Member Info for ParanoiaBlue

"Rentokil 4Q Earnings Fall 43%; Scraps Dividend Pest control and cleaning specialist Rentokil Initial PLC Friday posted a 43% fall in fourth-year earnings as losses in all divisions continued, and said that trading conditions remain tough."

..almost into the "Flirty Thirties!"

...is more like it!!

Land Securities, the UK's largest Real Estate Investment Trust (Reits), will follow rivals Hammerson and British Land in launching a deeply-discounted rights issue aimed at bolstering the company's balance sheet, says the Telegraph.

"B&Q owner Kingfisher reported a 5.5% drop in fourth quarter like-for-like sales and said it is on track to meet full-year profit expectations. Total sales rose 11% to £2.3bn in the 13 weeks to 31 January, though sales in the UK were down 4.2%, or 6.8% on a like for like basis. Kingfisher expects full year adjusted pre-tax profits to be in line with the current analyst consensus of £364m."

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business/Second-hotel-group-signals-difficult.4994927.jp

Please, remember that BB has never quite shaken off the link with “mad cow disease” or even the lesser affliction of “extremely silly cow syndrome.” I leave these thoughts with you, for reasonable contemplation and response!

Hope you didn't sell on Tuesday, SP is picking up again. Hint 1: SP go up and down. It is the overall trend that counts, unless you are day-trader. Unfortunately, it is a well known fact – that most end up losing their money Hint 2: If one shorts, and the price goes down, one makes money!

"This is supported by our analysis of the early 1990's where the relative share prices of hotel groups on both sides of the Atlantic lagged rather than led economic recovery," Teathers said. Intercontinental shares finished 12.25p higher at 487.25p."

Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels warned investors that it has seen a sharp deterioration in fourth quarter trading. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for all its brands at constant currency advanced by just 0.9% for the full-year to 31st December and dropped by 12.2% in January. January RevPAR was down 11.7% in the Americas, down 11.8% in EMEA and 14.8% lower in Asia Pacific. Moreover, forward bookings data shows no sign of improvement in levels of demand. The board has proposed a final dividend per share of 20.2p. "The sharp deterioration that we reported on last November has continued into 2009 and we see no signs of improvement at this stage," said chief executive Andrew Cosslett. "It has been clear for some time that 2009 will be a challenging year and we have taken action to prepare the business, including strict management of cash and a significant reduction in costs," he added. Broker Teathers reiterated its 'reduce' rating for the shares and said earnings before interest, tax and amortisation were in line at 535 million dollars while earnings per share were 4% ahead of the broker's forecasts thanks to lower interest charges and a lower tax rate. Net debt of 1,273 million dollars, down by 386 million dollars during the year, was lower than Teathers had been anticipating. In conclusion, the broker said it expects 2010 to be another down year for the hotel trade and believes it is too early to buy into hotel stocks as recovery plays."

Our view: Sell Share price: 146.75p (-16.25p) Investors in South African paper group Mondi will not count yesterday as one of the group's finest. The shares were down 10 per cent after Mondi issued a trading statement under the rules of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where it has a dual listing. Under JSE rules, when basic earnings per share are expected to come in 20 per cent lower than the previous year, a company is obliged to tell the market. The company said that full-year EPS would be between 19 cents and 23 cents, down from 39.5 cents in 2007. It also confirmed yesterday that full-year operating profits would be about 8 per cent down on last year. For the investor who likes a white-knuckle ride, watchers at the company's house broker UBS set a price target of 200p, but concede that they are “concerned by weakening price [and] volumes, which are unlikely to improve over next 12 months.” The experts at Goldman Sachs downgraded the group to a sell yesterday, saying the "first half of 2009 will be tough, with demand trends seen as very weak". Mondi will issue its full-year numbers on 26 February, but we would not be inclined to wait that long. Sell.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business/Land-Securities-confirms-it-is.4985866.jp

I"nterContinental Hotels (IHG), the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotel chain operator, warned that it has seen a sharp deterioration in fourth quarter trading. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for all its brands at constant currency was up by 0.9% in the full-year ended 31 December, but dropped by 12.2% in January."

.

Round 3

Reiteration: BUY Target = 52.0p

"Drug developer Antisoma fell into the red at the interim stage but said it has the cash resources to continue investment in its drug pipeline until mid-2011."

Land Securities is working on plans for a discounted rights issue later this week in the latest demand for emergency funds from investors in the beleaguered property sector. The issue is forecast to target as much as £750m ($1bn) and to be fully underwritten, although the details of the equity raising are still being worked on and the company has not given the issue the final green light, reports the FT.

Check with "sp3cy" - he will know the “out-in-the-sticks vernacular” in the far "rothn"!

Re: bucket – the link is the drink! Anyway, catch you later. Off to chat with the good-lady. Early night! Early start! Next week looks………………….interesting! Hmmmmm! Take care, and be very aware!!!