Investors Chronicle - magazine and web content back issues from June 2009:
Hogg Robinson in better shape than expected.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Nigel Bolitho December was doom time for Hogg Robinson as its shares fell below 4p. Now they are significantly higher as investors better understand its business model. In December 2008, Home Hogg Robinson's shares fell below 4p on fears that recession would ...
We have them surrounded!
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Marc Rivalland UPDATED: The US markets have given repeat buy signals, but the low volume makes The Trader suspicious. He awaits a clear signal from the FTSE100 In his book Anatomy of the Bear, Russell Napier points out that in bear markets, good news starts ...
Drip feeding vs lump sum.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Maike Currie ASSET ALLOCATION: More thoughts on the virtues and limitations of 'pound cost averaging' While investment gurus like Neil Woodford and Anthony Bolton say the bear market has bottomed out, the jury is still out on whether the UK is experiencing a ...
Tate & Lyle stays cautious.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Anthony Lugg RESULTS: Tate & Lyle might boast a sweet-looking dividend yield, but management is taking a cautious view of future prospects. Tate & Lyle's results aren't quite as grim as they seem. Adjust for recent disposals, notably its loss-making ...
Blacks Leisure gets to grips with Boardwear.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Anthony Lugg RESULTS: Blacks Leisure is now 18 months into its recovery programme, but it's not getting any easier as the outdoor clothing and equipment retail group is now faced with a sharp downturn in consumer spending. Blacks Leisure is now 18 months ...
More woe at Wolseley.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Jonas Crosland TIP UPDATE: Trading continues to weaken Trading at Wolseley continued to deteriorate in March and April, and the world's largest distributor of plumbing and heating products has warned that conditions are expected to remain challenging at ...
Electrocomponents slashes dividend.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Anthony Lugg RESULTS: Engineering components distributor Electrocomponents is facing tough trading conditions and has slashed its dividend. Electrocomponents' UK operation struggled throughout the year, but the impact of recession really began to make itself ...
Phoenix focuses on cutting debt.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: John Hughman RESULT: Strong cash generation is helping Phoenix IT eat into its debt - that's sending the shares skywards. Shares in Phoenix IT jumped 24 per cent after the disaster recovery provider reported results that beat consensus forecasts by a whisker - ...
Ffastfill on track.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Malar Velaigam RESULTS: Turnaround underway as Ffastfill grows order books and recurring revenues Turbulent financial markets have delayed the turnaround at exchange-traded derivatives software provider Ffastfill, but with contract momentum gaining pace, and ...
Severn Trent remains watertight.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Claer Barrett TIP UPDATE: Our buy tip may be underwater, but Severn Trent remains a solid defensive play Severn Trent maintained its policy of 3 per cent dividend growth, although pre-tax profit was hit by an GBP18.9m exceptional charge from increased ...
Vp prepares for challenging times.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Martin Li RESULTS: Equipment rental business Vp remains resilient, but management expects more challenging times ahead. Results from equipment rental business, Vp, were in line with analysts' expectations. Indeed, the group's significant exposure to regulated ...
The big picture.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: David Stevenson SIPP DIARY: The pension pot still looks on the cautious side, but other assets elsewere in my portfolio more than compensate for this bias This column is about my self-invested personal pension plan (with Hargreaves Lansdown) but in reality, ...
Irrational exuberance in cyclicals?
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: John Adams THE BIG MOVERS: After such an impressive equity market performance in recent months, there's some evidence that the rally might be starting to run out of steam Recession? What recession? That's the message that the stock market and, in particular, ...
Downgrade American debt, not British.
Jun 01, 2009 ... Byline: Chris Dillow COMMENT: If S&P thinks our national finances are bad, it should take a look closer to home The big story during my absence has been S&P's raising of the possibility that it could downgrade the UK government's credit rating from its current AAA ....
Vertu on the acquisition trail.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Nigel Bolitho RESULTS: Virtuous Vertu has strong finances to step up its opportunistic takeover programme. Motor dealers ran into all sorts of problems in 2008 and their share prices reflected that fact. But when you are down there's only one way to motor - ...
Spanner in the works for Micro Focus.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Malar Velaigam IN BRIEF: Rival bid for Borland may force Micro Focus to up the ante Nasdaq-quoted Borland has announced that it has received potential bid interest from an unnamed financial buyer at $1.20 per share, trumping the $1.00 offer made for the group ...
