Limpsfield's Weekly Chart View

Despite setting a new low for the year over the past five days, the US Dow Jones index managed to end the week around 70 points higher, with Thursdays incredible 200 point rally helping this along. As usual, the FTSE 100 was not quite as exciting but with this index within 100 points of its low for the year so far, any weakness is expected to find support. FTSE 100Intraday FTSE First of all, the slide that started in mid-February from just below the 5100 levels is still intact. New lows for this move were set last week and we need to see a rally through 5000 to confirm this weakness is out of the way and turn properly bullish again. However, there is an obvious big level at 4765 the lows set in January that were tested twice in that month before the market soared higher. If 4765 is broken, the index looks bearish short and medium term and December lows sub-4700 are the next target. But for now, although medium term the FTSE remains in its downtrend, any dips back to the 4800 area would be viewed as a short term buying opportunity, with stops below the 4765 mark. Dow Jones Intraday Dow Last week saw the Dow trade down to 10,000.46 before staging a remarkable comeback on Wednesday. In the great scheme of things, the trend over the past six weeks remains down for this index. No market moves up or down in a straight line so there is still scope for more short term strength, with early April highs around 10,570 expected to be the ultimate barrier for any short term rally. Until this level is cracked, the expectation is for rallies to fail and the market to head lower. It should be another very interesting week. Limpsfield Limpsfield is David Jones, the widely acclaimed charting expert at Shares Magazine who also hosts regular Charting courses for Global Markets Training (www.glomtc.com)

Hello traders,

Looks like we could be in for another volatile week. Just what the doctor ordered... ;-)

Many thanks to Limpy, Supermum and my Anonymous donor this week.

See you in the morning with breaking news......

Happy trading!

G.

Thanks Alan, Limpy, SM as usual ......... and oh, Anon - it wasn't
me writing the article but it could have been :-) LOL. Have a good week
everyone.

Good morning traders,

In Asia this morning, the Nikkei and Hang Seng are trading comfortably higher, although most of the smaller bourses look weak.

The June crude contract was up 43 cents to $55.82 a barrel from its close of $55.39 in New York.

Reuters has agreed to buy a 26% stake in the broadcasting arm of the Times of India Group, and the transaction is expected to be announced today, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Back with UK news in a moment...

Happy trading!

G.

