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13:26GMT 15Mar2010-Falklands explorers up; oil strike talk
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Shares in small cap oil explorers Desire Petroleum, Rockhopper Exploration and Falklands Oil & Gas move higher on talk that Desire could this week announce an oil discovery.
Desire gains 8.9 percent, while Rockhopper shares are up 11 percent, and Falklands oil & Gas take on 2.2 percent.
The Independent newspaper's Small Talk column says that, according to sources, AIM-listed Desire could announce that it has found oil in the seas north of the Falklands Islands on Thursday or Friday.
One trader points out that while investors are hoping for some news soon, with Desire having commenced drilling three weeks ago on February 22, no-one is holding their breath just yet.
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09:10GMT 15Mar2010-Gulf Keystone down, placing weighs
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Shares in Gulf Keystone fall 4.6 percent after the Iraq-focused oil explorer announces a discounted placing to raise 16 million pounds, with additional funding needed later in the year for its drilling programme.
Evolution Securities analyst David Farrell says as much as a further $100-$125 million could be needed, based on a 2010 capex commitment of $150 million.
"In this regard, the placing discount of 12 percent is somewhat concerning," he says, keeping his "Reduce" recommendation on the stock.
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08:43GMT 15Mar2010-Centrica lifted by Nomura target hike
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Shares in Centrica add 1.9 percent as Nomura hikes its target price for the gas distributor to 370 pence from 340 pence and repeats its "buy" rating after raising its estimates.
Nomura says, in a note, that following Centrica's recent full-year 2009 results and its Capital Markets day held last Friday, it raises its 2012 EPS forecast for the group by about 5 percent, and now sits around 10 percent above consensus for each of the next three years.
The broker says it now expect Centrica's downstream profitability to grow to 1.2 billion pounds in 2012, up from 1.0 billion where previously it had assumed flat profitability.
Nomura thinks that Centrica "is uniquely positioned to grow its downstream Energy and Home Services divisions on the back of greater scale, superior systems, a lower cost base and brand recognition."
The broker says Centrica remains a top pick in the European Utilities space.
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08:30GMT 15Mar2010-UK small caps flat early on
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The FTSE Small Cap index is flat in early deals, just outperforming the blue chips and the mid caps, both of which slip 0.1 percent.
French Connection is the top small cap riser, up 7.7 percent as the fashion retailer accompanies full-year results with plans to sell its loss-making Nicole Farhi brand and close most of its U.S. stores.
Seymour Pierce ups its rating for French Connection to "hold" from "sell".
But shares in TT Electronics shed 2.6 percent as the electronic components supplier posts a 96 percent drop in full-year adjusted pretax profit.
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08:17GMT 15Mar2010-BT Group buoyed by Citigroup upgrade
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Shares in BT Group gain 1.6 percent, topping the FTSE 100 leaders board as Citigroup ups its rating for the telcoms operator to "buy" from "hold" with an increased target price of 150 pence, up from 145 pence, citing valuation grounds.
"We believe that the post results fall in BT's shares was overdone and that earnings recovery should continue on the back of cost savings, economic recovery and improving revenue mix," Citigroup says in a note.
"We expect the pension regulator's interest to mainly focus on repayment timing -- accelerating recovery payments to 12 years from 17 (years) would cut our BT valuation by only 3 pence/share but we allow an additional 2 billion pounds pension deficit NPV (net present value) for prudence," the broker adds.
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