Limpsfield's Weekly Chart View

As expected the markets rolled over last week, confirming the medium term downtrends are still in place. At the moment these are stuck in the middle of the ranges so a choppy week is expected.FTSE 100Intraday FTSE First of all, the slide that started in mid-February from just below the 5100 levels is still intact and last week saw the rally fail ahead of this downtrend line. Strength through 4930 would open up a rally to the 5000 area but this is the big level that has to be cracked to shake off this weakness once and for all. It would not be surprising to see a range-bound choppy market this week. Dow Jones Intraday Dow It is a similar outlook on the Dow. The 10,000 area is still expected to provide support with 10,400/10,570 expected to ultimately cap any decent strength. We need a break out through these support or resistance levels to signal the direction of the next major move. At the moment, up one day, down the next looks likely. 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!

Thanks again to Supermum for her weekly stock chart. Limpsfield's regular look at the FTSE and Dow will appear later....

I'll be back in the morning with any news I can find....

Happy weekend!

G.

AFX UK at a glance share guide -

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,886.5 down 6.7
FTSE 250 6,795.00 down 12.2
DJIA 10,140.12 down 49.36
Nasdaq Comp 1,976.80 up 12.92
S&P 500 1,154.05 down 5.31
Gold 420.60 usd (424.70 usd)
Oil - Brent Jun 48.66 usd (48.34 usd)

