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CFD Traders DiaryLast day for Corus bids30/1/2007
Ahead
of the Federal Reserve meeting in the US, the FTSE 100 index has
drifted back, and once again the miners are under pressure as metal prices
weaken again.
This morning’s statement from Kazakhmys
was not well received, as the company managed only a slim rise in copper
production in 2006. It reported copper
cathode production, excluding copper produced through tolling arrangements, up
5% for the year to December while copper in concentrate production increased 9%
against last year. The shares were down
2.3% mid-morning, with Antofagasta, Vedanta and Xstrata
all also weak.
In other results, specialist mortgage provider Kensington's underlying profits rose by 17% to £65.2m last year,
but it added that tough competition will result in slower profit growth this
year. Provisions as a percentage of
mortgage assets under management increased to 0.71%. Carpetright
saw total sales rise in the third quarter, driven largely by new floor space. The UK and Republic of Ireland recorded a total sales
increase of 7.0% for the third quarter to 27
January 2007, but like-for-like sales increased by just 0.1%. St
Ives reported that trading remains extremely challenging and forward
visibility continues to be limited. Results
for the year as a whole will be broadly in line with current market
expectations, though the first half figures are likely to be below last year
with a significant improvement expected in the second half.
Otherwise there was little news of note, with Corus Group shares marked up 1% as the auction between Tata and
CSN draws to a conclusion later today. Mears Group says that chief executive
Stuart Black has resigned with immediate effect. Executive Chairman Bob Holt will assume the
role of chief executive, while David Miles had been promoted to Managing
Director of Social Housing and made a director of the company.
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