morning all

only a month to christmas day :-)

MARKET EXPECTATIONS

* Capital Radio. Evolution Securities forecasts year to September pretax profit 22.4 mln stg vs 22.8 mln; total dividend 18.5 pence, unchanged

* Johnson Matthey six months to September pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 100-104.3 mln stg vs 97.5 mln

* United Utilities six months to September pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 190 mln stg vs 171 mln; interim dividend 14.72 pence vs 14.43

In London trading updates from food retail giant Tesco and banking blue chip Barclays should attract the most attention early on.
UBS expects Tesco to report an 11.4 pct increase in total group sales in the third quarter, with lower sales growth of 10.5 pct seen in the UK versus 11.8 pct in Q2, but higher International sales growth of 15 pct versus 13.3 pct in Q2.
The broker expects Tesco to record a like-for-like sales gain of 6.5 pct in the third quarter, albeit down from 8.8 pct in Q2 although recent TNS market share estimates suggest its target may be exceeded.
Meanwhile Citigroup does not expect anything dramatic from Barclays' pre-close trading update, although it thinks there could be some interesting pieces of information.
The US broker noted that the Q3 trading period saw the first indications of a slowdown in the mortgage market, continued margin pressure throughout the period and reduced customer flows in forex and interest rate products.
But UBS sees possible positive surprises might be better than expected news on loan and deposit volumes, a strong performance in debt underwriting in Barclays Capital and increased fee income in Barclaycard.

MoneyAM
Egg PLC, the internet bank majority-owned by Prudential, said it has agreed to sell its savings and online broking business to ING Direct France.

The move marks Egg's final withdrawal from the French market.

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,719.4, down 23.0
FTSE 250 6,583.0, up 13.4
DJIA 10,520.30, up 27.70
Nasdaq Coq 2,102.54, up 18.26
S&P 500 1,181.75, up 4.80
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 10,900.34, up 28.01
Hang Seng midday 13,986.55, down 10.47
Gold 448.32 usd (448.42 usd)
Oil - Brent Jan 44.82 usd (44.45 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* Yukos executives flee Russia to evade 'terror atmosphere' - FT
* MYTRAVEL wins go-ahead for 800 mln stg restructuring - FT
* Two Spanish companies, Abertis Infraestructuras and Aena, make a recommended cash takeover offer for TBI, the UK airports operator, valuing the group, which includes London Luton airport, at 551 mln stg
* Talks under way to replace JARVIS as contractor on a flagship project at Lancaster University - FT
* Credibility of EVOLUTION under further scrutiny by the City as BETONSPORTS, another of its recent flotations, issues a profits warning only months after listing on the market - Independent
* MANGANESE BRONZE sells 13 mln stg cab call-up service, Zingo, for just 1 stg