BREAKING NEWS - WEEKEND
* Inmarsat, the London-based satellite communications company, revives plan to launch 2 bln stg float - The Business
* Satellite operator Inmarsat intends to raise 400 mln stg from investors as part of an imminent flotation that will value the company at more than 1 bln stg - Sunday Times
* City traders bet more than 300 mln stg that NEXT's share price will fall this week after it releases news on its recent trading - Sunday Times
* Directors of listed retail groups sold 44 mln stg worth of their own companies' shares in the three months to the end of April - Sunday Telegraph
* Private equity firms, including KKR and Cinven, beginning to circle ailing retailer BOOTS, where growth is being stunted by a rampant TESCO, figures show this weekend - Sunday Express
* AOL lines up challenge to BT on home phones - Sunday Telegraph
* BAA on a collision course with the Civil Aviation Authority, its regulator, over how the proposed new 2.6 bln stg runway at London's Stansted airport will be funded - The Business
* UK airline chiefs launch a bitter attack on US government subsidies after a decision by a court in Chicago last week to approve a 6.6 bln usd bail-out of United Airlines - Sunday Express
* European Union finance ministers agree to impose a tax on plane tickets to fund development aid programmes in Africa, prompting despair from airlines - Sunday Telegraph
* Allan Leighton, chairman of Royal Mail, tells senior ministers that he wants to purchase 51 pct of the state-owned business on behalf of staff - Sunday Telegraph
* EMAP holding discussions with SCOTTISH RADIO HOLDINGS to acquire the 73 pct of the business it does not already own for more than 200 mln stg - Sunday Express
* ULSTER TELEVISION has a sound look at new radio takeovers; in its sights are GUARDIAN MEDIA GROUP's radio business, CHRYSALIS GROUP's radio interests and SMG's media operation, which includes Virgin Radio; each is believed to have a price tag of between 100 mln stg and 150 mln - Sunday Express
* Shareholders to tell GCAP MEDIA that it wants either chairman Ralph Bernard or chief executive Dave Mansfield to stand down - Independent on Sunday
* A group of top institutional investors - Scottish Widows, Artemis, Gartmore and Standard Life - plotting to arrange the sale of ULTIMATE LEISURE, the AIM-quoted nightclub and bar company, from under the feet of its management - Sunday Times
* CENTRICA said to be in advanced negotiations to sell British Gas Connections, the fourth-biggest independent gas transporter, valued at about 200 mln stg - Sunday Times
* Banking group ABBEY will be forced to review tens of thousands of endowment mortgage complaints in one of the toughest rulings handed down by the Financial Services Authority - Mail on Sunday
* Hundreds of jobs to be axed in BSKYB cull - Observer
* Scientists will today unveil results from the first large-scale human trial into a vaccine for nicotine which could lead to people being immunised against addictions to smoking within the next five years - Saturday Times
* Nicola Horlick makes a bid of up to 220 mln stg for the London Trocadero, which is being auctioned by BURFORD, the property group controlled by Lehman Brothers - The Business
* Hopes of selling carmaker Rover to a single buyer fading this weekend; Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation threatens legal action to stop administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers completing a deal without its permission - Mail on Sunday
* Trustees in charge of the MG Rover pension schemes preparing a legal assault on the Phoenix Four's remaining company to try secure payments to 6,500 former car workers - Independent on Sunday
* Alan Johnson, the new trade and industry secretary, raises the prospect of an early commitment to build a new generation of nuclear power stations as he sets a shorter than expected deadline for the government to complete a review of energy policy - Saturday FT
* Premiership attendances and average match television viewing figures set to fall this season, in a sign that football's explosive growth has ended - Saturday FT
* WILLIAM MORRISON SUPERMARKETS, the UK's fourth biggest supermarket chain, issues its fourth profit warning since its 3.3 bln stg acquisition of Safeway - Saturday FT
* David Jones, deputy chairman of troubled supermarket chain WILLIAM MORRISON, hopes to head off a shareholder revolt with the appointment of four non-executive directors - Sunday Times
* Association of British Insurers joins growing shareholder revolt against the leadership of Sir Ken Morrison at MORRISON - Sunday Telegraph
* ALLIED DOMECQ receives an indicative proposal from a consortium led by Constellation Brands that is understood to value the UK company at about 7.7 bln stg, or 695 pence to 705 pence a share - Saturday FT
* Three secretive US hedge funds emerge as the key backers of American sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer's controversial 800 mln stg takeover of MANCHESTER UNITED; The New York-based funds - Citadel, Och-Ziff Capital Management and Perry Capital - have poured 275 mln stg into the bid - Sunday Times
* JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP causes shopfloor outrage by giving a 1 mln stg payoff to former director, Luke Mayhew
* MANCHESTER UNITED chairman Sir Roy Gardner likely to be the first casualty of Malcolm Glazer's new regime at Old Trafford - Saturday Mail
* Billions of pounds of pension money look set to flood the buy-to-let market once new rules allowing investors to buy residential property using their self-invested personal pension take effect - Saturday FT
* Malcolm Glazer tightens his grip on MANCHESTER UNITED, lifting his stake to 74.8 pct and inching the football club closer to a stock market delisting; angry fans target main sponsors (Nike, VODAFONE) - Saturday FT
* Board of MANCHESTER UNITED to "reluctantly" recommend Malcolm Glazer's 790 mln stg bid for the club, with an announcement likely as early as tomorrow - Independent on Sunday
* David Whelan, founder of JJB SPORTS, set to stand down as executive chairman of the retailer following the promotion of Wigan Athletic, the football club he owns, to the Premiership - Sunday Telegraph
* Axa and ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT understood to have approached HSBC about buying Framlington, the fund management business controlled by the UK's biggest bank - Sunday Telegraph
* Online gambling firm PartyGaming, owner of the PartyPoker.com website, denies that its 5 bln stg stock market flotation is facing problems as it appoints two new directors to woo the City - Saturday Mail
* National newspaper circulation declined for all daily titles with the exception of the compact Independent and The Times over the past six months, say industry figures; Audit Bureau of Circulations reports that total national circulation was down 2.44 pct to 12.4 mln copies a day for the six months to the end of April - Saturday FT
* PizzaExpress hires investment bankers to carry out a strategic review of the business, which is valued at between 800 mln stg and 1 bln - Saturday FT
* JURYS DOYLE, the Irish hotels group, says neither the Doyle nor Beatty families, who together control about 30 pct of its shares, are connected to the bid approach from Precinct Investments
* INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP poised to sell historic Hotel InterContinental in Paris to the government of Dubai for just over 205 mln stg - Saturday Times
* MICROGEN withdraws offer for ATTENTIV SYSTEMS
* Britax to wheel out pushchair maker for 200 mln stg sale - Saturday Times

SATURDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on BRITISH AIRWAYS (even with good luck, BA's new chief executive faces the question of whether any airline can make serious money), OLD MUTUAL/Skandia (if Skandia is intent on selling itself in one piece, Old Mutual's investors must hope that its approach flushes out more appropriate suitors), ALLIED DOMECQ (the likes of DIAGEO are waiting in the wings; but Constellation urgently needs to demonstrate that it has clear vision; yesterday's statements hardly do the trick), Eni (implications of who will run Eni are far-reaching) - Radio fails to tune into advertising; declining revenues hint at shift in spending patterns towards the web, says Emiko Terazono (MONEY & BUSINESS p.3) - Weekend share watch: CARE UK (could rise further if the company succeeds in the second wave of bidding to operate treatment centres), LAIRD GROUP (downturn threatens the integrated packages), UNITED DRUG (premium rating is probably justified) - ANALYST WATCH - LOGICACMG: Sending a more optimistic message; the Anglo-Dutch IT services group has moved on from the text message boom and back into profit (MONEY & BUSINESS p.23)