KCom steps up.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Malar Velaigam RESULT: Like the Hull City team it sponsors, KCom has plenty to do to stay in the big league A chunky GBP107m goodwill impairment has depleted KCom's shareholders' funds to just GBP20m, while one-off costs again kept the group in the red. But ...
Sterling weakness props up RWS.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Anthony Lugg RESULT: Record results from RWS, but flattered by currency movements that mightn't last Translating legal and technical documentation translated into record half year results for RWS, Europe's leading provider of 'intellectual property support ...
Ryanair rules European skies.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Daniel O'Sullivan RESULT: It's now Europe's biggest airline, but lower margins are the price of victory Full-year results from leading low-cost airline Ryanair were ahead of consensus, but shares in the budget airline group nevertheless shed some three per ...
Talvivaara raises funds for expansion.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Daniel O'Sullivan TIP UPDATE: Time to book some big profits on a 2009 Tip of the Year Finnish nickel miner Talvivaara has raised some GBP71m by placing 22.28m new shares - 10 per cent of its issued capital - with existing and new institutional shareholders at ...
Week ahead: 8-12 June.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Martin Li OUTLOOK: A summary of key company announcements expected in the coming week Welcome to the week ahead, our summary of the key company announcements expected next week. Companies are no longer obliged to notify the Stock Exchange of results and ...
A message from Mr Bond.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Simon Thompson SIMON THOMPSON: Investors are selling Treasuries, selling dollars and buying gold in anticipation of resurgent inflation. Sooner or later, equity markets will be hit too Two weeks ago I pointed out that the tsunami of sovereign debt issuance in ...
Life assurers need to reconnect.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Jonas Crosland SECTORS: Life assurers need to instil confidence in consumers already squeezed by the recession Why should pension and savings providers bother to offer investment advice at a time when the most pressing and obvious way for consumers to improve ...
Broker view: The hard sell for assurers.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Barrie Cornes, analyst at broker Panmure Gordon BROKER VIEW: Better sales channels for life assurers' wares will not on their own mean that more consumers want to buy savings products, says analyst Barrie Cornes of broker Panmure Gordon. Life assurers have put ...
Abu Dhabi royals ditch Barclays.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: John Adams MidEast investors sell out of 'long-term investment' after just six months of storming price gains It was only last autumn that Barclays' chief executive, John Varley, angered investors by turning to a group of middle east investors for a GBP7bn ...
Good weather boost for Wm Sinclair.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Nigel Bolitho Wm Sinclair is a big supporter of dig for Britain and rightly so - it will make a lot of money. One trouble with recessions is that there's not enough green waste to recycle. So Wm Sinclair, which owns 10 peat bogs (seven in Scotland and three ...
Chloride powers profits up.(Financial report)
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Anthony Lugg RESULTS: The power supply group shows exactly why it turned down a bid last year Chloride's impressive results make it easy to see what drew US engineering group Emerson Electric to bid for the power supply manufacturer last May. And it's easy to ...
Spring sun for Kingfisher, but clouds ahead.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: John Hughman IN BRIEF: Sunny spring boosts B&Q, but its parent can't shake off a tough housing market The warm spring weather gave a trading boost to Kingfisher, as higher sales of outdoor products boosted profits by 40 per cent to GBP128m. Sales ...
Acal slashes dividend.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Anthony Lugg RESULTS: In the midst of tough trading conditions, Acal is cutting costs - and the dividend has been an early casualty of that process Acal's core electronic distribution business is facing conditions that are possibly as difficult as any that the ...
May Gurney's resilience impresses.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Graeme Davies TIP UPDATE: May Gurney's results prove its defensive qualities May Gurney's decision two years ago to move out of capital projects and concentrate on its maintenance and services businesses for the public sector and regulated industries looks ...
Education pays off for EDI.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Graeme Davies TIP UPDATE: EDI shares have doubled since our tip, and justifiably so Education Development International's (EDI) strong run has continued, as the provider of qualifications and assessment services announced a 33 per cent hike in revenues and ...
Harder times are testing Printing.com's mettle.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Nigel Bolitho Printing.com had a Guy Fawkes moment last November when sales forecasts blew up In early November 2008 Printing.com reported interim 2008-09 profits up five per cent to GBP1.02m and was hoping that 12 month's profits would be close to last ...
Sepura stays strong.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Martin Li TIP UPDATE: Contract wins buoy Sepura as market conditions remain tough Digital radio supplier Sepura announced results for the year to the end of March that were broadly in line with analysts' expectations. Revenue grew 9 per cent to GBP74m, ...
