(BWNG.L) Brown (N) Group PLC Buy/Sell

The Times

SWEDES PREPARE TO SNAP UP STAKE IN BRITAIN'S NEW NUCLEAR

REACTORS

Vattenfall, Europe's fifth-largest electricity utility, is weighing up plans for a potential multibillion-pound investment in EDF's project to construct four new reactors in the UK at Hinkley Point in Somerset and Sizewell in Suffolk. EDF, which is 82 per cent owned by the French government, is looking to offload part of its stake in the project as it aims to reduce its 34.4 billion pounds debt burden. A spokesperson for Vattenfall confirmed that the company was "open to new opportunities" in Britain. "If we decide to make an active move then we will inform the market," he added.

SURPRISE FALL IN YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT DISMISSED AS THE 'LULL

BEFORE THE STORM'

Unemployment in Britain defied expectations that it would

rise above 2.5 million as new official figures showed joblessness at 2.47 million in the three months to July. Similarly, the number of young people out of work dropped to 946,000, surprising economists who were expecting youth unemployment to jump through the one million mark. However, David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, said the figures on youth joblessness simply pointed towards the "lull before the storm". Wednesday's better-than expected data lead some analysts to revise their forecasts that unemployment would climb to three million in 2010.

BAE LEFT LICKING TS WOUNDS ON ARMOR ACQUISITION

After losing a major contract to build armoured trucks for the US Army, BAE Systems warned on Wednesday that it might have to write down a "significant" part of the 2.4 billion pounds goodwill linked to its acquisition of Armor Holdings in 2007. In a trading update, the company also denied any wrongdoing following an earlier announcement by the Serious Fraud Office that BAE could be charged over accusations of corruption in arms exports. It added that it was not possible to estimate the potential financial impact of the SFO's inquiries.
TEMPUS:

N Brown (buy)

Datatec (buy on weakness)

Air Partner (there will be better times to buy)

The Daily Telegraph

DIAGEO SALES DECLINE WORSENS AS US STOCKS CUT FURTHER

Spirits maker Diageo has reported a worse-than-expected six per cent drop in first-quarter sales, as its US customers continued to reduce the amount of stock they hold. The fall is twice the amount expected by analysts and greater than the two percent contraction of the final quarter of the last fiscal year. The company said it expects "low single-digit" profit growth this year and is on track to slash costs by 120 million pounds. Diageo's cost-cutting programme includes the closure of two sites in Scotland - a decision attacked by Scotland's First Minister.

GRADE BLAMES 'SELF-OBSESSED' MEDIA FOR ITV EXECUTIVE SAGA.
Michael Grade, the outgoing executive chairman of

ITV, has blamed the media's focus on the broadcaster for its difficulty in finding a new chairman and chief executive. Speaking before the House of Lords Communications Committee on Wednesday in response to a query by Lord Fowler, Grade explained: "There is a round-by-round commentary going on in the media. the media is utterly self-obsessed and we get more ink than we should get". Meanwhile, it is rumoured that some of ITV's leading shareholders do not want to see an internal candidate appointed as chief executive.

PUNCH PURSUES MORE PUB SALES TO REPAY DEBT AFTER REDUCING

BORROWINGS BY ONE BILLION POUNDS

Having raised 414 million pounds by selling about 800 pubs in the year to August 22, Punch Taverns plans to generate another 200 million pounds by selling more pubs next year. The group, which aims to reduce debt and dispose of its worst-performing outlets, has written down the value of its estate by 663 million pounds to reflect shrinking earnings amid the recession. The write-down widened the group's pre-tax losses to 405.7 million pounds, compared to last year's 80.2 million pound loss. Chief executive Giles Thorley said write-downs should come to an end when pub earnings start to rise again.
QUESTOR:

Dana Petroleum (buy)

BAE Systems (buy)

The Independent

PHYTOPHARM SOARS 340 PER CENT ON DRUG TRIAL

Shares in biotechnology group Phytopharm closed up 339.6 per cent at 26.95 pence after announcing that early trials of its potential Parkinson's disease treatment had produced impressive results. The group said Cogane reduced Parkinsonian disability in monkeys by 43 per cent, while in a separate phase 1b clinical trial, the drug was found to be safe in both healthy volunteers and Parkinson's disease sufferers. The Michael J Fox Foundation contributed 1.16 million dollars for the study. However, Andy Smith, of Axa Framlington, pointed out that it could take up to ten years before the product comes to market.

BREAKINGVIEWS SOLD

Thomson Reuters is to acquire the financial

commentary website Breakingviews in a deal believed to be worth 13 million pounds. The group announced the deal in the US on Wednesday night, when it stated it should be completed in eight weeks. The site will be merged with the commentary team established by Thomson last year. Breakingviews founder Hugo Dixon will run the combined division and will once again work with his former business partner Jonathan Ford. The move follows Bloomberg's purchase of Business Week magazine.

HANSON TO BE STRAND CHAIRMAN

Robert Hanson, son of the late Lord Hanson, is to take on the role of chairman at Strand Partners, the Mayfair-based investment banking boutique. The move will see Hanson step down from the advisory panel at Hanson Westhouse, the corporate finance and broking house. Hanson will take a ten per cent stake in Strand, which will now be known as Strand Hanson. The placing of his 19.62 per cent stake in Westhouse should net him around 1.3 million pounds.

INVESTMENT COLUMN:

Punch Taverns (sell)

N Brown (buy)

Air Partner (hold)
The Guardian

BSKYB REPORTS TO INTERNET THREAT BY ALLOWING ITS PROGRAMMES

ON TO FREEVIEW

BSkyB is set to respond to the emerging online television threat by announcing a deal with London-based IP Vision on Thursday that will enable viewers to watch its programming through a Freeview set-top box. The move is expected to boost the broadcaster's argument that licence fee money should not be spent into content platforms such as Canvas, the online TV service put together by ITV, Channel Four, BBC and BT which will be open to any internet service provider or broadcaster. Viewers will need to purchase a Fetch TV set-top box and connect it into a broadband internet connection as well as their TV set and aerial.

HANDBAGS AND SNOODS BOOST SALES FOR LUXURY BRAND BURBERRY

Shares in Burberry rose 28.5 pence to close at 565.5

pence as the luxury goods label reported a recession-busting performance in the second quarter. The company reported sales of 343 million pounds in the period, five per cent higher compared to the same time last year. Retail sales, which account for more than half of group sales, increased by 14 per cent in the first half, or 27 per cent taking into consideration the boost from the pound/dollar exchange rate. Burberry has opened nine new stores in the last six months, including new sites in Singapore and Tokyo.

MAIL ORDER FIRM N BROWN REVEALS RECORD PROFITS

N Brown, the British mail order firm, revealed plans to launch in the US as it reported record half-year profits on Wednesday. For the six months to 29 August, the company's profits were 41.8 million pounds, a 13 per cent increase. Chief executive Alan White commented on the specialist retailer's decision to break into the American market: "The total market for the outsize customer is something of the order of 35 billion dollars. So if you can get even a small share of a big market, it's worth having."

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants

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