Sadly Alan (greystone) has been ill for a few days, hopefully he will be better very soon and normal service will return.


Happy trading this week, there are a few key trading statements due which should keep the markets ticking over very nicely!


12/01/2010 Computacenter Plc (CCC)
12/01/2010 Debenhams (DEB)
12/01/2010 Dunelm (DNLM)
12/01/2010 Game Group Plc (the) (GMG)
12/01/2010 Interserve Plc (IRV)
12/01/2010 Tesco Plc (TSCO)
12/01/2010 Topps Tiles Plc (TPT)
12/01/2010 Weir Group Plc (the) (WEIR)
13/01/2010 Ashmore (ASHM)
13/01/2010 Brown(n.) Group. (BWNG)
13/01/2010 Diploma Plc (DPLM)
13/01/2010 Greggs Plc (GREG)
13/01/2010 Sig Plc (SHI)
14/01/2010 Barratt Developments Plc (BDEV)
14/01/2010 Booker (BOK)
14/01/2010 Filtrona Plc (FLTR)
14/01/2010 Firstgroup Plc (FGP)
14/01/2010 Halfords Group Plc (HFD)
14/01/2010 Hilton Food Group (HFG)
14/01/2010 Hmv Group Plc (HMV)
14/01/2010 Home Retail (HOME)
14/01/2010 Luminar Plc (LMR)
14/01/2010 Mecom Group Plc (MEC)
14/01/2010 Mothercare Plc (MTC)
14/01/2010 Premier Foods Plc (PFD)
14/01/2010 Premier Oil Plc (PMO)
14/01/2010 Rio Tinto Plc (RIO)
15/01/2010 Bovis Homes Group Plc (BVS)
15/01/2010 C&C Group (CCR)
15/01/2010 Experian (EXPN)
15/01/2010 Ferrexpo (FXPO)
15/01/2010 Man Group Plc (EMG)
15/01/2010 Smiths News (NWS)
15/01/2010 Spectris Plc (SXS)

Get well soon Alan!

Morning all. Friday's market reports:

Telegraph
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money

Saturday

Fresh data showed that America's so-called 'non-farm' payroll - which incorporates both the public and the private sector - lost almost nine times the 10,000 positions that US economists had been predicting. However, the news was mixed, with the unemployment rate holding firm at 10pc, slightly better than the 10.1pc economists had forecast.
US jobless rise casts shadow on nascent recovery

Economists gave warning of a pick-up in inflation yesterday after news that the price of goods leaving UK factories rose last month at their fastest rate for almost a year.
Factory gate price surge stokes inflation fears

A nightmare week for Gordon Brown ended last night with a new blow, as one of the Citys leading fund managers warned the prospect of Britain losing its top tier credit rating is more likely now than it has ever been.
UK more at risk than ever of losing AAA rating, top investor Neil Woodford warns

Sunday

LEADING City firms, including some of the biggest dealers in UK government bonds - gilts - say a downgrade of Britains AAA sovereign debt rating remains unlikely this year.
City confident UK will avoid ratings downgrade

The majority of the quoted retail sector, including Tesco, Currys owner DSG, Debenhams and HMV will update the City in the coming days and their figures are expected to complete the emerging picture of better than expected Christmas trading.
More retailers poised to celebrate a profitable Christmas

The number of people planning to invest in the stock market has halved during the past six months, despite the recent market rally, research has shown.
Investors turn their backs on stock market

Obsession with GDP as a measure of how good people feel is losing its grip against concerns for welfare and sustainability.
Economists start to consider that money can't buy happiness

Monday

China completed a resurgent 2009 with a huge rise in exports establishing China as the world's biggest exporter, ahead of Germany, for the first time. The juggernaut Chinese economy also revealed record monthly imports of crude oil and a vast renewed appetite for iron ore and copper.
China becomes world's biggest exporter

According to a quarterly survey of the sector by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the CBI, levels of business rose slightly during the three months to December, continuing the rally of the previous quarter. But the rise was less than hoped and anxieties over demand, costs of finance and regulation mean firms are subdued about their short-term prospects.
Financial services sector 'bounce' set to halt, says CBI

Winterhill listing ... BA talks ... BP gas closure ...
Need to know

Gazprom has so much natural gas under the tundra of Siberia that its energy resources are equivalent to all the oil and gas fields owned by western energy companies put together.
Russian energy group with the power to plunge Europe into darkness

NIKKEI 225	AUSTRALIA ASX200	HANG SENG	SHANGHAI COMPOSITE

KOSPI	SENSEX
NYMEX CRUDE	GOLD	VIX

Japan is closed today.

AFR Citigroup: upgraded to buy from hold
BARC Citigroup: upgraded to buy from hold, tp raised to 413
BP. Citigroup: upgraded to buy
CNE Citigroup: upgraded to buy from hold
DLN Goldman: upgraded to buy from neutral, tp raised to 1455 from 1315
DNX Citigroup: reiterated buy, tp raised to 1655 from 1505
LAND Goldman: upgraded to conviction buy, tp raised to 801 from 664
LII Goldman: downgraded to sell from neutral
MAB Goldman: reiterated neutral, tp raised to 272 from 260
RIO Nomura: reiterated buy, tp reiterated 4300
SGRO Goldman: upgraded to neutral from sell
SHB Goldman: downgraded to sell from neutral
SIA Citigroup: upgraded to hold from sell
TLW Citigroup: reiterated hold, tp raised to 1365 from 1295

UPS

GOO 4.76p ( 3.62 / 3.90)
Large trades at the moment. Breaking out on the chart from lows and trying to get into UPTREND.
Higher volume, Indicators all rising with RSI breaking 50 and MACD soon on the crosssover

UPS

CMS 14.375p ( 14.25 / 14.50P )

Reason: Rising volume and share price lately as is bouncing from lows. Positive order book today.
Undervalued on the Profits forecast and paying a high yield dividend. Recent seller has gone

China imports jump 55.9%11-01-2010 12:10

Stocks rose around the globe as strong December trade figures from China showed how the east Asian economic power house is helping the global economy recover from the downturn.

December imports jumped by 55.9% from the same month the previous year, while exports were 17.7% higher.

Continued demand for commodities was behind much of the rise, with crude oil imports climbing 25% and copper imports up by more than a quarter.

The strong export figures mean that China is on tract to supplant Germany as the world's biggest exporter. China export a total of about 746bn-worth of goods over 2009, compared with 660bn in the first 11 months of 2009.

China has also overtaken the US as the world's biggest automotive market after 2009 vehicle sales jumped by 46%.