The FTSE 100 is flat in early trading after a weak session in Asia overnight and ahead of the release of inflation data in Europe. Shares in housebuilder Berkeley (BKG) falls 5.3% to £37.15 as a trading update reveals several constraints on future growth as the company says it can’t boost volumes beyond its current plans. Nonetheless it reiterates guidance for £3.1bn of pre-tax profit in ...

Embattled retailer Morrisons (MRW) rises 2.8% to 243.8p on whispers the UK's fourth biggest grocer's founding family wants to take it private. The family, which owns circa 9.5%, is thought to have approached a number of private equity players with a view to stitching together a buyout deal for the struggling supermarket operator which could exceed £7 billion. Morrisons is one of Shares' top picks ...

Cash-generative FTSE 250 homewares retailer Dunelm (DNLM) cheapens 30p to 949p as news of a 0.9% like-for-like revenue decline for the first half leaves investors cold. Though unusually warm weather crimped first quarter sales, the cushions, quilts and pillows purveyor flags much improved second quarter trading, with like-for-like sales growing 2.9%. Cantor Fitzgerald says that while it is not ...

High Street bellwether Marks & Spencer (MKS) is marked down 1.8% to 436.2p as investors fret ahead of Thursday's (9 Jan) third quarter trading statement covering the crucial Christmas period. The Sunday Times claims festive trading was dismal, with deep discounts failing to arrest sliding sales with clothing and homewares revenues reversing up to 1.5% to heap further pressure on chief ...

The market looks like it will end the week on a happy note as the FTSE 100 is presently up 26 points to 6,707 as of Friday morning. There's not much corporate newsflow so the blue chip names are being driven by other factors such as analyst notes. Indeed, Costa Coffee-owner Whitbread (WTB) shares break the £35 barrier for the first time as JP Morgan upgrades the stock to 'overweight' with a ...

The Hotels sub sector is a play on economic growth which in turn influences consumer and business confidence. The stronger the economy, the stronger the demand for hotels. GDP growth is good for hotel revenues and, because there’s traditionally been a strong element of fixed costs to the industry, operational gearing benefits means profits should rise at a faster pace than revenue. The caveat ...

A decent set of half-year numbers helps to push up leisure giant Whitbread (WTB) by 2% to £34.39. We're slightly surprised by the market reaction given that there's nothing to warrant earnings upgrades by analysts and there's a growing number of 'sell' ratings on the stock. Yet Whitbread continues to deliver a robust performance. Deutsche Bank comments: 'The longer-term story remains intact, with ...

Indebted Hovis-to-Bisto maker Premier Foods (PFD) perked up 13% to 87p as rumours swirled surrounding a private equity bid significantly north of 130p a share. Shareholders include private equity group Warburg Pincus and hedge fund Paulson & Co.   A push on the retail sector by investment bank Nomura helped to lift Dixons Retail (DXNS) by 1.9% to 43.4p. The stock is a running Shares ...

Companies that trade at a large discount to their net asset value can be interesting investment propositions. This situation often occurs with property firms. Yet a property is only worth what someone else will pay for it, hence why shares can trade at massive discounts. One such company dealing with the reality of a depressed market is Clear Leisure (CLP:AIM), a microcap which looks to have ...