Umeco soars as debt fears ease.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Anthony Lugg TIP UPDATE: Easing debt worries see Umeco's shares take off. Three months ago, when we put a sell sign on Umeco164p, 6 March 2009 ...
Debt reduction continues at Booker.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Nigel Bolitho RESULTS: A focus on housekeeping has kept debt low and boosted cash flow There's little doubt that Booker's chief executive Charlie Wilson (ex-M&S) has transformed a business that always has to live with wafer-thin margins. In autumn 2005, the ...
M&G Cautious Multi-Asset Fund.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Mark Robinson FUND PROFILE: M&G Cautious Multi-Asset outstrips sector in 2008 The M&G Cautious Multi-Asset Fund was launched in February 2007 and is managed by David Jane, a 20-year industry veteran, who was formerly head of global financial research at Axa ...
Should hedge funds be tightly regulated?
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Jonathan Eley THE BIG QUESTION: Many blame these secretive, leveraged operators for a big chunk of the credit crisis. But will regulation do more harm than good? Hedge funds are a convenient bAte noir for investors and politicians alike. It was a hedge fund ...
Soaring sterling.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Dominic Picarda TRADING STRATEGY: The pound is set for further near-term gains against the dollar, but the longer-term outlook remains negative Violent market actions often lead to equally violent reactions. The pound's collapse against the US dollar between ...
City Trades: Short-sell SDL.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Steven Mayne TRADING IDEA: The rally since last year now looks overdone SDL has nearly doubled since November, but the longer-term trend remains downwards, says Steven Mayne at Falcon Securities. On a monthly view, the stochastic oscillator could ...
City Trades: Dow to push higher.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Sandy Jadeja TRADING IDEA: A further up-move is in prospect for the US index, but beware a reversal The sheer power of the recent up-move is giving the bears some serious second thoughts, says Sandy Jadeja at www.spreadbettingtowin.com. If the Dow ...
The call to arms.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Alistair Blair COMMENT: A bill on directors' remuneration in the Lords has attracted remarkable support - but it needs more. Alistair Blair explains what you can do to curb excessive boardroom pay. I'd like to draw your attention to a modest bill - it's only ...
Moving on.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Mr Bearbull COMMENT: A readiness to admit mistakes is crucial for running successful portfolios, says Mr Bearbull - who also adds a new holding to his income fund What can investors learn from Rafa Benitez, the manager - ie, the coach - of Liverpool football ...
Strong housing means a strong currency.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Chris Dillow ECONOMICS: If the UK housing market stabilizes, sterling might rise Sterling has begun to recover against the US dollar, and the Nationwide building society has reported a slowdown in the rate of decline of UK house prices. These two facts might ...
Levers of power.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Dominic Picarda TRADING PRODUCTS: How to use leverage sensibly, and avoid huge losses Fancy making a return of several hundred per cent within hours? To investors accustomed to earning, say, 10 per cent over an entire year, such an offer may sound incredibly ...
Stop gap measures for pension pot income.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Moira O'Neill Investors seeking imminent retirement will find that recent hikes in the value of their pension pot may have been cancelled out by a drop in annuity rates. We offer a solution Last year's carnage in the stock market put many people's retirement ...
Money signals disappoint.
Jun 02, 2009 ... Byline: Chris Dillow ECONOMICS: Mortgage approvals and monetary growth figures give little grounds for optimism Today's figures from the Bank of England show that there were 43,201 mortgages for house purchase approved in April, the highest figure since last April ....
Severfield-Rowen set for slowdown.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: John Hughman IN BRIEF: Business is booming at steelmaker Severfield-Rowen, but for how long? Severfield-Rowen said that strong trading in 2008 had continued into the first five months of its current financial year, but warned that 2010 could be tough. ...
Outlook worries hit Hampson.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: John Hughman TIP UPDATE: The shift into composite tooling looks sensible, but the aerospace industry is about to go through some lean years Shares in Hampson took a dive after the aerospace engineer said that it experienced a weak start to the year, and ...
Organic growth worsens at WPP.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Malar Velaigam Tough quarter for WPP but shareholders approve Martin Sorrell's controversial bonus scheme Organic growth at media agency WPP fell 6.7 per cent for the four months to April 2009, compared to 5.8 per cent for the first three months, which ...
