London close: Footsie spins its wheels

15th Mar 2012 16:51

- Investment management firms disappoint- Hard times on the High Street- Phlegmatic response to Fitch's threat to cut UK's AAA ratingAfter a brief sojourn in positive territory during the morning session, the top share index returned to the region where it spent most of the day, bumping along just below last night's close.The decision by ratings agency Fitch to revise the outlook on the United Kingdom's triple-A rating to "negative" from "stable" was largely met with a figurative shrug of the shoulders. The agency said that the change reflects the "very limited" fiscal space to absorb further adverse economic shocks in light of such elevated debt levels and a potentially weaker than currently forecast economic recovery. Fitch notes that the UK's structural deficit is second only to that of the US and that its debt level is "significantly above" the 'AAA' median, although the agency does judge the government's fiscal consolidation plans to be "credible". Blood on the High StreetBritain's leading supermarket chain, Tesco, has long been regarded as one of Britain's world-class operators but it is increasingly looking like a company in turmoil as this morning it was confirmed that Richard Brasher, the head of Tesco's UK operations, is to quit the board.Chief Executive Officer, Philip Clarke is taking a much greater interest in the UK business since the supermarket group's recent profit warning, and no one likes working with the boss constantly looking over your shoulder. As Panmure Gordon put it, there can only be one captain on the bridge, so Brasher is walking the plank.The supermarket firm is in better shape than Home Retail Group, the owner of the Argos and Homebase brands. Indeed, some argue that Tesco is largely the cause of the problems at Argos, which is struggling to hold on to market share as Tesco Direct encroaches on its market.Like-for-like (LFL) sales at Argos chain have taken another tumble in 2012. The group said Argos's LFL sales in the eight weeks to February 25th were down 8.5% year-on-year (YOY). The Homebase part of the business fared a little better, but still saw LFL sales down 6.5% on a YOY basis.Another company struggling with tough economic conditions is commercial vehicle hire specialist Northgate which said that profits for the current financial year are likely to be at the lower end of market expectations. The group is seeking to address declining vehicle utilisation levels but tough economic conditions in its main markets of the UK and Spain are not helping matters.Investment management firms struggleStrategic partners reshaping their insurance books withdrew billions of euros of funds from the care of F&C Asset Management (FCAM) in 2011. Assets under management at the year's end were £100.1bn, down from £105.8bn at the same point in 2010. Net outflows totalled £7.2bn, so the underlying performance of the portfolio was positive, but the shares still tanked. Sector peer Ashmore was also on the slide.Witan Investment Trust was unchanged despite admitting that its 2011 performance substantially lagged that of its benchmark index. Net asset value per ordinary share on a debt at par value fell 11.6% from 584.4p to 516.9p, while on a fair value basis it dropped 12.9% from 578.1p to 503.7p. The shares currently trade around the 500p mark.Specialist banking and asset manager Investec says full year results will show a drop in operating income as volatile markets dented performance in the second half of the year.Further down the investment food chain, financial services firm Cenkos stumbled after it told a similar story of life getting tougher in the second half of the year. Revenue fell 25.3% from £58.5m in 2010 to £43.7m in 2011, while profit before tax dropped by 9% from £6.6m to £6.0m. te sharp differential in the rats of decline is largely down to a sharp fall in performance related pay.Footsie movers and shakersPharmaceuticals firm Shire has withdrawn its Biologics Licence Application for its enzyme replacement product REPLAGAL with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recent interactions with the FDA have led the Shire to believe that the agency will require additional controlled trials for approval of the product.Power systems developer Rolls-Royce has announced another big contract win, this time to design and equip four deep-water platform supply vessels for Hyundai. The contract is worth more than £45m to Rolls-Royce and includes options for a further two of the vessels, which are designed to supply equipment and services to deep-water oil and gas platforms. Workers at defence firm BAE Systems have agreed to take a pay cut aimed at saving 120 jobs. The firm said 2,000 staff at its Samlesbury and Warton sites would take one day of unpaid leave a month for two years in order to prevent compulsory redundancies.Among the mid-caps, shares in Domino Printing, the food label printer, were looking past their sell-by date after the company revealed a slump in sales. The group has continued to experience a slowdown in the rate of order conversion on capital equipment projects during the first four months of its new financial year, which started in November. In contrast, pub company Spirit was on a high after it said it will meet full year expectations after taking full control of its leased estate and identifying under-performing pubs for the chop. The company, which was demerged from Punch Taverns in the Spring of last year, has 800 managed and around 550 leased pubs. The managed division saw like-for-like (LFL) sales up 4.6% in the 12 weeks to March 3, ahead of forecasts by analysts at Peel Hunt, who had predicted a 3% rise.FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 36.45p +2.82%Next (NXT) 2,901.00p +2.62%ICAP (IAP) 412.20p +2.28%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,547.50p +1.94%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 961.50p +1.91%Carnival (CCL) 2,053.00p +1.63%Kingfisher (KGF) 299.70p +1.59%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,412.00p +1.51%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 175.10p +1.45%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,203.00p +1.43%FTSE 100 - FallersShire Plc (SHP) 2,158.00p -3.14%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,650.00p -2.92%Cairn Energy (CNE) 331.40p -1.46%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 372.20p -1.46%National Grid (NG.) 649.50p -1.44%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,075.00p -1.29%BP (BP.) 492.75p -1.26%United Utilities Group (UU.) 620.50p -1.04%BT Group (BT.A) 215.80p -1.01%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,470.00p -1.01%FTSE 250 - RisersLogica (LOG) 102.10p +5.64%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 15.97p +5.55%Carpetright (CPR) 679.50p +4.38%Regus (RGU) 116.50p +4.02%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 766.00p +3.65%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 236.60p +3.36%Exillon Energy (EXI) 220.10p +3.14%Michael Page International (MPI) 492.60p +3.03%FTSE 250 - FallersDomino Printing Sciences (DNO) 560.50p -15.52%Northgate (NTG) 220.50p -7.43%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 68.20p -6.58%Renishaw (RSW) 1,396.00p -6.12%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 153.00p -4.97%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 414.00p -4.59%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 740.50p -4.33%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 79.50p -4.16%UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) 70.30p -3.70%Premier Farnell (PFL) 220.90p -3.45%jh