AFX UK at a glance share guide -

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,314.7 down 0.8
FTSE 250 7,680.5 down 5.1
DJIA 10,558.03 down 52.07
Nasdaq Comp 2,177.91 down 13.41
S&P 500 1,226.42 down 9.44
Gold 437.90 usd (439.40 usd)
Oil - Brent Sep 61.07 usd (60.12 usd)

BREAKING NEWS - WEEKEND
* Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation understood to have made a bid approach to the fast-growing internet phone group, Skype, which may have valued the two-year-old operation at almost 1.7 bln stg - Independent on Sunday
* MARCONI CORPORATION expected to announce tomorrow that it is in talks with a Chinese rival, Huawei Technologies, which could lead to the telecommunications company being bought for around 600 mln stg - Sunday Telegraph
* China telecom group, Huawei Technologies, in talks to buy MARCONI; thought the deal would value the British company at more than 600 mln stg - Sunday Times
* HSBC wants to splash out with a multi-million pound investment to increase its 20 pct stake in Bank of Communications, one of China's big four banks - Observer
* Hedge funds and other bondholders threatening to block CABLE & WIRELESS's proposed acquisition of ENERGIS unless the telecoms group improves its 780 mln stg offer - Sunday Times
* British Gas expected to announce price rises of 10 pct or more for its 11 mln domestic customers in the coming weeks - Observer
* High street sales fall to six-year low; British Retail Consortium's monthly snapshot of the high street expected to show that spending fell by about 1.5 pct against the same period a year ago - Observer
* Leading shareholders in BPB, the subject of a hostile 720 pence cash bid from St-Gobain last week, set to renew their demands for an approach closer to 800 pence - Sunday Express
* St-Gobain to face market-abuse allegations that could derail its 3.7 bln stg takeover of BPB - Sunday Times
* Candover and Cinven, the buyout firms, in talks to sell a 30 pct stake in Gala to rival Permira in a deal valuing the bingo and casino operator at almost 1.9 bln stg - Sunday Times
* A row breaks out in EASYJET's boardroom over the appointment of a new chief executive after Colin Day, a non-executive director, was offered the job but later resigned when talks broke down - Sunday Times
* Every passenger flight leaving a European Union airport will have to pay for its greenhouse gas emissions under proposals being considered by Brussels - The Business
* American oil major Kerr-McGee selling its entire UK portfolio for 1.7 bln stg in a surprise exit, the largest sell-out yet by a North Sea operator - The Business
* HMV risks possibility of an inquiry by the Office of Fair Trading after threatening to halt promotions with suppliers; the row centres on the rising number of DVDs given away by newspapers - Mail on Sunday
* PEARSON and REED ELSEVIER among a group of publishers being asked to accept an IOU for 170 mln stg in a row over textbook payments in Texas - Mail on Sunday
* UK's fifth-largest magazine publisher, FUTURE, preparing to bid 100 mln stg for sudoku and crossword magazine publisher Puzzler Media - Sunday Express
* US networking giant Cisco considering buying Finnish phonemaker Nokia in the wake of chief executive Jorma Ollila's resignation - The Business
* Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor expected to make a bid for Vodafone Sweden, estimated to be worth more than 518 mln stg - The Business
* Mike Ashley, the secretive entrepreneur behind retail chain Sports World, thought to be working on a 300 mln stg takeover bid for Umbro - Sunday Express
* Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, has held talks with Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko about making a television acquisition in the former Soviet nation - The Business
