Hello traders!

I hope you'll forgive that there is no Thoughters piece this week. Instead, I intend to bring you some pics and background of the goings on going on at the MoneyAM Christmas Extravaganza on Friday.

I will post these up as a new thread later.

I'll be back in the morning with some news and views, meanwhile, have a happy Sunday!

G.

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,694.0 up 5.6
FTSE 250 6,675.0 up 33.9
DJIA 10,543.22 down 9.6
Nasdaq Comp 2,128.07 down 0.94
S&P 500 1,188.00 down 1.24
Gold 435.00 usd (435.02 usd)
Oil - Brent Jan 37.38 usd (39.67 usd)

BREAKING NEWS - WEEKEND
* CVC Capital lays groundwork for 2 bln stg bid for TRINITY MIRROR -
Sunday Telegraph
* Ofcom launches new round of 3G licences; new bidders, expected to
include BT and Virgin, will pick up their licences at a price far below
the original buyers - The Business
* Britain's biggest supermarkets being investigated over allegations
that online shoppers are being overcharged; OFT confirms it has launched
an inquiry into the online services of TESCO and J SAINSBURY - Sunday
Times
* Controversial fixed-odds betting machines, which have boosted the
profits of high-street bookmakers in recent years, will get the backing
of government in a new report to be released this week - Sunday Times
* LONMIN urged to stick to its platinum roots, chief executive of the
London-listed platinum miner, facing pressure from investors to abandon
his plan to diversify - Sunday Times
* Howard Cohen, a former director of COURTS, transferred 3.9 mln stg
out of the company's pension fund and into a personal scheme just eight
months before the furniture retailer collapsed into administration -
Sunday Times
* Collapsed furniture retailer COURTS expected to be sold off piecemeal
early this week - The Business
* One of BRITISH AIRWAYS' longest-serving executives, Mervyn Walker,
leaves the airline after the summer staffing crisis that humiliated BA
and resulted in the cancellation of almost 1,000 flights - Sunday Times
* American pharmaceuticals group Bristol-Myers Squibb understood to be
preparing to sell its consumer-medicines business, and GLAXOSMITHKLINE
is expected to line up among the potential buyers - Sunday Times
* VODAFONE faces US lockout if Sprint merges with Nextel - Saturday
Times
* US cable firms, including Time Warner Cable and Comcast, poised to
intervene in the proposed 16 bln stg merger between Sprint and Nextel -
The Business
* Banks: JARVIS must survive; bankers to Jarvis may have to pay out
tens of millions of pounds on claims from clients and sub-contractors if
the cash-strapped infrastructure services group goes bust - Observer
* JARVIS chief seeks investor to save group; Alan Lovell devises a
two-week rescue plan intended to save the company from financial
collapse - Sunday Times
* Western banks facing giant lawsuits over carve-up of Yukos -
Independent on Sunday
* BAE SYSTEMS will this week give the City a much-needed fillip by
announcing a multi-billion-pound order for the Eurofighter-Typhoon
combat jet - Independent on Sunday
* MoD this week to announce 9 bln stg aircraft order - Sunday Express
* Brown 'bullied' MOD over 4 bln stg carrier deal; Chancellor 'put
constituency jobs before UK' - Sunday Express
* Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton wins a private pledge from the
government that he can partially privatise the company - Mail on Sunday
* LA FITNESS, the last stock market-listed chain of health and fitness
clubs, quietly sounding out buyers and could fetch up to 160 mln stg -
Mail on Sunday
* Mobile giants put a squeeze on middlemen; lucrative deals are on the
way out for high street phone shops; chains such as The Link, Phones4U
and CARPHONE WAREHOUSE have been receiving big commissions on each phone
sold, and in some cases a share of airtime revenue; but with market
growth slowing, operators are determined to end these deals - Mail on
Sunday
* T-Mobile and BAA will tomorrow unveil a deal to provide WiFi
(wireless internet) in all BAA airports - Sunday Express
* BSKYB set to beat analysts' expectations by adding more than 150,000
subscribers in the final quarter of this year - Sunday Telegraph
* FSA set to settle splits dispute for less than 200 mln stg; ABERDEEN
ASSET MANAGEMENT to contribute 75 mln, while HSBC, UBS and ABN Amro will
each pay an estimated 10 mln - Sunday Telegraph
* Thousands of savers, between them accounting for a third of the
losses suffered by split capital investment trusts, will be excluded
from compensation being negotiated with the Financial Services Authority
- Observer
* TV groups, including SKY, ITV and Channel 4, to set up marketing
joint venture - Sunday Telegraph
* MARKS & SPENCER denies it has any plans to sell large numbers of its
Simply Food convenience stores - Mail on Sunday
* MARKS & SPENCER and J SAINSBURY expected to be worst hit by the
changes to accounting rules for share options that come into force next
year - Observer
* Sir Richard Branson steps back from frontline to focus on charity -
Sunday Express
* EASYJET ending Paris-Marseilles flights next spring after French
state railway company, Societe Nationale des Chemin de Fer Francais,
launched a new high-speed train service priced aggressively against its
airline rival - The Business
* Chief executive Terry Green's attempts to wrest control of the UK's
struggling Allders department store run aground after a decision by
Barclays not to back his management buyout - The Business
* Retirememt age to stay at 65 for five years; victory for business
groups over age campaigners - Saturday FT
* Opec ministers agree to cut oil supply to world markets and defend
higher prices - in spite of concern about the impact of 40 usd-a-barrel
oil on economies, businesses and households
* CENTRICA, owner of British Gas, lost almost 1 mln customers this year
following price rises
* British Gas, which has lost almost 1 mln customers this year, set to
lose another 1 mln or more by the end of 2006, according to figures from
Datamonitor, the industry analyst - Sunday Times
* Expansion of casinos planned under the government's controversial
gambling bill set to be scaled back even further next week, dashing the
hopes of British casino operators - Saturday FT
* INVESTEC merging Carr, Sheppards Crosthwaite, its private client
stockbroking arm, with Rensburg, a rival stockbroker with a UK listing,
to create one of the UK's biggest private client investment management
groups - Saturday FT
* BT GROUP will this week face the first serious challenge to its
dominance of the wholesale broadband market when rival Easynet launches
a cheaper and faster service - Sunday Times
* BT GROUP's finance chief, Ian Livingston, hailed as heir apparent by
taking over at BT Retail - Saturday Telegraph
* Bankers say NOVAR is in advanced talks to be bought for more than
750 mln stg by one of four possible trade buyers; a deal would save it
from a hostile 745 mln stg takeover by MELROSE, the Aim-listed
investment vehicle - Sunday Telegraph
* NOVAR, the mini-conglomerate facing a hostile takeover, understood to
be considering the US flotation of its cheque-printing business if it is
unable to sell the whole group to a competitor or private equity buyer -
Saturday FT
* Supermarkets start petrol price war; falling cost of crude prompts
WILLIAM MORRISON to cut 3.5 pence off litre of unleaded - Saturday
Guardian
* ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT, one of the groups at the heart of the
split capital investment trust crisis, again postpones announcing its
results as the final agreement over a compensation settlement for
investors seems imminent - Saturday FT
* PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS makes 12.3 mln stg offer for BERKELEY MORGAN
GROUP
* Baugur lines up a deal to sell Woodwards, the food service retailer,
to rival 3663; it is dependent on Baugur succeeding with its bid to take
over BIG FOOD GROUP, Woodwards' owner - Sunday Telegraph

SATURDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on Opec's decision to cut oil supplies, Mergers
and acquisitions, CENTRICA (without progress on acquisitions, investors
will focus on near-term performance risks), HSBC (still too early to be
entirely complacent about Britain's ability to achieve a smooth exit
from its record mountain of consumer debt) - Weekend share watch: MM02
(has the potential to remain one of the sector's outperformers), SCI
ENTERTAINMENT (on a p/e of about 12, which could attract attention from
some European rivals looking to consolidate in the market), ARC
INTERNATIONAL (if more contracts begin rolling in, the stock - at just 1
times estimated sales for next year - could start to look good value) -
MY PORTFOLIO: Peter Temple says much of cash from his disposal of
PLANESTATION has gone into CANTERBURY FOODS

Guardian
NEXT (rumours of tough pre-Christmas trading) - LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE
(rumours Deutsche Bank has been given the green light to make an offer)
- STAGECOACH (finance director exercises options and sells them) -
SKYEPHARMA (rumours that the sale of licensing rights to its portfolio
of asthma-related products is close; also talk it is plotting a merger
deal) - FIRST CALGARY (talk it could soon receive a bid of more than 10
stg a share) - CADBURY SCHWEPPES (speculators bet Wednesday's end of
year trading update will trigger earnings downgrades)

Independent
Private Investor: Sean O'Grady will continue to hold on tight to
STAGECOACH, GO-AHEAD, Coca-Cola, McDonalds - Company spotlight: ILX
GROUP (look distinctly attractive) - HIGHBURY HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS
(investors fret about trading) - CARDIFF PROPERTY (talk it is close to a
10 mln stg disposal of a building in London)