Mail
INVESTMENT EXTRA: DEBT FREE DIRECT (looks pricey against current profits; rival ACCUMA looks cheap by comparison); SOCO INTERNATIONAL (Vietnamese venture set to give Soco va-va-voom) - MARKET REPORT: SCOTTISH RADIO (EMAP bid speculation), ALBA (talk of another profits warning), WILSHAW (entrepreneur Iraj Parvizi wants to see board changes)

Independent
Five stocks to watch: LLOYDS TSB, BT GROUP, o2, UNITED UTILITIES, BRITISH AIRWAYS - NO PAIN, NO GAIN: Derek Pain decides to call time on ALLIED DOMECQ and says BELHAVEN is expected to be a takeover victim with WOLVERHAMPTON & DUDLEY or GREENE KING, the largest players, rumoured to be interested - MARKET REPORT: THUS (whispers that some form of corporate activity is just around the corner), GRESHAM COMPUTING (CABLE & WIRELESS bid speculation), ASCENT RESOURCES (WH Ireland rumoured to be putting the finishing touches to a 5 mln stg fund raising)

Guardian
Market forces: REGAL PETROLEUM (fears that 5 pct of the company may soon be up for sale after Commerzbank closes its proprietary trading operations), EVOLUTION, NEWPORT NETWORKS (Commerzbank still has 5 pct stake in both), IP2IPO (Commerzbank has 8.5 pct holding), THUS (takeover speculation), WYEVALE GARDEN CENTRES (Laxey Partners increases holding to 19.6 pct)

Times
STOCK MARKETS: O2 (vague suggestions that Wednesday's full-year figures could trigger downgrades to forecasts) - TEMPUS: Buyers of mining stocks should exercise caution; buy only what you think has a realistic chance of contributing to these boom times; CAMBRIAN MINING (worth taking a closer look at again) - SHARE OF THE MONTH: Stella Shamoon buys Investec Global Energy Fund units at 115 pence

Express
MARKET REPORT: SPRING GROUP (talk of tough trading), ASCENT RESOURCES (suggestions that a large line of stock was being placed with investors, with the proceeds going towards possible acquisitions)

Telegraph
THE MARKET: LASTMINUTE.COM (counter-bid hopes), GRESHAM COMPUTING (talk that BIZSPACE is considering a reverse takeover) - QUESTOR COLUMN: GCAP MEDIA (there is a risk in buying at this point in the cycle, but for those with an appetite for it, there is long-term value to be had), CENTER PARCS (a risky buy), BIG YELLOW (best lock in those profits now)

SUNDAY PRESS COMMENT
The Business
BENCHMARK: Grant Clelland comments on Europe (nationalist interests still top of Europe's agenda), EUROTUNNEL, Warner Music (Warner's poor showing will spur more speculation that it would seek a possible merger with EMI so that together they could better compete against Universal and Sony) - FUND OF THE MONTH: GARTMORE EMERGING MARKETS OPPORTUNITIES - SMALL-CAP INVESTOR: DATAMONITOR (an attractive long-term investment) - AIM INVESTOR: CHELFORD (buy)

Mail on Sunday
MIDAS: PURE WAFER (speculative buy); MIDAS UPDATE: ITOUCH (we will gladly pocket a 47 pct profit by taking the cash), WOOLWORTHS (we will cut our losses and sell at 35-1/2 pence, thus removing one of the last retailers from the portfolio) - COMPANIES AND MARKETS: LOGICACMG/WILLIAM HILL (both face shareholder revolts this week over controversial plans to scrap borrowing rules), BOOTS (hopes to offset news of falling profits at its full-year results this week by announcing plans for the year ahead under the banner Building A Better Boots), VT GROUP (Nasa deal launches profits surge by VT); SECRET DEALINGS: PANTHER SECURITIES (a week before the results, AAA-rated fund managers Jan Luthman and Stephen Bailey secretly bought shares for their CF Walker Crips UK Growth fund; they now own 0.56 pct of the company)

Observer
THROG STREET: Heather Connon comments on JJB SPORTS (will David Whelan sell while JJB shares are in the doldrums We may find out by the start of the next footie season in just 10 weeks' time), INVENSYS

