Outlook

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,259.7, up 13.8
FTSE 250 7,508.7, down 33.0
DJIA 10,628.90, up 71.50
Nasdaq Comp 2,152.82, up 8.71
S&P 500 1,226.50, up 3.20
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 11,758.68, down 5.58
Hang Seng midday 14,526.13, up 34.59
Gold 424.05 usd (424.05 usd)
Oil - Brent Aug 57.31 usd (58.27 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* City told to update anti-bomb security; police list measures to counter suicide attacks - FT
* SHELL's Sakhalin-2 gas project hit by eight-month delay and 10 bln usd cost rise - FT
* Sale of MG Rover delayed to give the administrators running the failed carmaker time to assess a new joint bid by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp and two British car executives - FT
* Franklin chief to head AMVESCAP, troubled fund manager to name Martin Flanagan; group hopes US executive will impress investors; move ends six-month search - FT
* AMLIN ends takeover talks with rival CHAUCER
* Property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz considering reversing Chesterton, the estate agency that collapsed in the spring, into a listed company - FT
* CARDPOINT set to buy MONEYBOX in a 87.3 mln stg deal with the aim of improving economies of scale and preparing for expansion in Europe - FT
* MYTRAVEL fined 240,000 stg by the Financial Services Authority for failing to update markets in July 2002 about a change in its performance expectations - FT
* Baugur confirms it has sold its 5.5 pct stake in SOMERFIELD - FT

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on currency, Apple, Novartis, Southwest Airlines - TAKING STOCK: BIOTECHNOLOGY (sector's funding remains a bitter pill to swallow)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: EMI (worth holding), UNITE GROUP (look fully priced for now), BIOFUELS (hold on)
Guardian
COMINO (traders scent a fresh bid for the business)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: BOVIS (worth tucking away for the long-term), AMLIN (steer clear for now), N BROWN (no better than a hold at these levels)
Mail
COOKSON (whispers of US suitor)
Times
RUMOUR OF THE DAY: FLOORS 2 GO (whispers it has quietly been put up for sale) - DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: HAMBLEDON MINING (director buys 6.65 mln shares at 8-1/2 pence) - TEMPUS: EXEL (only those with the shortest of time horizons should sell), BOVIS HOMES (buy), BIOFUELS CORPORATION (buy)
Express
SHARE WHISPER: SUPERSCAPE (speculation it is considering its options; this could trigger bid interest from US predators Jamdat and Electronic Arts) - WHO'S DEALING: IMMEDIA BROADCASTING (chief executive buys 50,000 shares at 21 pence)
Investors Chronicle
TIPS - LARGE COMPANIES: DIAGEO (buy), HELICAL BAR (sell), BIOCOMPATIBLES (buy), WILLIAM RANSOM (buy); TIPS - SMALLER COMPANIES: CLUFF GOLD (buy), TIKIT (buy), ALIZYME (buy), BIG YELLOW (sell), BROKER NETWORK HOLDINGS (good value), NXT (sell), AFRICAN DIAMONDS (good value)

AFX UK at a glance share guide -

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,230.8 down 28.9
FTSE 250 7,470.80 down 37.9
DJIA 10,640.83 up 11.94
Nasdaq Comp 2,156.78 up 3.96
S&P 500 1,227.92 up 1.42
Gold 420.75 usd (424.05 usd)
Oil - Brent Sept 57.61 usd (56.96 usd)