Express
BOVIS HOMES (speculation of cash return to shareholders) - SPORTINGBET
(talk of contract wins) - ITE GROUP (dealers believe it could appear on
the radar screen of Dutch market research giant VNU) - THOMSON
INTERMEDIA (another possible target for VNU) - DINKIE HEEL (speculation
it will be looking to raise 3 mln stg to 5 mln from investors over the
next few weeks to fund next stage of its development from steel toecap
maker to investment company) - EMERGING UK INVESTMENTS (rumours it is
looking at A-Z Restaurants) - FALKLAND GOLD & MINERALS (rumours it is
about to be given the go-ahead for more extensive exploration)

Telegraph
QUESTOR COLUMN: MFI FURNITURE (steer clear), WHATMAN (worth holding,
and maybe even a long-term punt), PLANESTATION (for the brave only)

Times
ITNET (talk it is poised to announce that it has agreed terms on a deal
that could value the shares at about 300 pence) - TEMPUS: Sarah Butler
comments on the retail sector (retail sector is priced at a median 11
times prospective earnings, well below the market-weighted average; the
figures suggest you should hold on for a happier new year, and the brave
should look out for some pre-Christmas bargains) - SHARE OF THE MONTH:
CAPITAL & REGIONAL (Stella Shamoon is shopping for shares in C&R at 656
pence)

Mail
THUS (takeover gossip swells) - NEXT (gossip that pre-Christmas trading
is disappointing) - WESTBURY (chatter it could be on PERSIMMON's
shopping list) - HAMPSON INDUSTRIES (earnings upgrades are on the way in
the wake of its recent Texstars acquisition) - INVESTMENT EXTRA:
WICHFORD (long-term buy)

SUNDAY PRESS COMMENT
The Business
FUND OF THE MONTH: BAILLIE GIFFORD JAPAN TRUST (discount has widened
out to 9 pct, a level at which Hilary Cook, director of investment
strategy at Barclays Stockbrokers, is ahppy to recommend it) - SMALL-CAP
INVESTOR: GENERICS (buy) - AIM INVESTOR: GLISTEN (buy) - BENCHMARK:
Grant Clelland comments on General Motors (to fire on all cylinders if
Opel's cost-cutting plan fails), KarstadtQuelle, Hewlett-Packard

Mail on Sunday
MIDAS: SPEEDY HIRE (buy) - TAKING STOCK: JP Morgan suggests new
accounting rules might knock 4 pct off reported earnings of CARPHONE
WAREHOUSE and MARKS & SPENCER, while KINGFISHER, DIXONS and GUS could be
hit by between 1.5 pct and 2.5 pct; retailers least likely to suffer
under the new rules are, according to JP Morgan, NEXT, KESA and BOOTS -
COMPANIES AND MARKETS: NOVAR (plots spin-off to halt predator), KIDDE
(United Technologies' 165 pence-a-share offer could still collapse as
the negotiations enter their final stages this week), GW PHARMACEUTICALS
(Canadian health regulators expected to grant approval for its multiple
sclerosis drug), EASYJET (scraps flights between Paris and Marseilles,
blaming airport tax rises; but some analysts suggest it is being
squeezed by cheap fares on TGV trains); SECRET DEALINGS: QUINTAIN
ESTSTAES & DEVELOPMENTS (fund managers buy stock)

Sunday Telegraph
Equity View BLUE CHIP VALUES: COBHAM (buy), WH SMITH (keep selling);
Look who's trading: SCS UPHOLSTERY (despite chief executive's sale of
800,000 shares, we would keep buying); SMALL CAP COMMENT: KINGSPAN
(buy), PARAGON GROUP (should be further to go), ORCA INTERACTIVE (buy),
CENES (risky but worth a punt) - TAKING STOCK: Edmond Jackson comments
on SANDERSON (why couldn't Sanderson stay on the market and deliver for
its wider owners its shares are still worth following), 3DM WORLDWIDE
(he questioned chunky grants of share options to two directors), OXUS
GOLD (a few people may exact profits from the share price swings, but
medium-term investors should keep Oxus tucked away), SCI ENTERTAINMENT
(patience may be a virtue with this attractive growth share)

Observer
BUSINESS COMMENT: Richard Wachman comments on EMI (a deal (with Warner)
cannot be far away), China (Chinese companies are starting to buy US,
British and European firms), It's boom, not bust, for the investment
banks, Lazard IPO, Hugh Osmond's move into life insurance - THROG
STREET: Richard Wachman comments on water companies (my prediction for
2005 is that the dam erected to prevent water mergers will crack - and
not before time), BT/Ofcom spat, MM02 (a well-managed firm, but it
operates in a cut-throat industry - and investors ignore the risks at
their peril) - Money for less than nothing. CEO pay now ridiculously
outstrips profit increases, writes Simon Caulkin (p.10)

Sunday Express
EQUATOR EXPLORATION (looking at drilling opportunities in Equatorial
Guinea)

