisis. Shares in the Granite City firm slipped 1.65 per cent to 226.1p yesterday after it said withdrawals had quickened since the £1.7bn reported in the third quarter. But Aberdeen is not [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS ON TRACK? January 19, 2012 GRAHAM JONES | PANMURE GORDON Associated British Food is our top large-cap pick for 2012, and believe this statement supports our thesis of strong earnings per share growth this year, albeit second-half weighted. We strongly reiterate our “buy” recommendation. MARTIN DEBOO | INVESTEC This felt like a decent quarter to us, with Primark and Sugars [...]
SABMiller beer volumes rise January 19, 2012 SABMiller has reported a three per cent rise in beer volumes in the last three months of 2011, as growth in African and Latin American markets helped offset falls in North America and Europe. The world’s second-largest brewer and maker of Miller Lite, Peroni and Grolsch said beer price rises helped the group to push [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW HAS WETHERSPOON FARED AGAINST RISING COSTS? January 18, 2012 PATRICK COFFEY | LIBERUM CAPITAL Despite JD Wetherspoon’s investment for the future, we believe the company’s valuation is inconsistent with a sector under pressure from rising costs and macro-uncertainty… We reiterate our “sell” recommendation. PAUL HICKMAN | PEEL HUNT Posting a good second quarter result shows Wetherspoon robustly on course for our modest earnings growth [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 18, 2012 Aberdeen Asset Management Peter Elston, an Asian investment strategist based in Singapore, has been promoted to the newly created role of head of Asia Pacific strategy and asset allocation. Elston has been a member of the global strategy team and the Asia Pacific multi-asset fund tactical asset allocation team since 2009. He joined Aberdeen as [...]
Soft landing in China as euro hits exports January 17, 2012 ECONOMIC growth in China slowed to a two and a half year low in the fourth quarter of 2011, though the data points to a “soft landing” rather than the hard deterioration economists feared. Chinese GDP grew by 8.9 per cent in the year, compared with 9.1 per cent in the 12 months to the third [...]
Wiseman brothers to lap up £100m from sale to Müller January 16, 2012 THE family behind Robert Wiseman Dairies is set for a windfall of nearly £100m after agreeing the sale of the firm to German group Müller. Four members of the family – brothers Robert, Alan and Gavin Wiseman and Alan’s wife Margaret – who own 35 per cent of the milk producer, will pocket £98.1m from [...]