* Mining giant Poltava GOK, the world's largest holder of iron ore reserves, planning to list on the London Stock Exchange, tapping UK markets for more than 112 mln stg to fund the Ukranian firm's expansion into milling and steel-making - The Business
* Vue Entertainment, Britain's second-largest cinema operator, eyeing a block-buster stock-market flotation expected to value the business at more than 400 mln stg - Sunday Times
* HSBC, the main banker to failed UK computer maker Granville Technology, unlikely to recover any of its 19 mln stg debt due to the lack of saleable assets in the business - Independent on Sunday
* Is this the end of annual pay rises Cash bonuses sidestep firms' pension liability - Mail on Sunday
* Royal Mail to force customers to pay for its 4.5 bln stg pension fund deficit with plans to raise stamp prices to plug the black hole - Independent on Sunday
* Royal Mail plans 30,000 more job losses; postal service admits to inadequate management, 'command and ignore culture' and history of bullying and absenteeism - Sunday Telegraph
* BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO gives a tobacco growing award to a woman accused of stealing her farm and whose husband is a close colleague of Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe - Sunday Telegraph
* Blair gets tough on radicals; row with judges looms over move to boost deportation powers; prime minister prepared to amend human rights legislation - Saturday FT
* Company insolvencies rose in the second quarter for the first time in two years amid signs that the economic slowdown is claiming more victims in corporate Britain - Saturday FT
* Proposals to lift pension transfer values lead to a review of actuaries' powers - Saturday FT
* AVIVA close to naming Lord Sharman as successor to Pehr Gyllenhammar, its long-serving chairman - Saturday FT
* Shares in Baidu.com - "China's Google" - soared more than 350 pct in New York, in one of the most spectacular stock market debuts since the dotcom mania of the late 1990s - Saturday FT
* Official statistics show that the manufacturing recession in the first half of the year had not been as deep as previously thought - Saturday FT
* Halifax says average house price rise over the three months to July was 2.3 pct - the slowest rate since 1996 - and down from the 3.7 pct seen in the three months to the end of June
* US economy generated a bumper 207,000 jobs in July, while wages rose at their fastest pace in a year, lending support to the Federal Reserve's upbeat outlook - Saturday FT
* Vincent Bollore, the French corporate raider whose stake-building in AEGIS this week sparked expectations of a bid for the UK media buying group, is pushing ahead with plans to create a 350 mln stg war-chest - Saturday FT
* Trevor Bish-Jones, chief executive of WOOLWORTHS, offered a 2 mln stg incentive package to stay on at the high street retailer, including a guaranteed 480,000 stg bonus for sticking to the job for another three years - Saturday FT
* ROYAL DUTCH SHELL raises 564 mln stg following the completed sale of its InterGen power generation co-venture
* JARVIS sells its road signs business for 890,000 stg
* Sir Gulam Noon's Indian ready-meals business sold to KERRY GROUP, the large Irish food company, in a deal thought to be worth about 125 mln stg
* Former hospital doctor, Nick Dhandsa, and his brothers, will share a 200 mln stg fortune after selling their nursing home business, ANS, to Bupa for 328 mln stg - Saturday Guardian
* Civil Aviation Authority to investigate whether RYANAIR is flouting new European laws that require airlines to compensate customers for cancelled or delayed flights - Saturday Times

SATURDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on BRITISH AIRWAYS (a few years ago, a rescue rights issue seemed on the cards; how much nicer for the new chief executive if any rights issue could, instead, be done on the back of recovering profits and a rising share price), Global equities, BARCLAYS (given its momentum, a 2006 multiple of 10 times earnings looks attractive), Japanese post office (with the tussle over post office privatisation, the country faces the real possibility of political paralysis) - GREGGS (still looks a growth story) - Weekend share watch: PLUSNET (Baird, the broker, has upgraded its full-year forecast to 5.1 mln stg from 4.8 mln, rising to 8.5 mln in 2006 as the number of broadband subscribers approaches 200,000), HOMESERVE (slight premium to sector well deserved, given the growth potential), BELHAVEN (look fully valued) - MARKETS: FLOORS 2 GO (takeover rumours), LAURA ASHLEY (talk it may be taken private), NETELLER (rumours that a potential joint venture has collapsed) - ANALYST WATCH: ANGLO AMERICAN (not cheap, but investors prepared to hold them for the long-term would be well positioned to benefit from a recovery in paper and packaging and better times for South African mining) - MY PORTFOLIO: John Lee could kick himself for not having purchased QUARTO earlier)

Independent
NO PAIN, NO GAIN: GEORGICA (Derek Pain feels it is at last on the verge of achieving substantial progress - and that should eventually be reflected in the share price), DATACASH (he is happy to retain DataCash, although he admits the company has yet to score the chip-and-pin credit card success he expected) - MARKET REPORT: ITV (media sector consolidation hopes), AEGIS (media sector consolidation hopes), BPB (hedge funds take bear positions), FONEBAK (brokers suggest it is trading ahead of budget)

Guardian
Market forces: ZENITH HYGIENE (talk it is poised to announce a contract with the NHS)

Times
STOCK MARKETS: ITV (gains as potential suitor, Haim Saban, sells German television stake), ACAMBIS (flu jab hopes boost), LAURA ASHLEY (vague talk of an approach) - TEMPUS: WOLFSON MICROELECTRONICS, ARM HOLDINGS, CSR (prospects for growth in the (chipmaker) sector are promising, but these stocks are not for the faint-hearted)

Telegraph
QUESTOR: DAIMLERCHRYSLER (avoid); SMALL CAP VALUES: 4IMPRINT (hold on), UBET2WIN (highly risky but worth a punt)

Mail
INVESTMENT EXTRA: Brian O'Connor comments on shareholder perks (BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS, BELLWAY, PERSIMMON, REDROW, AGA FOODSERVICE, FIRED EARTH, TRAVIS PERKINS, HILTON GROUP, DE VERE, MYTRAVEL, FIRST CHOICE, P&O, BRITISH AIRWAYS, EUROTUNNEL, BLUEBELL, SEVERN VALLEY, CH BAILEY - MARKET REPORT: BG GROUP (speculation that state-owned Chinese oil giant CNOOC could pounce), SCOTTISH POWER (gossip CENTRICA could be interested in a bid), ST IVES (rumours of a pending downbeat trading statement), ZI MEDICAL (market has not noticed the arrival of biotech entrepreneur, Sir Christopher Evans, as chairman - Growth Company Investor), DEAL GROUP MEDIA (word is next month's interim figures will not disappoint)

Express
MARKET REPORT: ITV (in focus after a major deal in Germany), PROVALIS (strong rise overnight in the value of its US shares), HIGHBURY HOUSE (ongoing concerns about its financial health), HARRIER GROUP (mulling over various options; hopes that an announcement is pending), RAMBLER MEDIA (speculation it is in late-stage talks to buy a Moscow-based TV firm), VISUAL DEFENCE (suggestions it is close to winning a substantial contract with a UK airport authority), Z GROUP (hopes of a software licence deal)

SUNDAY PRESS COMMENT
The Business
THE ALCHEMIST: Clem Chambers' big-cap tip is SABMILLER; if you are risk hungry, ROYAL & SUN ALLIANCE could be interesting, he says - INSIDE THE MARKET - GROWTH INVESTOR: MICRO FOCUS (Richard Prew at Axa Investment Managers targets 225 pence); SMALL-CAP INVESTOR: QUANTICA (lowly valued; buy); AIM INVESTOR: LAWRENCE (a buy, especially for a portfolio with a mid-term perspective) - BENCHMARK: Grant Clelland comments on UK betting and gaming industry (odds against gambling industry boom lasting), JP Morgan Chase (hunting again for acquistions), Unocal/CNOOC

Mail on Sunday
COMPANIES AND MARKETS: CAIRN ENERGY (poised to drop Canaccord as its joint adviser in favour of a single corporate relationship with Hoare Govett), WYEVALE GARDEN CENTRES (clutch of private equity firms join the running to buy it), SANCTUARY (cuts New York staff), 2 ERGO GROUP (will tomorrow launch a system that will automatically notify parents if their children are playing truant) - MIDAS: PD PORTS (look like a safe bet)