Sunday Times
REED ELSEVIER (aims to blind the sceptics with science; the publisher
of academic journals plans to return to double-digit growth next year
(BUSINESS p.8) - JUDGMENT DAY: SHOULD YOU HAVE FOLLOWED THE ADVICE OF
OUR JUDGES On average, if you had followed Brough's advice you would
have made 5.2 pct, beating the market by 4.9 pct; if you had followed
all of Steer's advice you would have made 9 pct, beating the market by
7.3 pct - CHIME COMMUNICATIONS (sources say Lord Bell is preparing to
take the company private) - INSIDE THE CITY: John Waples comments on
COBHAM (there is nothing structurally wrong at Cobham and the company is
eyeing two big deals that are each worth north of 100 mln stg), Closed
life funds; MARKET MOLE: BTG (Bob Brown, who has an AAA Citywire rating,
used a share-price fillip when the group announced interim results last
month to sell a 280,000-share stake held by his Matrix Quantock UK
Growth fund) - DIRECTORS' DEALS: NATIONAL EXPRESS (chairman buys 180,000
shares at 758 pence, taking his total stake to just over 600,000 shares)

Monday
TRADING STATEMENTS
Aggregate Industries
GKN
Lloyds TSB
Savills

MARKETS
Tokyo: Nikkei 10,789.25 up 32.45
Hang Seng midday 13,767.39 down 134.42

BREAKING NEWS
* LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE to reject 1.25 bln stg approach from Deutsche Boerse - FT
* The BoE will warn that some of the UK's biggest banks may have underestimated the risks associated with lending to the commercial property - FT
* Honeywell poised to make white knight bid for NOVAR with a recommended cash offer of 185-190 pence per share - FT
* Permira has joined forces with Apollo to bid for the global operations of Toys R Us - FT
* CVC Capital believed to be considering bid for TRINITY MIRROR - Guardian
* JARVIS agrees sale of Tubelines stake to Star Capital for just over 100 mln stg - Telegraph

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on BoE's report on stability in UK financial industry; (the bad news is that new quantitative risk modelling practices have not yet been tested by any real life market shock) - European Equity Issuance (declining margins in traditional agency activities and battle for corporate clients have pushed banks into riskier waters) - US mobile sector - (the big loser from a Nextel/Sprint deal could be T-Mobile. If Nextel/Sprint does go ahead, it would be tough to persuade US regulators to allow the number of operators to be whittled down to three)

Independent
Small Talk: Michael Jovkov comments on the Growth Company Investor survey (found that 26 AIM companies paid over 1 mln stg to their boards), DINKIE HEEL (fund raising should be completed before Christmas), GENERICS (will today boast a new round of financing for its ASTRAVERDA unit), Roger Cursley, UK equity strategist at Investec predicts that Q1 will see a raft of smaller companies, SECTORGUARD (set to unveil today the acquisition of CHOICE SECURITY SERVICES), EMERGING UK INVESTMENTS rumoured to have approached A-Z Restaurants)

LSE SAYS RECEIVED OFFER FROM DEUTSCHE BORSE AT 530P/SHR

LSE REJECTS 'UNDERVALUED' DEUTSCHE BORSE PROPOSAL

LLOYDS TSB SAYS REVENUE GROWTH EXCEEDS COST GROWTH IN ALL DIVISIONS
LLOYDS TSB EXPECTS FY PRETAX PROFITS 'IN LINE WITH MARKET EXPECTATIONS

HSBC CUT TO NEUTRAL' FROM 'BUY' AT MERRILL LYNCH - DEALERS

Morning all.

STOCKWATCH Barratt, Persimmon & Wimpey initiated as 'underweight' at JP Morgan

LONDON (AFX) - UK housebuilders will be eyed in opening deals today as JP Morgan initiated coverage on Barratt Developments PLC, Persimmon PLC, George Wimpey PLC with 'underweight' recommendations, while Taylor Woodrow PLC was given a 'neutral' rating, dealers said.
JP Morgan said the recommendations reflect its cautious view on the outlook for the housing markets in the UK -- mainly prices -- and the US -- mainly volumes.
JP Morgan set a price target of 493 pence for Barratt, 507 for Persimmon, 278 pence for Taylor Woodrow, and 373 for Wimpey.
JP Morgan highlighted these valuations contrast with the average 12 pct upside to its 12-month valuations for the 16 European construction and building
materials companies already under coverage.
JP Morgan has also estimated by how much these valuations could decline by
the end of 2006 if land prices weaken as house prices stabilise and building costs continue to increase.
On this basis, the broker's valuations decline to 452 pence for Barratt, 477 for Persimmon, 266 for Taylor Woodrow and 345 for Wimpey.

gone long phtm at 94.5 target 110 by march.

Afternoon. Sorry no news today, forgot to set alarm after working on house 'til late.

Stopped out of WMK -5 earlier.

Have a good day/week