Nighthawk confirms deal terms.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Martin Li TIP UPDATE: Nighthawk confirms Jolly Ranch deal terms Nighthawk Energy has confirmed the terms of the sale of an interest in its Jolly Ranch project. San Severina, a Swiss-based investment company, will acquire 20 per cent (10 per cent from each of ...
Takeover fever hits property sector.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Claer Barrett ANALYSIS: This week's GBP31m 'smash and grab' approach on a listed property fund won't be the last Conygar, the Aim-traded property fund headed by activist Robert Ware, has parked its tanks on the lawn of The Advantage Income Property Trust ...
Northumbrian Water takes tax hit.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Anthony Lugg RESULTS: Attractive yield and good operational performance, but debt is high Water regulator Ofwat will announce its draft pricing proposals for the water industry in July. These will set tariffs until 2015 and will have a big impact on players ...
State firms maintain oil and gas spending.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Martin Li ANALYSIS: National oil companies are pouring money into new development, and M&A Research by Ernst & Young (E&Y) shows that most national oil companies (NOCs) and the largest oil majors plan to maintain or increase their capital investment through ...
Old King Coal still has a role.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Martin Li ANALYSIS: Government minister admits that only the dirtiest fossil fuel can keep the lights on Despite its 'dirty' image, coal still has a vital part to play if the UK is to maintain the desired diversity and flexibility of its energy mix, according ...
Intermediate Capital hit by provision hike.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Jonas Crosland RESULTS: The mezzanine lender's earnings were wiped out by a big hike in provisions. Mezzanine finance specialist Intermediate Capital's hefty loss reflects a GBP227m provision rise during the year, to GBP273m. Although there wasn't a ...
Green shoots in crop additives.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Graeme Davies IN BRIEF: Two Aim traded crop additives developers are going well Plant Impact, a developer of environmentally friendly crop additives, has agreed its first major commercial licensing deal with Japanese agrochemical business, Arysta LifeScience ...
Amlin goes Dutch.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: John Adams TIP UPDATE: Lloyd's insurer Amlin is buying Fortis' corporate property and casualty insurance arm Lloyd's insurer Amlin is spending 350m (GBP302m) buying Fortis' corporate property and casualty insurance arm; a major player in the Dutch and Belgium ...
Mediasurface acquisition lifts Alterian.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Malar Velaigam TIP UPDATE: Revenues at Alterian leap after the acquisition of Mediasurface Sales at media software provider Alterian rose 60 per cent at constant exchange rates as Mediasurface - acquired in July 2008 - was integrated into the group. And with ...
Pennon gives a drop more in dividend.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Claer Barrett TIP UPDATE: Pennon's share price may have sprung a leak, but its defensive credentials are impressive Pennon declared a higher than expected dividend; a sign of its confidence ahead of the five-year regulatory review with water regulator, Ofwat ....
Quantifying quantitative easing.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Chris Dillow BONDS: Gilt yields are still lower than theory says they "should" be. Since the Bank of England announced the start of quantitative easing in early March, 10 year gilt yields have rise by three-quarters of a percentage point despite the fact that ...
IC Trades: FTSE flying - into the cloud.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Dominic Picarda TRADING IDEA: A big daily drop greater than 2 per cent should mark the start of the next sell-off Counter-trend rallies have all ended with a bang during the present bear market. Of the seven major and minor false dawns in the FTSE since ...
City Trades: Oil spurts higher.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Dhiren Sarin TRADING IDEA: More gains for crude oil to come, according to top City technician Crude oil continues to trend higher towards the $73-$74 target suggested by the bullish head-and-shoulders bottom pattern formed earlier on this year, says Dhiren ...
Next week's economics.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Chris Dillow Economics Might the recession be almost over? With luck, some of next week's figures could suggest so The first to look for is the National Institute of Economic and Social Research's (NIESR) estimate of monthly GDP, released on ...
City Trades: Bullish omens for FTSE, S&P.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: David Linton TRADING IDEA: Trading software boss thinks a new bull market may now be underway Stock markets are starting to generate long-term buy signals, says David Linton at Updata. Now we are in a new month, the famous Coppock Indicator is turning up from ...
Recovery hopes grow.
Jun 03, 2009 ... Byline: Chris Dillow ECONOMICS: Purchasing managers are growing more optimistic - but bank managers aren't Hopes of an early end to the global recession increased this week, thanks to better-than-expected surveys of purchasing managers around the world. ...