STOCKS NEWS UK-Carphone Warehouse leaps; RBS ramps up view

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07:35GMT 19Jun2009
Carphone Warehouse leaps; RBS ramps up view

Shares in telecoms-to-retail group Carphone Warehouse rise as much as 8 percent, helped higher after analysts at RBS up their rating on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold', ramp up their price target on the stock to 230 pence from 114 pence and lift their 2011 earnings forecast 38 percent.

RBS says Carphone's acquisition of Tiscali UK has improved its market position and consequently its bargaining power.

'With roughly the same number of subscribers as BT, CPW now has more leverage in negotiating the price of access to BT's planned fibre network,' RBS analysts write, adding that Tiscali's TV service could also improve the competitiveness of its Talk Talk unit should Carphone exploit it.

They also point to a receding earnings risk for its new Best Buy Europe electrical stores joint venture given an improving market for mid-tier handsets and falling rents on retail space.

'At the current price, we estimate the shares reflect almost no value for the retail business, which we value at 72p,' RBS says, adding that the risk company co-founder David Ross will offload much more of his stake may have receded.

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07:35GMT 19Jun2009
AstraZeneca up as it joins UBS 'First XI'

AstraZeneca shares rise 1 percent as UBS adds the drugmaker to its UK 'First XI' stock list, replacing miner Rio Tinto.

The broker believes there are five drug pipeline opportunities that could drive estimates for AstraZeneca's 2014-16 earnings higher and just one blue-sky success would be needed to enhance the group's performance.

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07:30GMT 19Jun2009
UK small caps gain 0.3 percent early

The FTSE Small Cap index gains 0.3 percent in early trade, in line with the blue chips, while the midcaps add 0.7 percent.

Listed private equity vehicle Candover Investments is among the top FTSE Small Cap risers, up 11.9 percent, after it agrees to sell Wood Mackenzie, an energy research and consulting company, to private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners for an enterprise value of 553 million pounds.

Newspaper and magazine distributor Dawson, meanwhile, is the biggest small cap faller, sliding 28.6 percent after it says News International Distribution will stop using its services 'almost immediately', adding to the spate of contract losses for the company in the recent past.

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07:30GMT 19Jun2009
European stocks inch higher, Porsche down

European shares open slightly higher, with banks and miners rising, but Porsche drops after the carmarker's results fail to impress investors.

At 0723 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares is up 0.2 percent at 852.32 points, after gaining 0.6 percent on Thursday.

BHP Billiton is up 1.3 percent, Rio Tinto up 1.2 percent and Credit Suisse up 0.7 percent. Porsche falls 1.1 percent.

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07:29GMT 19Jun2009
Taylor Wimpey buoyed by trading update

Shares in Taylor Wimpey, down more than a fifth in value in the past fortnight, rise 8 percent after the British housebuilder says it has seen stability in the housing market in the past six weeks and it might increase the number of new sites during the second half.

KBC Peel Hunt analyst Robin Hardy says Taylor Wimpey stock may bounce after a sharp recent correction, but while 'Taylor Wimpey tries to accentuate the positive here ... (it) cannot shake off the wider issues of unemployment and a poor lending environment. The pricing environment is not going to improve any time soon and this is the worst scenario for new build'.

Other housebuilders are also in demand, with Bellway up 3.9 percent, Redrow up 6.6 percent, Persimmon rising 3.8 percent and Bovis Homes rising 3.5 percent.

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07:25GMT 19Jun2009
BSkyB higher; UBS ups to 'buy'

Shares in BSkyB gain 2.5 percent supported by an upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral' by UBS on its view that regulatory fears for the satellitte broadcaster are overdone.

The broker points out, in a note, that Ofcom is expected to publish a further consultation on the pay TV market review by the end of June.

UBS says while the market has focused on the potential downside risks for BSKyB from reduced cable wholesale revenues and increased competition from pay digital terrestrial television and cable, it believes these fears are overstated.

The broker adds, following 25 percent underperformance by the stock over the past three months, the share price is now discounting significant regulatory risk and it has raised its discounted cashflow-based target price for BSkyB to 640 pence from 525.

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07:00 19Jun2009
UBS ups utilities to OW, cuts retail

UBS upgrades its recommendation on utilities to 'overweight', citing attractive dividend yield versus other sectors and bonds, power prices lagging behind oil prices, its underperformance and investors being 'underweight' of the sector.

The broker says in a note it downgrades the general retail sector to 'underweight' because the sector has outperformed the European market and the price relative is almost back to its previous peak.

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