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on bid for TBI (with EASYJET and RYANAIR as customers, Luton has exposure to two of the strongest discount carriers; Luton might not be a great place to live, but its airport is an attractive asset), Semiconductors, Ahold, Fortis - AWG (still look undervalued compared with the group's current sum-of-the-parts valuation) - ANGLO IRISH BANK (still cheaper than most UK banks) - BRITISH LAND (there is potential upside) - COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTIES (selling now seems sensible)
Mail
CERES POWER (dealers expect it to leave its 130 pence placing well behind when dealings start on AIM today) - CALEDON RESOURCES (talk of an imminent upbeat drilling report)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: BRITISH LAND (take profits), TOMKINS (avoid), IMAGINATION TECHNOLOGIES (buy) - TESCO (boosted by talk of Carrefour merger)
Guardian
XAAR (rumours of bid approach) - GAME GROUP (talk that Playstation stocks are low and Sony will not be able to ship any more until after Christmas)
Express
NORTHERN ROCK (worries about the impact of new accounting rules due next year) - PHOTO-ME INTERNATIONAL (positive investor roadshow) - WHO'S DEALING: CHEERFUL SCOUT (non-executive chairman buys 250,000 shares at 1.1 pence) - SHARE WHISPER: PETROCELTIC (rumours of a bullish drilling update)
Times
DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: YELL GROUP (director sells stock for 211,625 stg) - RUMOUR OF THE DAY: XAAR (may have attracted predatory interest) - MONEYBOX (TRM raises stake to 6.45 pct) - TErUS: AWG (worth buying), TOMKINS (hold), IMAGINATION TECHNOLOGIES (buy)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: BRITISH LAND (investors chasing income should look elsewhere, but the big valuation discount suggests there is some room to go for the shares), ICAP (buy), AWG (income investors, attracted by the 6.6 pct prospective yield, should hold off until the regulator casts its final verdict)
The Shares Magazine
They've all pushed to new heights: now how far can these stocks go ALBERMARLE & BOND, DEBT FREE DIRECT, BRITISH LAND, OIMART, BIOFUELS CORPORATION, MARCHPOLE, WIDNEY, NEXT, SYNERGY HEALTHCARE, XSTRATA - The Plays of the Week: VEGA (buy), NETELLER (buy), SMART TELECOM (buy) - Tip Updates: PURSUIT DYNAMICS (buy), HAMWORTHY (buy), DETICA (buy), CAPE (buy)

Morning all.

LONDON (AFX) - Halfords Group PLC 26 weeks to October 1 2004
Sales - 322.7 mln stg vs 286.3 mln
Pretax profit - 26.5 mln stg vs 9.8 mln
Operating profit before exceptionals and goodwill - 46.0 mln stg vs 38.9 mln
Operating profit - 34.9 mln stg vs 32.0 mln
EPS before exceptionals and goodwill - 12.3 pence vs 8.6
EPS - 8.0 pence vs 2.5
Maiden interim div - 3.7 pence per share
LONDON (AFX) - Shares in Halfords Group PLC were reiterated a 'buy' at Citigroup Smith Barney after the the car parts and cycle retailer reported in-line maiden results and current trading, dealers said.

Is anybody having trouble with AOL browser settings or streaming prices.

Morning all.

Digger - thanks for the updates

Mega Bucks - keep your update to yourself :-))

aldwickk,

What issues are you having with your AOL browser?

Ian

Morning punters.

Sorry for lack of news - bleedin' tech hitch early doors. ;-((

Thanks Mega Bucks for the reminder on Xmas....I think! LOL
Nice results from PAG!! :>)

LONDON (AFX) - UK manufacturers are reporting that their order books are at their lowest level since January, the UK's leading business lobby group said today.

The Confederation of British Industry reported that a decline in demand for capital goods such as plant and machinery has led to the drop in orders, despite demand for consumer goods remaining firm.

In its monthly industrial trends survey, the CBI said 32 pct of firms reported that their order books were below normal while 16 pct said they were above. The balance of -16 pct compares with -12 pct in October. In January the balance stood at -18 pct.

Meanwhile, export order books slipped back to their lowest balance since February, the CBI said.

It said 31 pct reported order books below normal, while only 10 pct reported them as above normal. The subsequent balance of -21 pct compares with -11 pct in October. In February the balance stood at -22 pct.

Expectations for output growth over the next three months are at their lowest since December 2003, with 38 pct of firm expecting output to go up and 23 pct expecting it to go down.

The balance of +5 pct compares with +14 pct in October. Last December the balance stood at +5 pct.

Doug Godden, the head of economic analysis at the CBI said weaker demand from home and abroad is hampering the manufacturing recovery.

'The survey suggests that the global upturn in demand for capital goods, which had sustained manufacturers' orders through this year, has been set back in the face of high oil prices and more moderate growth in the US and elsewhere,' he said.

covered BLND +14 :-)

Good one MB

covered BUR +30 :-)

trailing s/l moved again on LAND :-)

covered half LAND +28

covered LAND +16 +25 :-)

Afternoon all - MB you're having an brilliant day.

The market is doing well, shame about the US$!