RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
16th August 2012
Morning Report
The FTSE 100 shrugs off better-than-expected retail sales
data to trade either side of flat, currently at 5829.68.
Retail sales volumes rose 0.3% on the month, and are up
2.8% on the year. On the downside, BG Group is off 1.3%
after a downgrade by Morgan Stanley, as the bank is concerned
the company might make strategic changes. Elsewhere, African
Barrick Gold gains 9.5% on bid talk news.
African Barrick Gold (ABG) traded higher after announcing its
holding company, Barrick Gold, is in talks with China National
Gold Group about the possibility of selling its stake in the
London-listed miner to China's largest gold producer. Should China
Gold buy up more than 30% of the voting interest in ABG from
Barrick Gold, it would then be required to make an offer for the
whole of ABG's issued ordinary share capital.
Pharmaceuticals group Hikma rose after first-half revenues rose
34.8%, helped by contributions from recent acquisitions. Organic
revenue growth was still a solid 7.6%.
Software specialist Micro Focus edged higher after revealing
news of a 50p-a-share cash return and share consolidation. The
firm also said that first-quarter financials were in line with
expectations, with adjusted earnings flat year-on-year on a
constant currency basis.
Engineering support services firm Babcock was in the red after
Espirito Santo downgraded its rating on the stock to 'neutral',
while natural gas giant BG Group fell after Morgan Stanley cut
its rating to 'equal weight'.
Publishing group Reed Elsevier was in demand after announcing the
appointment of Duncan Palmer as its Chief Financial Officer,
having lured him away from US company Owens Corning. Palmer will
take over from Mark Armour, who is retiring at the end of the year.
THE FTSE 100 @ 10:05 Down 3 @ 5,828
THE DOW JONES closed Down 7 @ 13164
THE NASDAQ closed Up 13 @ 3030
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD @ 10:00 1.5710
GBP - EURO @ 10:00 1.2796
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