SHARE TIPS FROM THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPERS
A round-up of share tips from the Sunday business sections.

Sunday Times The paper's focus is more on shares to avoid, but it does note that directors in security group Securicor (92.25p) quietly picked up the shares at 71p back in July. The City lost faith after a profits warning and fears that the September 11 attacks would spark litigation. But the legal threat has been contained and chief executive Nick Buckles has set aside 120m for acquisitions - although it cannot sit still for long.

Sunday Telegraph Former shipbuilder turned support services group Babcock International (116p) scored a double success lat week.It won a 450m seven-year contract from the Ministry of Defence and found a buyer for its BHM Marine engineering business. The paper thinks a rally by the shares has further to go. Construction group Galliford Try (44p) is also tipped after fending off a takeover bid.

Independent on Sunday Sugar beet to Ryvita group Associated British Foods (572p) has for long repeated the mantra 'Patience is a virtue', writes the Punting in the City column. It has avoided wasteful takeover deals and when it has bought, the benefits have been clear to investors. They were evident last week, when recent additions Ovaltine and Mazola boosted earnings. The group still has a 1.2bn cash pile for more wise buys.

The Business The paper reports on its front page that telecoms giant BT Group (186.75p) will reward investors with a higher-than-expected dividend hike when it reports interims on Thursday. Nomura analyst Mark James thinks the share price will benefit by up to 10% if it returns more value to investors. Meanwhile, commentator Andrew Hore says a long-term buy, based on its steady growth record and consistent profits, is software company Aveva (494p).

Mail on Sunday Investors seeking a recovery stock should look at engineer FKI (116.75p), reckons Midas. It has had a tough two years, with over 50% of turnover coming from the US market, but is now poised for better times ahead of its interims next week. The column also thinks loss-making mobile services firm iTouch (30p) is set to profit from the move to replace ringtones on mobile phones and download hit songs instead.

Sunday Express With its 1.19bn buy of Pubmaster due to complete later this month, Punch Taverns (396p) is set to become the UK's biggest pub operator. Although it will have to shed 207 pubs to satisfy competition authorities, Punch expects annual synergies of 10m. Benefits will start to flow from June. Also tipped is IT service provider Kewill Systems (61p), which has moved back into profit at half-time and is upbeat on US and Europe future growth.

thx4 da post ...

I think Punch Taverns will be an interesting share to watch