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Talk BHP is on buy trail looks to be off target(Evening Standard Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) BUSINESS EVENING STANDARD CLAIMS that BHP Billiton may be about to hit the acquisition trail appear wide of the mark. It had been rumoured the world's biggest mining company was about to make an offer for US rival Freeport-McMoRan. But the New Orleans-based mining company has forecast a big decline in sales of copper and gold at its Indonesian mining interests over the next four years. BHP chief executive Charles "Chip" Goodyear said in August that he had no intention of buying assets to remain bigger than his rivals. Freeport cut its sales forecast in July, worried by the impact of protests and Indonesian government scrutiny on its Grasberg mine. Speculation about BHP bosses' cold feet lifted the shares 21p to 987p. Strong performances by Far East shares today put some pep back into City investors, and share prices in London were marked higher. The FTSE index rose 30.4 to 6233.0. Drugs giant AstraZeneca rocked the market after warning that full-year earnings per share would be at the lower end of the range of between $3.85 and $3.95, indicated when thirdquarter numbers were announced. The group blamed one-off costs associated with the possible launch of its generic metoprolol succinate drug for heart-disease treatment, expected to be around $150 million, or eight cents a share. The news emerged as the company said it had entered into a supply and distribution agreement with Par Pharmaceutical to distribute the authorised generic version of the drug in the US. A profits warning left mortgage provider Kensington down 881/2p at 8161/2p. Despite a booming housing market and the clamour for mortgages, Kensington said profits for 2006 were likely to be toward the lower end of expectations. It blamed a continuing decline in the value of new business lending in the first-charge mortgage market, where competition has reduced margins, and added that it was getting low income from early redemption charges. New business completions for the 11 months to 31 October were up 19% on the previous year at more than GBP3.7 billion. Insurer Legal & General firmed 2p to 1551/2p after Credit Suisse raised the shares from underperform to neutral despite pressures in back-book policies offsetting new business creation. Credit Suisse raised the price target from 126p to 159p. It also noted that Friends Provident, 1/4p firmer at 216p, and Legal & General appear to have efficient administration and good customer service platforms, which could put them in a good position for the future. Northern Foods jumped 91/2p to 112p after announcing the sale of its specialist bread, chilled pastry, cakes and flour-milling business to private equity firm Vision Capital for GBP160 million. It was the first day of trading on AIM for Catalytic Conversions, which makes catalysts for chemical-making applications and cars, following a placing at 123p. The shares opened at 1321/2p and settled at 133p. Shares traded a touch firmer in New York overnight, but overall demand was dull with investors appearing reluctant to open fresh positions ahead of of the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. Wall Street has enjoyed a strong run of late and brokers say there is still scope for improvement . That was made apparent by stocks such as Google, which enjoyed further support. The Dow closed up 5.05 at 12,321.59. Shares continued to make progress in the Far East after a strong start. The appearance of a few bargain-hunters in Tokyo enlivened trade, with companies such as SoftBank and Fast Retailing rebounding from recent sell-offs. The Nikkei 225 closed 180.09 points higher at 15,914.23. Blue-chips bounced back in Hong Kong with banks and energy providers makingmuch of the running. The Hang Seng index was up 186.65 at 19,194.95 by the end of the morning session. IN THE NEWS ANNABEL STEPHENS, senior investment counsellor at Citigroup Private Bank, is one of the "Ten Young Guns" aged between 21 and 32 selected by online broadcaster Cantos as up-and-coming talents in the City. Stephens graduated in modern languages from Oxford. She has already worked in stockbroking and institutional sales with Citigroup. TRADERTALK ACQUISITIVE US hedge fund Steel Partners has increased its holding in equipment hire group Lavendon, in its first trade in the stock for a year. Steel, run by Warren Lichtenstein, bought 300,000 shares to lift its holding to 3.04 million shares, or 8% of the GBP101.5 million company. Equipment rented out by Lavendon includes scissor lifts, boom lifts and truck mounts that allow work in elevated areas. Steel invests globally, takes an activist approach, often attempting to elect its own people to company boards, and has a record of making hostile bids for its the companies in which it invests. www.citywire.co.uk Copyright 2006 Evening Standard. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Europe Intelligence Wire. |