BREAKING NEWS - WEEKEND
* Charles Wilson, MARKS & SPENCER's second-highest ranked executive, has been secretly negotiating to join Booker, Britain's biggest cash-and-carry firm - Sunday Times
* ENERGIS and CABLE & WIRELESS have begun merger negotiations in an attempt to create a new force in the British telecoms market - Sunday Times
* UK profit warnings soar 52 pct as growth falls ; blow for Brown's tax revenue forecasts - The Business
* ITV, Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster, will this week find the launch of its autumn schedule overshadowed by audience figures showing that an increasing proportion of ITV1's viewers are old and poor - Sunday Times
* A leading online gaming site, Jackpotjoy.com, in talks with advisers about a possible 100 mln stg flotation as it seeks to become the latest firm to capitalise on Britain's gambling boom - Sunday Times
* ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL will this week launch the 3 bln usd (1.7 bln stg) sale of its global Liquified Petroleum Gas business, putting in motion the last major element of its 15 bln usd asset sale program after five months of delay - The Business
* Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, demanding that ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL renegotiates the terms of a planned asset swap because of the soaring costs of Sakhalin-2, a flagship Russian gas project - Sunday Telegraph
* Jeroen van der Veer, ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL chief executive, admits that the "absolutely staggering" 10 bln usd cost overrun on Sakhalin-2 is another blow to the group's standing after last year's reserves accounting scandal - Saturday FT
* Chelsea chief Roman Abramovich last week was served with a court order instigated by SIBIR ENERGY, a UK-based rival that has accused the Russian oligarch of stealing one of its assets thought to be worth up to 1.14 bln stg - Sunday Times
* British goverment has failed to investigate serious corruption allegations suggesting that hundreds of millions of pounds from a BP-sponsored pipeline project could directly benefit the Azerbaijani president - Observer
* SCHHH...you know who could be up for sale with a 750 mln stg price tag; CADBURY SCHWEPPES, which owns the iconic mixers brand Schweppes and other brands such as Orangina, close to finalising a strategic review of the business; several options are being considered by the drinks and confectionery giant for its European beverages arm, but a sale is the most likely outcome - Mail on Sunday
* Troubled DIY chain B&Q, the subject of bid rumours, looking at scores of job cuts across its 28,000 workforce - Observer
* British housing market will record zero growth this year, according to data out this week; that would make it the worst performance since 1995 and reiginite fears of a prolonged slowdown - Observer
* Ministers shy away from Mail privatisation; Leighton retains hopes that 20 pct stake could be transferred to employees as government backs his stand against regulator - Sunday Telegraph
* Olympic costs throw Crossrail into doubt; huge construction effort in east London will hit high-speed link - Sunday Express
* Shareholders in WEMBLEY set for a bigger than expected payout after the company finally gains legislative approval to sell its remaining US assets - Sunday Telegraph
* WILLIAM MORRISON fails to update investors on its progress in finding a fourth non-executive director, in spite of having promised the City last month that it would make an announcement on the issue before Monday - Saturday FT
* ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND faces an investigation by American financial regulator over claims that it mis-sold products to pensioner in the US - Mail on Sunday
* Auditors raise doubts over JARVIS as a going concern - Saturday FT
* ING, the Dutch financial services group, wins the race to buy more than 1.2 bln stg of properties from ABBEY NATIONAL in what is believed to be the biggest portfolio sale in the UK - Saturday FT
* TELEWEST in talks with Setanta, the Irish pay-TV group, about forming an alliance to bid for the television rights to the football Premier League - Observer
* TELEWEST urged by leading shareholders to secure more than 1 bln stg for Flextech - Saturday FT
* The BBC and ITV will bid up to 800 mln stg for TELEWEST's content business, which comes up for sale this week; first-round offers for the operation, which includes Flextech and the BBC and Telewest-owned UKTV channels, are due in two weeks - Sunday Express
* P&O drawing up plans to auction its refrigerated warehousing division for about 200 mln stg as part of its restructuring - Sunday Times
* Mobile phone operator o2 facing a national walkout by its workers next month, after pay talks with unions collapsed - Independent on Sunday
* Emmis Communications, one of America's largest radio groups, has put CHRYSALIS at the head of a shopping list of British media assets - Sunday Times
* CENTRICA to hedge supply needs with investment in Canvey Island LNG project; British Gas axes 2,000 jobs - and half may be moved to India - Saturday Independent
* COLLINS STEWART TULLETT suffers eight defections from its investment trust team, including its head, Rolly Crawford - Saturday Independent
* LAND OF LEATHER set for a cut-price flotation next week, valuing the retailer at 77.6 mln stg, well short of the market's hoped-for 100 mln - Saturday Mail
* Mineral exploration company EUROPEAN NICKEL to raise up to 85 mln stg in debt and equity to develop its flagship Caldag nickel open mine in Turkey - Sunday Express
* Baugur emerges as one of the bidders for WHITTARD OF CHELSEA - Sunday Times

SATURDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on AMVESCAP (shares already trade on 17 times estimated 2006 earnings, roughly the US average, but more than the 13 times for SCHRODERS and 11 times for MAN GROUP; that looks expensive), European economy, General Electric (even giants can have a spring in their step), Renminbi (banking on an imminent currency move is still brave) - Weekend share watch: SMITHS GROUP (may now look expensive, but the growth in most of its divisions, and the possibility of acquisitions, should curtail the scepticism), FLOORS 2 GO (house market holds key to sensitive flooring), PROVALIS (may take time before the shares recover) - MARKETS: MANO RIVER RESOURCES (talk it will split itself into two and that PETRA DIAMONDS could make an offer for the diamonds unit), DENSITRON TECHNOLOGIES (talk it has won a second contract from Revo Digital, worth about 500,000 usd, to supply full assembly services for car digital radios) - ANALYST WATCH - PRUDENTIAL (investors call for new chief exec to reveal direction, such as what he intends to do with EGG) - FUND MANAGER IN FOCUS: current top tip from Colin McLean, SVM UK Active Fund, is BRITISH ENERGY

Independent
NO PAIN, NO GAIN: Derek Pain sells S&U (outside influences, in the shape of a Westminster-inspired probe into the money lending business, are behind his decision to cut and run) - MARKET REPORT: WHITE NILE (talk that Total is about to take a stake, with a view to helping fund the development of a massive oil field in the newly autonomous South Sudan)

Mail
MARKET REPORT: COAL INTERNATIONAL (acquires coal assets in West Virginia which can swiftly be brought into production) - INVESTMENT EXTRA: VIROTEC (if the potential can be realised, they should have further to go); ROK PROPERTY SOLUTIONS (take profits)