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,849.3 up 29.7
FTSE 250 7,012.9 up 42.5
DJIA 10,157.71 down 60.89
Nasdaq Comp 1,932.19 down 30.22
S&P 500 1,152.12 down 7.83
Gold 435.30 usd (434.20 usd)
Oil - Brent June 54.97 usd (54.01 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* US group lines up Rothschild for ALLIED DOMECQ bid; Constellation Brands actively seeking partners; surprise move against 7.5 bln stg Pernod deal - Observer
* Three of the most formidable players in the global drinks industry have held talks over a rival takeover bid for ALLIED DOMECQ; Constellation Brands has spoken with DIAGEO and Brown Forman about mounting a joint offer - Mail on Sunday
* Bacardi family meet to ponder rival bid for ALLIED DOMECQ - The Business
* Triarc, the US restaurant group controlled by financier Nelson Peltz, lining up a 1 bln stg bid for ALLIED DOMECQ's fast-food restaurants, including the Dunkin' Donuts chain, after the drinks group's proposed 7.4 bln stg takeover by Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands; private-equity firms are also interested in buying the business - Sunday Times
* Pernod Ricard's 7.4 bln stg carve-up of ALLIED DOMECQ could yet be derailed by US regulators; according to one analyst, the acquisition could be held up for a year, opening the way for other bids; market chatter is of a joint offer from Constellation Brands and LVMH - Saturday Mail
* Asda ready to muscle in on fight for SOMERFIELD; Asda looking at either launching an outright bid for the group or striking a deal with one of the two consortia currently vying for Somerfeld - Sunday Telegraph
* Leading fund managers are planning to boycott the flotation of IG GROUP to protest against the high price being asked by CVC Capital Partners less than two years after the private-equity firm took the company off the market - Sunday Times
* Directors and staff of spread betting firm IG GROUP will hit the jackpot when the company rejoins the stock market next Thursday; the 400 mln stg-plus flotation means they are in line to split a 70 mln stg share windfall - Saturday Mail
* Rose furious as chairman heads for exit at MARKS & SPENCER; Paul Myners, chairman of M&S, has all but lost the battle to keep his job amid signs that a serious rift has opened up in the retail group's boardroom - Sunday Times
* Former Five boss David Elstein labels ITV as 'unbuyable' as he rubbishes rumours that he is preparing a 6.8 bln stg takeover bid for the broadcaster - Saturday Mail
* Hostilities between the Barclay brothers and The Times escalate dramatically with The Telegraph proprietors claiming Rupert Murdoch was involved in a campaign to discredit them - Observer
* WILLIAM HILL expected to launch a 520 mln stg bid this week for STANLEY LEISURE's 620 betting shops; but Coral Eurobet, the third biggest bookmaker behind Ladbrokes and William Hill, understood to be planning a rival bid in the next couple of weeks - Mail on Sunday
* The Tote, the state-owned betting operator, working on a bid for STANLEY LEISURE's 500 mln stg betting-shop business - Sunday Times
* Tradal, the company behind Empire poker, a leading online gambling site, poised to become the next poker firm to attempt to make its stock-market debut, with a possible 500 mln stg flotation - Sunday Times
* HSBC aiming to sell Framlington, the UK fund manager it controls, for up to 250 mln stg - Sunday Telegraph
* BARCLAYS set to walk away from its plan to buy a majority stake in Absa for 2.3 bln stg if it fails to gain firm undertakings from shareholders to back the deal within the next two weeks - Sunday Telegraph
* ICAP and COLLINS STEWART TULLETT to become the first companies to win licences to set up as money brokers in Shanghai - Sunday Telegraph
* Michael Spencer, chief executive of ICAP, secretly working on the launch of a business division in New York that is set to upset major Wall Street banks and UK shareholders - Observer
* JP McManus and John Magnier, the reclusive Irish billionaires who hold a 29 pct stake in MANCHESTER UNITED, will this week decide whether the club retains its treasured status as an independent listed company; duo to meet with representatives of Malcolm Glazer, the US sports tycoon who has made an 800 mln stg, or 300 pence per share offer, for the club - Sunday Telegraph
* BAE SYSTEMS rocked by a boardroom bust-up between its chairman, Dick Olver, and chief executive, Mike Turner; they have fallen out over Olver's attempt to involve himself in areas of the business that Turner sees as his domain - Sunday Times
* EDINBURGH OIL & GAS being stalked by Dutch investment group Oranje-Nassau Groep, which is planning a 120 mln stg takeover - Mail on Sunday
* CHRYSALIS majority shareholder Schroder Investment Management will demand a promise from the media group to break up the business within weeks - Sunday Express
* Fitzgerald's 1.2 mln stg payoff sparks shareholder revolt at UNILEVER - Observer
* Sir Richard Branson gives go-ahead for the 1.6 bln stg flotation of his highly successful US mobile phone operation - Mail on Sunday
* Doubts over Brown forecasts; growth must speed up to hit budget forecast; experts disagree with the chancellor; increase of 0.6 pct reported in first quarter - Saturday FT
* UK economy suffered a slowdown in the first few months of the year, thanks to a slump in consumer spending; GDP growth slowed to 0.6 pct in first quarter of the year, compared with 0.7 pct in the final three months of 2004 - Saturday Independent
* Some of the world's largest airlines forming a powerful coalition to fight for the controversial development of a third runway and a sixth terminal at Heathrow airport; BRITISH AIRWAYS, Virgin Atlantic and BMI, along with the foreign airlines that use Heathrow, in final stages of setting up the campaign group, which will be launched at the end of May - Independent on Sunday
* TESCO branching into the world of air travel, linking up with European no-frills airline Wizz Air to sell flights in up to 42 hypermarkets in Hungary - The Business
* BMI set to launch direct flights to Saudi Arabia after BRITISH AIRWAYS's decision to pull out amid concerns about terrorism -Sunday Express
* MG Rover was boosting its cash flow artificially in the 10 months before it collapsed by dumping unordered cars worth an estimated 40 mln stg on its dealer network - Sunday Telegraph
* Struggling Rover dealers threaten to sue the Phoenix Four - Sunday Express
* Shanghai Automotive, the car group whose withdrawal from joint-venture talks this month triggered the collapse of MG Rover, plans to bid for the assets of Powertrain, the British group's engine plant - Sunday Times
* Nasdaq pays 1.9 bln usd for Instinet; purchase will give REUTERS investors a 1 bln usd payout; NYSE's planned Archipelago merger could face internal unrest over possible lock-in - Saturday FT
* Fuel tax protesters threatening to disrupt the run-up to the general election with direct action, including refinery blockades and go-slows on main roads - Saturday FT
* Wind farms would need subsidies of 12 bln stg to meet UK government targets on renewable energy generation; nuclear power would provide the same amount of carbon-free electricity for 4.4 bln - one third that sum - The Business
* Putin pledges support for BP joint venture; Russian president acts to calm oil group's fears; foreign investors seek clues to Kremlin policy - Saturday FT
* Novolipetsk, the steel group, could become the next Russian company to float in London in a listing that may value it at 5 bln stg - Saturday Independent
* Parcels giant, TARGET EXPRESS, signals 200 mln stg sale or float - Mail on Sunday
* OCADO, the internet food retailer 40 pct owned by John Lewis Partnership, targets its next step on the road to 350 mln stg flotation - Sunday Telegraph
* Investors call for change at COMPASS - Saturday Guardian
* REED ELSEVIER joins auction for Medimedia - Sunday Times
* XSTRATA chairman should go, says governance group, citing his links to major shareholder Glencore International - Saturday Telegraph
* Several significant shareholders in SHIRE PHARMACEUTICALS speak out against the drug maker's 1.6 bln usd deal to buy Nasdaq-listed biotech company, Transkaryotic - Saturday Independent
* Elevation Partners withdraws from the bidding battle for EIDOS
* Classic Media walks away from the race to buy HIT ENTERTAINMENT, the children's entertainment rights owner that is subject to an agreed 330 pence-a-share bid by Apax Partners
* US-based Lions Gate Entertainment could make an offer for HIT ENTERTAINMENT as early as this week after departure of Classic Media from the bidding process - Sunday Express
* LUMINAR in talks to sell part of its estate to Close Brothers Private Equity for about 30 mln stg - Sunday Times
* RAMCO ENERGY calls off takeover talks
* CHESNARA in exclusive talks to buy City of Westminster Assurance, a closed life fund, from IRISH LIFE & PERMANENT - Sunday Telegraph

SATURDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on Ericsson, UK public finances, Google (Google's growth should outpace Yahoo's for a while yet, US exchanges - Weekend share watch: FKI (forward multiple of 11 does look cheap and could represent a buying opportunity), BEGBIES TRAYNOR (given the sharp gains of the past six months and the fact that acquisitions take time, the shares could do with a breather), STADIUM GROUP (as Stadium expands overseas, discount to comparable sector peers could narrow) - MELROSE gets moving after 30 month; Lisa Urquhart finds the former cash shell optimistic for the future of McKechnie and Dynacast, its recent purchases (MONEY & BUSINESS p.7) - LONDON MARKET: ITV (bid talk), STANLEY LEISURE (Genting Berhad has 20.3 pct), LONDON CLUBS INTERNATIONAL (Genting believed to be the buyer of a significant chunk), NUMIS (ICAP bid talk), WYEVALE GARDEN CENTRES (Trefick increase stake to 4.03 pct), LIBERTAS CAPITAL (talk it is looking for corporate work in the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh) - ANALYST WATCH - BRITISH LAND: New lease of life at property group; chief executive's first year at highly-geared developer marked by 'steady as she goes' progress (MONEY & BUSINESS p.23)

Times
STOCK MARKETS: UK COAL (talk of a 200 pence a share bid from GEORGE WIMPEY), PLANESTATION (unnamed investor sells 22.3 mln shares, or 4.8 pct, at 10 pence)

Mail
MARKET REPORT: INDEPENDENT MEDIA DISTRIBUTION (Old Mutual sells 1.6 mln shares, about 5 pct of the company) - INVESTMENT EXTRA: Brian O'Connor comments on housebuilders (builders' shares will stay nervous for a while; but the bids are a sure guide to value)

Guardian
Market forces: REGUS (vague bid talk), EASYSCREEN (talk that another potential bidder has emerged), MARCH NETWORKS (expected to have a solid first day's trading on AIM next Wednesday), SOMERFIELD (defers deadline for indicative offers until Monday)

Telegraph
QUESTOR COLUMN: BRAMBLES (all the recovery is priced into the shares and any further upside from here is likely to be limited), ST MODWEN PROPERTIES (buy), MOUCHEL PARKMAN (buy)

Independent
MARKET REPORT: BOOTS (Dresdner dashes bid hopes), TAYLOR WOODROW (gossips reckon PERSIMMON may soon be tempted to make a move), OPTIMISA (YOUGOV, which will list on AIM on Monday, tipped to secure an 18 mln stg valuation; this will leave the stock trading at 17 times forward earnings; now that makes Optimisa look cheap), FRONTIER MINING (whispers it will soon unveil a positive drilling report)

