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CFD Traders DiaryProfit warning from EMI12/1/2007 The FTSE 100 index was
quiet this morning as traders squared positions after volatile trading
yesterday. EMI was a big faller as it announced that annual profits at its
music business would fall short of expectations after a weak Christmas. Music boss Alain Levy is also leaving as part
of a £110m cost-cutting exercise and will be replaced by executive chairman
Eric Nicoli.
Carphone Warehouse reported a 3%
rise in like-for-like profits in the three months to December with revenues up
by 7.3% like-for-like and by 31.8% to £1.08bn overall.
The telecoms arm added 540,000 users to its TalkTalk broadband service, of
which 132,000 were on unbundled lines. Carphone
said it now has 2.2m broadband customers including those acquired with AOL.
Housebuilder Barratt said
interim pre-tax profits were in line with management expectations.
In other news, InterContinental Hotels
was on the move as bid talk resurfaced. Speculation has centred on a private
equity bid from the likes of Permira, Starwood Capital or a consortium in the Middle East. Bear Stearns upgraded drug giant Astra Zeneca to “outperform” from
“peer perform” with a 3,300p price target arguing that the shares are now
looking relatively cheap following the recent sell-off. Deutsche Bank said Rio Tinto and Xstrata
are its top picks in the big cap mining sector, as it upgraded Kazakhmys to “buy” from “hold” with a
new target of 1,240p from 1,220p. |
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