Express
MARKET REPORT: GCAP MEDIA (rehashed gossip of a US predator being poised for acquisitions in the UK radio sector), XAAR (renewed talk that a predator, possibly a venture capitalist, is mulling a 350 pence-a-share bid approach), CIRCLE OIL (suggestions that an acquisition could be announced as early as next week), CHACO RESOURCES (rumours it is about to secure funding for South American exploration projects), JARLWAY (dealers expect a strong opening for the China-focused concrete pumping equipment firm whose shares, placed at 30 pence, start trading on Monday)

Guardian
Market forces: IP2IPO (talk it is poised to announce an investment in a biotechnology firm), MANO RIVER RESOURCES (talk it is preparing to split itself into a diamond and iron ore business)

Times: TEMPUS: Oil is the driver and the danger in FTSE 100's rise

Telegraph
THE MARKET: EASYJET (Icelandair stakebuilding rumours), AEGIS (vague hope it could be swallowed, possibly by French rival Havas), SIBIR ENERGY (hopes it will announce positive news shortly) - QUESTOR: Still grounds for optimism that the big generalist (investment) trusts can improve their discounts while continuing to outperform the market; worth investgation); SMALL CAP VALUES: URBIUM (looks worth a bet), IST DENTAL LABORATORIES (with a maiden dividend on the cards, there might be much to smile about), ACCUMA GROUP (worth a look)

SUNDAY PRESS COMMENT
The Business
THE ALCHEMIST: Clem Chambers tips SANCTUARY GROUP (valued at roughly half times sales, they are a snip) - INSIDE THE MARKET - MID-CAP INVESTOR: BESPAK (long-term buy); AIM INVESTOR: ELEKTRON (there's still plenty of upside; buy) - BENCHMARK: Grant Clelland comments on MARKS & SPENCER (investors shelve interest in M&S as SAINSBURY revives), Genentech (in a world where more traditional pharmaceuticals firms face a nightmare of litigation over controversial drugs and generics erosion, the biotec sector looks increasingly attractive), Russian shares

Mail on Sunday
COMPANIES AND MARKETS: P&O (reviewing its corporate advisers as it prepares its defences for an expected takeover bid), TV COMMERCE HOLDINGS (will announce a mobile phone casino tomorrow, featuring games such as blackjack, poker and fruit machines), REUTERS (ready to announce a bigger-than-expected 1 bln stg share buyback programme - and further job losses); SECRET DEALINGS: FONEBAK (funds like Fonebak's numbers) - MIDAS: INTER LINK FOODS (we would resist the temptation to take profits), XN CHECKOUT (its fortunes are now tied to those of bidder TOREX RETAIL), ASCRIBE (Torex is very much on the acquisition trail, but surely lightning won't strike twice with a bid for Ascribe)

Sunday Telegraph
Equity View - BLUE CHIP VALUES: INTERNATIONAL POWER (buy), SLOUGH ESTATES (selling out now would be hasty); Look who's trading: ULTIMATE LEISURE (three directors sell stock; hold on for now); SMALL CAP COMMENT: GALLIFORD TRY (look cheap), STAR ENERGY GROUP (keep buying), CELLO GROUP (worth buying), VAN DIEMAN MINES (now is the time to buy) - THE NUMBERS GAME: Tony Jackson comments on LLOYDS TSB (I am not about to buy Lloyds shares, and if I already had some, I would be wary)

Sunday Express
BROKERS' NOTES: MINSTER PHARMACEUTICALS (Insinger de Beaufort buy), EMI (Bridgewell overweight), LEEDS GROUP (Seymour Pierce initiates coverage with hold), T&F INFORMA (Bridgewell buy), 3i (Merrill Lynch buy)

Observer
BUSINESS COMMENT: Richard Wachman comments on ITV (commercial backdrop for ITV is less than rosy; Time Warner, together with a few venture capitalists - advised no doubt by former BBC director general Gregg Dyke - could put Burt and Allen out of their misery; my guess is that a deal is a few months away), Retailers (forget rate cuts - retail need wholesale change) - BODY SHOP gives itself a facelift; after years in the doldrums the Roddicks' baby has found its feet by moving upmarket (BUSINESS p.6) - THROG STREET: Nick Mathiason comments on housing industry (house proces are on the edge of what may be a Niagara-like fall), Morgan Stanley (John Mack changes tune after Philip Purcell payoff), TANGENT COMMUNICATIONS (two nephews of Carlton Communications founder Michael Green have just reversed into Tangent)

Sunday Times
JUDGMENT DAY: SHOULD YOU BUY SHARES IN RHM Andy Brough, fund manager at Schroders, says buy and, depending on your diet, choose when you leave the party; Tim Steer, fund manager at New Star, says buy at 256 pence - INSIDE THE CITY: Dominic O'Connell comments on URBIUM (if Numis bows to pressure and allows access to the books, REGENT INNS might raise its offer, or flush out a higher one), FLOORS 2 GO (sell and switch into TOPPS TILES); MARKET MOLE: PINEWOOD SHEPPERTON (recovery expert Andrew Green has more than doubled the holding of his GAM UK Diversified fund recently; the unit trust's stake increased by 460,000 shares to 765,000, or 1.2 pct, of the 60 mln stg company following Pinewood's second profit warning of the year last month).