RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
6th June 2011
Afternoon Report
The FTSE 100 is largely flat, off earlier lows as confidence grows about potential stability in Greece's debt situation. In individual stocks, Severn Trent has fallen 2.2% after JPMorgan cuts its rating to underweight. Glencore International is the leading gainer, adding 2.5% as Deutsche Bank starts coverage at buy.
Spirits brands owner Diageo is set to acquire SABMiller's stake in a Kenyan brewery firm for around £140m. Through its subsidiary East African Breweries Limitied (EABL), Diageo - famous for its brands Smirnoff and Guinness - will buy a 20% stake from SABMiller's African subsidiary in Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) for a cash consideration of 19.53bn Kenyan shillings.
Budget airline easyJet saw a sharp rise in the number its passengers flew in May from the same period the previous year as travellers continued to splash out on cheap flights. It flew 4.74m passengers during the month, up from 4.26m in the same month the previous year.
Media buyer and market research group Aegis moves ahead after it confirmed speculation that it is in talks with the research think tank Ipsos about a “potential transaction” of Aegis’s market research business Synovate. A Sunday Telegraph report said that Aegis is in talks to sell Synovate to Ipsos in a deal that could be worth £500m.
Online Smartphone retailer EXPANSYS falls back after saying it expects to report a smaller pre-tax profit than previously anticipated for the year to 30 April amid tough trading in Britain. It expects pre-tax profits for the period to come in at £3.4m, compared to a loss of £200,000 the previous year.
THE FTSE 100 at 12:00 Down 7 @ 5847
THE DOW JONES closed Down 97 @ 12151
THE NASDAQ COMP closed Down 40 @ 2732
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.6408
GBP - EURO 1.1234
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