London midday: Market rises despite cash calls

The market is off the top but still in positive territory, despite a flood of fund raising announcements this morning. Property group Liberty International shares have been hit by a placing today of up to 56.1m new shares, increasing its shares in issue by just under 10%. The fund raising comes less than six months after the company raised £592m through a placing an open offer; that money was to cover capital expenditure commitments and pay down debt, whereas the latest injection of cash will enable the group to resume investment in its prime UK regional shopping centres and Central London assets.The shares are the worst performers among the FTSE 100 constituents, and drag down sector peers British Land and Hammerson with them.In contrast the market has welcomed the cash calls from housebuilders Barratt Developments and Redrow.Barratt is issuing even more shares than Liberty. The builder will place 72.9m shares at 240p, representing a 10.6% discount to the closing price of 268.5p yesterday. In addition, there will be a 1.3 for 1 rights issue. In total, 618.4m new shares will be issued. The rights issue will raise £545m and the placing £175m. Rival Redrow also announced an underwritten rights issue to raise approximately £150m to strengthen its balance sheet and enable it to acquire and develop more sites.Finally, Yellow Pages group Yell is getting nearer to a £500m cash call as part of a 'comprehensive refinancing package' being thrashed out with its banks.While others are issuing securities for cash, indebted pub group Punch Taverns is buying back some of its convertible bonds. It has repurchased 10.1% of the original nominal value of the 5.00% convertible bonds due 2010 for cancellation, leaving £73.32m (27% of the original nomination value) of the bonds in circulation.In a generally weak pub group sector, Punch's shares are trading lower but faring better than Enterprise Inns, Greene King and Mitchells & Butlers, all of which are on Swiss bank UBS's sell list, as is Marstons. Shares in luxury fashion group Burberry are in demand after what some newspapers termed 'a triumphant return at London fashion week.' Broker comment provides a lift to insurer Prudential. Cazenove has upgraded the shares to 'outperform'. The broker has also warmed to the Pru's rival, Aviva. Carnival is also the subject of broker attention with Charles Stanley responding to yesterday's third quarter results from the cruise line operator by upgrading the stock to 'buy' from 'hold', albeit with the caveat that the recommendation is 'relatively high risk'.'Going forward, we expect yields to gradually recover in 2010 as consumer demand strengthens and supply growth slows. Very high operational gearing means we anticipate further material upgrades to consensus forecasts as evidence of improved trading starts to come through,' the broker states. The stock's valuation looks 'undemanding for the trough of the cycle,' Charles Stanley analyst Sam Hart believes. 'The key risk is that the US consumer recovery is delayed or is much weaker than we currently anticipate. The shares will also remain highly sensitive to the oil price, as fuel is the key variable input cost,' Hart warns.Bid target Cadbury edges higher though it remains more than a pound below the 900p level Cadbury boss Todd Stitzer reportedly believes is a reasonable starting point for negotiation. Broker Merrill Lynch claims Stitzer suggested at an investor conference that 15 times the company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) would be a fair price for US suitor Kraft Foods to pay; that implies a take-out price of 900p, The Guardian newspaper reports that Stitzer was not commenting specifically on the Kraft bid, but merely observing that previous takeovers in the sector had gone through on an EBITDA multiple in the mid-teens.United Utilities is on track to deliver results in line with its expectations of a "sound underlying financial performance" for the six months ending to September. The group said underlying operating profit in the regulated business is expected to broadly be in line with the first half of last year, reflecting ongoing revenue and cost pressures.PC and video games retailer Game Group saw profits dive for the half year as the slower rate of hardware sales and the lack of major software launches hit turnover. Profit for the six months to July came in at £10.8m against £32.8 in the same period last year on like-for-like sales that slid 16.3% (total sales down 7%). The shares fall back while PC World owner DSG International falls back in sympathy.Brokers seem divided on the share's appeal. Investec and Seymour Pierce are optimistic the fourth quarter software release schedule will provide a boost but Singer Capital Markets is bearish, preferring HMV in this sector. Charles Stanley remains neutral. ' Despite relatively positive news on current trading, strong balance sheet, and apparent cheap valuation, we still remain with a HOLD, sticking to the view that a significant profits shock will arrive over the next 12-18 months, principally reflecting the maturing of the current generation console cycle,' Charles Stanley analyst Peter Smedley said.The sharp downturn in the housing market means that tile and wood floor specialist Topps Tiles expects to sales for the year to 26 September to fall to £186m from £208.1m over the same period the previous year. Like for like sales in the period are likely to be down by 13.4%, the firm, which operates 320 stores, adds.Homeserve expects interim profits to be on track with an improved performance in its core home maintenance business offset by losses in emergency services. Panmure Gordon said the results were in line with expectations and despite the rise in the company's share price, it remains unimpressed and strongly recommends holders take profits.PureCircle, which supplies sweeteners made from the extracts of leaves from the stevia plant to soft drinks giants such as Coca-Cola and Pepsico, posted a sharp rise in profits as demand for its product soared.Short break and educational holiday specialist Holidaybreak is on track to meet management expectations for the full year and said its businesses had not suffered any material impact from the swine flu epidemic.Shares in online betting group Webis hit a 52-week high after moving firmly into the black in the 53 weeks to 31 May 2009. The company chalked up a pre-tax profit of £0.45m, compared to aa loss of £0.35m the year before, on turnover that rose 19.5% to £140.1m from £117.2m.FTSE 100 - RisersBurberry Group (BRBY) 495.00p +3.86%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,516.00p +2.43%Standard Life (SL.) 208.70p +1.71%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,784.00p +1.48%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 567.50p +1.43%FTSE 100 - FallersLiberty International (LII) 519.50p -7.89%British Land Co (BLND) 495.50p -3.41%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 249.40p -2.84%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 52.05p -2.53%Hammerson (HMSO) 423.80p -2.12%