LID.L Share News (LID)

British American Tobacco, the world's second-biggest maker of cigarettes, yesterday delivered a smoking set of results for the first nine months of this year, writes the Investment Column in the Independent. The volume of cigarettes sold by the group slipped by 0.4 per cent but BAT's ability to push through hefty price rises enabled it to register a 7 per cent uplift in organic revenues. BAT currently trades on a forward earnings multiple of 13.7, which means that it isn't exactly pricey. Moreover, the stock boasts a healthy prospective dividend yield of 4.8 per cent. Income stocks are always worth a punt during times of volatility. And that isn't all. Not only does the company offer a nice yield, it also resumed its share buy-back in March and bought 23m shares for £622m over the nine months. The business might not be everyone's taste but its shares are worth investing in. Buy, says the paper.Third quarterlies from CSR make it the fourth chip maker this week to warn that demand for its products is low, notes the Tempus column in the Times. Clearly, people are either delaying the purchase of expensive, inessential consumer gadgets such as smartphones, digital TVs and cameras or delaying upgrading them. The downgrade does not seem much in the scheme of things. CSR shares have more than halved from a peak of 445p in February, over concerns on the purchase of the quoted US company Zoran Corporation, which was finally acquired in August. The company aims to move further into so-called platforms, chips that serve multiple purposes, which are higher margin and more attractive to customers, and about 60 per cent of revenues now come from these. Hold; alternatively, a speculative long-term buy, recommends the paper.We bought into Lidco exactly one year ago, writes the Investment Column in the Independent. Since then, the company, which specialises in heart monitoring equipment, has seen its shares move lower, leading us to wonder whether we should we cut our losses. To find out, we turned to yesterday's half-yearly results, which were in fact encouraging. Revenues were up by more than 20 per cent, and gross profit margins improved, helping Lidco cut its operating loss by 58 per cent. The share price decline has also improved the valuation multiple, which has declined to around 30 times forward earnings, falling to 18.6 times on estimates for the year after. But, given that we are currently sitting on losses, we would not add to our holding. Hold, suggests the paper.An offer for Alterian was probably inevitable ever since the software company made it clear a few weeks ago that it was not for sale, according to the Tempus column in the Times. SDL has duly emerged with an 80p offer worth just short of £50 million that has been rejected. The timing is interesting, though, because SDL has to put up or shut up, that is, sweeten the bid or go hostile, by November 21. This is, probably not coincidentally, when Alterian plans interim figures that will also contain details of a review into how Heath Davies, the new chief executive, plans to turn round the business. That 80p price is not going to impress those who have held the shares since they were 215p a year ago. Better terms, including the offer of some SDL equity to allow investors to participate from now on, would seem to be the order of the day. Alternatively, there could be a counter-bidder. Those with an appetite for risk should stay in there, though they should be aware that the Alterian price could have a long way to fall if the bid fails, the paper suggests.BCPlease note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.