RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
MIDDAY REPORT 24 December 2010
Trading is every bit as quiet as might be expected on the day
before Christmas, with the blue-chip index marginally easier,
disappointing those hoping for a move above the 6,000 level.
Elsewhere, struggling sportswear retailer JJB Sports has done
its best to inject a bit of excitement into proceedings with
details of short term funding plans and changes at the top. It
has the support of major shareholders for a placing and open offer
of shares at 5p each to raise £31.5m. As reported in the press,
restructuring specialist Mike McTighe, currently the chairman of
Pace, Volex and WYG, will take over as chairman from John Clare,
who has been in the chair for less than a year.
Trading has remained tough, with the recent poor weather conditions
adding to woes. On a like-for-like (excluding VAT) basis, revenue
for the period 2 August 2010 to 19 December was 1.6% higher than
for the same period last year. Total group revenue for the same
period was up 1.0% year-on-year.
Management has been encouraged, however, by the performance of
six of its recently refurbished stores and, importantly, still
has the support of major suppliers such as Adidas and Nike.
Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer now expects to lose $20m (£13m) as a
result of the New Zealand earthquake, up sharply from initial estimates.
Avocet Mining has signed a binding agreement for the conditional
sale of its South East Asian assets to J&Partners, a private
Cayman Islands company, for $200m cash.
THE FTSE 100 CLOSED DOWN 6 @ 5989
THE DOW JONES AT 12.30 IS UP 14 @ 11,573
THE NASDAQ COMP AT 12.30 IS` DOWN 2 @ 2665
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.54
GBP – EUR 1.17
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Friday 24th, December 2010 01:11pm.
