Next Share News (NXT)

Preliminary results from fashion chain Next were slightly better than Panmure Gordon had been anticipating, with profit before tax coming in at £504.6m versus Panmure's prediction of £497.1m.The final dividend, at 47p, was also a lot more generous than Panmure Gordon's forecast of 41p, and 'shows management's confidence in the year to come.'Next found other ways to exceed the broker's expectations with 'gross margins and operating margins in Retail and Directory better than forecast,' while net debt at £400m was way below Panmure Gordon's prediction of £515m, which 'bodes well for further share buybacls.'The broker is reviewing its forecasts for fiscal 2011 and has retained its 'buy' rating.Weak sales and significant institutional redemptions were the main takeaways from Wednesday's pre-close trading update from hedge fund manager Man Group, according to Charles Stanley.The broker concedes that much of the bad news was already factored in to the share price, but thinks that 'it is too early to factor in an improvement in performance fees and redemptions for the next financial year,' even though recent performance has improved.'Until the recent total sales and redemptions improvement becomes a longer-term trend we feel that there is little to get excited about other than the yield of over 10%. However, if redemptions are similar in magnitude again next financial year as they were last year it is hard to see how Man Group can maintain the dividend given the further downward pressure on fees,' the broker concludes.Charles Stanley rates the shares as a 'hold'. The absence of a chief financial officer and the impending departure of its chief executive officer does not seem to be holding back no-frills airline easyJet much, according to Nomura Securities, which rates the shares as a 'buy'.The Japanese broker has adjusted its forecasts for easyJet to factor in a better revenue environment, underlying cost cuts and the deterioration of sterling value against the US dollar. The net effect is an upgrade to its 2010 profit before tax forecast from £140m to £185m and an increase in the broker's valuation of the stock from 420p to 500p.