Sunday Telegraph
Equity View - BLUE CHIP VALUES: TAYLOR WOODROW (sell), PRUDENTIAL (keep buying); Look who's trading: WOLSELEY (chief executive exercises 44,911 options and sells 30,311 shares; investors should keep buying); SMALL CAP COMMENT: MOSS BROS (keep buying), CORIN GROUP (it is time for investors to bank some of their 220 pct profits), THOMSON INTERMEDIA (Billets deal should mean the shares have further to go), FONEBAK (buy) - MONEY COMMENT: Emma Simon says EGG has long gone past its best-buy date - THE NUMBERS GAME: Tony Jackson comments on ROTORK (I think the shares are worth buying)

Sunday Times
INSIDE THE CITY: John Waples comments on BRITISH AIRWAYS (if Walsh, who arrived from Aer Lingus with a reputation as a fearsome cost-cutter, can shape up BA before it moves to its new home, he may eventually be more fondly remembered than Eddington), SCOTTISH & NEWCASTLE (no reason to chase the shares, but for long-term investors they still offer value and, with a prospective year-end dividend equating to 4.6 pct, the downside is covered) - DIRECTORS' DEALS: PKL HOLDINGS (two directors sell stock); HYDER CONSULTING (demand from institutional investors encourages a wave of selling by directors and managers) - Time to pick up unloved shares: James Ridgewell of New Star Asset Management says retail shares look undervalued, adding that companies like HOUSE OF FRASER and LAND OF LEATHER could start to do well; Gavin Oldman at The Share centre recommends GUS; Neil Woodford at Invesco Perpetual believes investors should remain cautious; he likes NORTHUMBRIAN WATER and NATIONAL GRID (MONEY p.3)

Observer
THROG STREET: Nick Mathiason comments on LAND SECURITIES (potential for former steel town Corby), RIO TINTO (relative to its competitors, ANGLO AMERICAN and BHP BILLITON, it looks a good bet for future share price growth)

Greystone, Digger...many thanks for the traders thread...i always have a look every morning...very informative...Cheers!

Hear, hear.

Morning all

morning all. Greystone is a way for a couple of weeks so Ian is the stand in. Treat him nice and gently, he had his stag do over the weekend:-)

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=906654Outlook

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 3

MARKETS
Tokyo: Nikkei midday 11,649.07 down 117.41
Hang Seng midday 15,078.14 up 26.82

BREAKING NEWS - MONDAY
* Maersk in talks for North Sea assets of Kerr-McGee - FT
* Citigroup planning an aggressive programme of bank acquisitions in growth markets in Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe after the regulatory ban stopping it making big purchases is lifted next year - FT
* Oil demand fuels growth of storage sector - FT
* AIG and Spitzer set to settle for less than Marsh & McLennan paid out - FT
* MARKS & SPENCER to cash in as Littlewoods disappears - Guardian

MONDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on the FTSE plans to introduce "fundamental indices", Enron litigation, Indian pharma
Independent
Small Talk: Michael Jivkov comments on EASIER, MKM (today will see it unveil a much-needed fund raising)

Barclays PLC has been upgraded to 'buy' from 'hold' at Deutsche Bank, with an increased price target of 640 pence from 600, dealers said.
Deutsche noted that last week Barclays reported profits and EPS ahead of its expectations. Deutsche's 2005 EPS forecast is unchanged at 51.6 pence, with 2006 increased by 5 pct to 58.8 pence, largely reflecting the earnings accretion from the ABSA deal.
Whilst Deutsche thinks the second half momentum will be difficult for UK Retail, Barclays Capital and Barclaycard in particular, the broker also said it expects earnings growth in Barclays to accelerate in 2006 and 2007, forecasting 14 pct and 11 pct in each year.

DAN...breakout?

Morning chaps!

Afternoon sb..time flies.