Express
MARKET REPORT: PETARDS GROUP (punters bet on solid results next month), VIROTEC INTERNATIONAL (talk of a bullish broker circular early next week and rehashed gossip about a major US deal), GRIFFIN MINING (hopes for a positive update on Monday), CHACO RESOURCES (anticipation of Paraguay drilling rights), TANFIELD GROUP (whispers of a deal), SERVICEPOWER (contract win expected)

SUNDAY PRESS COMMENT
The Business
THE ALCHEMIST: Clem Chambers' tip of the week is to do nothing; if you must stash some money, buy some premium bonds and wait for next week; while timing is tough, letting the smoke clear is less tricky - SMALL-CAP INVESTOR: CARTER & CARTER (good value) - AIM INVESTOR: MANPOWER SOFTWARE (after final results are published in September, it could look pretty cheap) - BENCHMARK: Grant Clelland comments on BP (Lord Browne will need all his legendary negotiating skill to persuade Putin to allow TNK-BP to bid for the next round of big deals; the worry for investors must be that even if he succeeds, the Kremlin may just change the rules further down the line), Property/retailing, KarstadtQuelle

Mail on Sunday
COMPANIES AND MARKETS: ITV (Greg Dyke's plans to bid likely to be delayed until after the broadcaster has renegotiated the cost of its licences in the summer), REED ELSEVIER (faces shareholder hostility at this week's AGM over its boardroom pay policy), AFCAN (will announce tomorrow it is to join AIM) - MIDAS: HEALTHCARE ENTERPRISE TRUST (speculative buy)

Sunday Express
MARKETS: MANCHESTER UNITED (board set to back Glazer bid); BROKERS' NOTES: P&O (Citigroup Smith Barney buy with target upped to 315 pence from 300), RANK GROUP (Gerrard neutral), ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS (Deutsche Bank buy), EGG (Shore Capital hold), BSKYB (Investec buy)

Sunday Times
INSIDE THE CITY: John Waples comments on BARCLAYS (plan for Absa on a knife-edge), DOWDING & MILLS (worth hanging around for a while longer); MARKET MOLE: PREMIER FOODS (Framlington's income expert George Luckraft has made several purchases in the past month, amassing a 700,000 share stake for his Framlington Income fund; F&C's Ted Scott has accumulated 2.3 mln shares for the F&C Stewardship Growth and Stewardship income funds since the start of the year) - JUDGMENT DAY: SHOULD YOU BUY SHARES IN IG GROUP Andy Brough, fund manager at Schroders, says wait for the price to come down to a p/e ratio of 14.5; if it doesn't, avoid; Tim Steer, fund manager at New Star, says they are worth a punt at a pound - DIRECTORS' DEALS: CARTER & CARTER (three directors add to their holdings); UNITE (founder and chief executive sells 1.2 mln shares at 290 pence)

Sunday Telegraph
J SAINSBURY (sales of organic produce soared by 20 pct year-on-year in the weeks after Jamie's School Dinners, the Channel 4 series, ended in mid-March) - Equity View - BLUE CHIP VALUES: IMI (buy), CAIRN ENERGY (buy); Look who's trading: METNOR GROUP (on April 15 and April 18, eight of the nine directors bought shares; investors should follow the directors and buy); SMALL CAP COMMENT: AIR PARTNER (investors should bank some, but not all, of their profits), TRIBAL GROUP (hold on), ROC OIL (risky but worth a punt), ACAMBIS (buy) - THE NUMBERS GAME: Tony Jackson comments on ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS (not cheap, but ABF might be worth buying just the same)

Observer
THROG STREET: Richard Wachman comments on REUTERS (how long will Tom Glocer last as chief executive now that new chairman Niall Fitzgerald has got his feet under the table), WHITBREAD (not recession-proof, but less exposed than most), LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE (LSE's share price of 466 pence is well above what analysts say is fair value, which indicates that the City believes a takeover is inevitable)

The controversial Reefton Mining has lost its second CEO in three weeks after Simon Gilbert announced his resignation late on Friday.

INFINEON UPGRADED TO 'BUY' FROM 'HOLD' AT CITIGROUP SMITH BARNEY

HSBC UPGRADED TO 'OUTPERFORM' FROM 'NEUTRAL' BY CSFB

REGAL PETROLEUM MAKES SIGNIFICANT GAS DISCOVERY IN ROMANIA

Good morning.

Good Morning all.

Good morning all.

Good morning all.

How did that happen. As far as I knew I had said "Good Morning all" only once!!!!