Sunday Times
JUDGMENT DAY: SHOULD YOU BUY SHARES IN PHS GROUP Andy Brough, fund manager at Schroders, says wash and go to something else; a sell; Tim Steer, fund manager at New Star, says they are no more than a hold, but that the right large deal could transform the company - INSIDE THE CITY: John Waples comments on LLOYDS TSB (staying still is not an option and, if the economy stalls, the dividend could be under threat - it is 1.3 times covered and costs 1.9 bln stg a year to maintain); MARKET MOLE: HOUSE OF FRASER (since late March, George Luckraft, a star fund manager at Framlington, has picked up 1 mln shares for the Framlington Monthly Income fund; another buyer is Carl Stick, who picked up 150,000 shares last month for the Rathbone Income fund to take its holding to 2.4 pct) - DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: FFASTFILL (online trading firm's chiefs keep buying); IP2IPO (two directors top up their holdings)

Sunday Telegraph
Equity View - BLUE CHIP VALUES: BOC (hold), SAGE GROUP (keep buying); Look who's trading: COUNTRYWIDE (given the gloom in the housing market, only the bravest investors prepared for a long haul should follow managing director Harry Hill's lead and buy); SMALL CAP COMMENT: MORGAN SINDALL (there is further to go), PARAGON GROUP (remains a long-term buy), FALKLAND OIL & GAS (buy), ALLERGY THERAPEUTICS (recent weakness is a buying opportunity) - THE NUMBERS GAME: ELECTROCOMPONENTS (if the dividend is indeed cut, the shares might be attractive after the dust settles)

Good morning traders!

In Asia this morning, the Nikkei was trading down 38 points or so at 11,010 when last I checked. The crude oil price had eased 19 cents to $48.48 a barrel.
(The Hong Kong market is closed today.)

With not too much in the way of corporate reporting today, no doubt early action will be triggered by the weekend press. I expect we will see Next and Boots under pressure....

Back when I can find some UK news.

Happy trading!

G.

MARKET EXPECTATIONS

* Robert Wiseman Dairies. Investec forecasts year to March pretax profit 25.3 mln stg vs 29.3 mln; total dividend 7.8 pence vs 7.25

* PD Ports. Arbuthnot Securities forecasts year to March pretax profit 15.6 mln stg vs 13.4 mln; total dividend 3.0 pence vs nil

UNITED BUSINESS MEDIA CUT TO 'EQUALWEIGHT' FROM 'OVERWEIGHT' BY MORGAN STANLEY

ALLIED IRISH BANKS UPGRADED TO 'BUY' FROM 'HOLD' AT CITIGROUP

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 3

MARKETS
Tokyo: Nikkei 11,031.41 down 17.70
Hang Seng closed

BREAKING NEWS - MONDAY
* Bid to cut curbs on foundation hospitals - FT
* Sir Roy Gardner, chief executive of CENTRICA, vows to sever his ties with JP Morgan Chase, following the investment bank's role in financing Malcolm Glazer's 790 mln stg takeover of MANCHESTER UNITED - FT
* A plan to raid an 18-year-old strike fund to pay for a campaign to restore national collective pay bargaining in the engineering industry launched by Amicus - FT
* DX Services breaks Royal Mail's pillar box monopoly - FT
* David Montgomery, the former national newspaper editor and Mirror Group chief executive, raising 216 mln stg to invest in media and communications companies through MECOM, his newly listed investment vehicle - FT
* Constellation Brands could struggle to raise billions of dollars of cash in the capital markets to fund a potential offer for the UK's ALLIED DOMECQ as sentiment in the junk bond markets deteriorates - FT
* BHP BILLITON pulls out of a 5.4 bln stg iron ore and steel joint venture with South Korea's Posco in India after refusing to accept financial conditions laid down by the local goverment - FT
* GLAXOSMITHKLINE says its experimental breast cancer pill Lapatinib shrank tumours in some women by at least 30 pct during tests - Telegraph
* Safilo, one of the world's largest eyewear producers, being groomed for a stock market flotation that could value the business at more than 1.4 bln stg - FT
* Rightmove says house sales are at a 10-year low - Guardian
* HBOS offering to foot a 25 mln stg-plus bill to help MG and Rover dealers clear a backlog of 15,000 unsold cars, worth 165 mln stg, which were left in limbo following the collapse of the Birmingham-based car maker last month - Telegraph

MONDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on US IPOs, Asian telecoms, Distributable reserves
Independent
Small Talk: Stephen Foley comments on EASIER, INFLEXION (will announce a strong set of annual figures on Thursday), ASOS (word that a bullish statement is on the way), CHROMOGENEX (the laser skin care group will today signal its intention to float)
Express
THE INVESTMENT STRATEGIST: Hilary Cook, director of investment strategy at Barclays Stockbrokers, says if you want to invest in a share that looks good on fundamentals with the potential to attract bid speculation, take a look at o2; says STANDARD CHARTERED would be a beneficiary of a Chinese yuan revaluation

Morning all.

Morning all.