London open
City sources predict FTSE 100 will open up 80 points from its previous close of 5,250.
Stocks to watchPrinting technologies group Domino Printing Sciences has more than doubled full-year profit as customers regain confidence following the end of the recession, increasing volumes by 30%. Profit before tax for the year ended 30 April leapt to Ł23.9m from Ł11.4m in 2009, helped by a Ł1.1m benefit from currency gains, on revenue up 17% to Ł144.8m. “We remain cautious about the European economic outlook but are seeing positive signs throughout the Americas and Asia,” it said.
Property giant Hammerson has assumed full ownership of the Battery Retail Park in the Selly Oak part of Birmingham. Hammerson has bought the 75% interest in the retail park which it did not already own from TIAA-CREF for a consideration, including costs, of Ł49.5m. Battery is a prime retail park of 13,000 square metres over eight units. Built in 1990, it benefits from open A1 retail planning consent.
Infrastructure specialist contractor Balfour Beatty has been appointed preferred bidder for a Derby schools project. Derby City Council has named Balfour as its preferred bidder for its Ł231m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme under which 14 schools in the city will either be built or refurbished.
In the Press
Official forecasts will show George Osborne’s emergency Budget hitting growth and costing jobs in the short term, government sources said last night, but the austerity measures will also create a brighter climate for the economy by the end of the parliament, the FT reports. In a tough Budget that seeks to overachieve on plans to eliminate the deficit, Treasury ministers accept that the new and independent Office for Budget Responsibility will mark down the growth and jobs forecasts as government spending falls and taxes rise.
Harvey McGrath faces a last-ditch battle to save his job as chairman of Prudential this week as more top shareholders call for him to step down over the failed bid to buy AIA in Asia. Fidelity, the Pru’s fifth-largest shareholder, is expected to urge Mr McGrath to resign when it holds a face-to-face meeting with him today. Fidelity, which owns 2.5% of the Pru, is understood to believe that Tidjane Thiam, the chief executive, should also step down, once a new chairman has been appointed, the Times reports.
An internal BP document released on Sunday showed that the company has estimated that oil could pour from its broken well in the Gulf of Mexico at the rate of 100,000 barrels a day, nearly double the current reckoning by the US government. An undated document showing the estimate was released by Congressman Ed Markey, the chairman of an energy sub-committee in the House of Representatives, the Telegraph reports.
Newspaper tips
For those seeking quarterly payments, one company worth buying is HSBC, says the Telegraph’s Questor. The dividend yield is not spectacular at the moment – the yield is a touch under 4pc. However, the market expects a strong hike in payments over the next few years as global markets recover.
Smiths News shares are 108p, so the stock is yielding more than 6%. As chief executive Mark Cashmore continues to develop the business, the price should tick up. In the meantime, the dividend offers investors a handsome income. Buy, says the Mail.
Avanti shares have more than doubled to 439.5p in the past 13 months. Brokers believe the stock is worth at least 650p, but the price is constrained because there is always a risk that the launch of Hylas 1 will be unsuccessful. Investors who bought last year could hedge their bets by selling 25 to 30%. New investors may want to dip a toe in the water – if both satellites do what they are supposed to, there is still real potential in the shares, says the Mail.US close
US stocks closed higher as again investors took comfort from strong demand for a bond auction in Spain. Across the markets, the Dow Jones was up 16 points at 10,450, while the Nasdaq was 2 points higher at 2,309. The S&P 500 rose one to 1,117.
CVS Caremark and Walgreen were both higher after they settled their dispute over reimbursements for drug prescriptions. Express Scripts has fallen.
Anardako Petroleum, BP’s minority partner in the Gulf of Mexico has recovered today following BP chief executive Tony Hayward’s battering by a congressional committee on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Anadarko has managed to keep a low profile throughout the events.
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