RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
22nd June 2011
Morning Report
Stocks have pushed slightly lower today, with investors still concerned about the
potential obstacles to a solution to Greece's sovereign debt problem.
The government of George Papandreou secured 155 of the votes in the 300-seat Greek
parliament in a confidence motion ballot. Victory was widely expected, however,
and with the future of the administration secured - at least for a while - the
hard work of pushing through austerity measures now begins.
Back in London, the focus is on corporate news flow. Kesa Electricals is going
well even after poor trading at its UK chain Comet held back sales in the year to
30 April and the electrical retailer said trading has been weaker than expected so
far in the current financial year. The company still raised its full-year dividend
though. Fellow electrical retailer Dixon’s Retail is also posting big gains.
Imagination Technologies ,the designer of graphic chips for computers and smartphones,
sales were slightly short of expectations in the year to 30 April, but the company
unveiled an impressive new target of annual sales of 1bn devices using its technology in
five years. Revenue grew by 21% from the previous year to £98m. Analysts had been looking
for a figure some £100m or so higher. Pre-tax profit rose to £16.4m from £10.2m.
Aggreko, the Scottish company that is a global player in the temporary power market, has
bagged a $37m 12-month contract with the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO).
Central London-focused property group Capital and Counties is set to submit planning
applications for the Earls Court and West Kensington Opportunity Area in west London
after two years of consultation.
THE FTSE 100 at 10:00 Down 2 @ 5773
THE DOW JONES closed Up 109 @ 12190
THE NASDAQ COMP closed Up 57 @ 2687
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.6156
GBP - EURO 1.1214
Wednesday 22nd, June 2011 11:10pm.