| CATEGORY: MARKET REPORT - PRE-OPEN SECTOR: TRAVEL & LEISURE |
London pre-open: Sharp falls predicted as Dow slides |
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Mon 18 Apr 2005
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LONDON (SHARECAST) - Investors need their tin hats on today after a brutal end to the week in the US.
Dow closed down 190 points on Friday and FTSE 100 is expected to be up to 50 points lower when trading starts. Selling is tipped to be widespread, with a lack of big company news scheduled today likely to add to the gloom.
William Hill might buck the trend as it confirmed talks are underway to buy the betting shops of rival Stanley Leisure over £500m. The potential acquisition will delay plans to return £453m to shareholders, announced with its results last month.
Daily Mail & General Trust is making a bid for the soon-to-be-merged Capital Radio-GWR group, according to one of its most senior executives, says the Independent.
The newspaper publisher, which has a 29.9% stake in GWR, will emerge with about 15% of the combined GWR-Capital that will be created next month through a nil-premium merger and called GCap Media.
Also in the press this morning, Whitbread is to quit the German restaurant market after agreeing the sale of its chain of Maredo steakhouses to a private equity firm for between £15m and £20m, The Times reports.
Gold producer Peter Hambro Mining lifted net profits by 48% to $15.3m in 2004. Pre-tax profit rose 50% to $24.3m.
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