UK Inflation 1.9%; BA Strike Prompts Seat Rush

Mayank Mehta
15 Dec, 2009
New York City

UK inflation in November was 1.9%, just under the Bank of England target of 2%. Home prices in October decreased 2.2%. British Airways strike prompted a scramble to add new seats at Virgin and EasyJet. Whitbread makes

[R]4:00 PM London, 11:00 AM New York – UK inflation in November was 1.9%, just under the Bank of England target of 2%. Home prices in October decreased 2.2%. British Airways strike prompted a scramble to add new seats at Virgin and EasyJet. Whitbread makes £36 million offer for Coffeeheaven.[/R]

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 34.06 or 0.6% to 5,281.28 and the pound edged lower to close at $1.622 and to close at €1.109.

The Office for National Statistics said that consumer prices increased at 1.9% in November. Home prices declined 2.2% in October from a year ago after falling at 4.1% in September according to the Department of Communities and Local Government.

Gainers & Losers

British Airways Plc fell 2.3% to 196.30 pence said on Tuesday it will do ""everything possible"" to minimize disruptions to its customers from a planned strike over the busy Christmas travelling period by cabin crew of its major airline partner British Airways PLC. The 12-waklout could disrupt travel plans of 1 million people.

Virgin Atlantic plans to fly bigger planes to Boston, Washington and New York and EasyJet Plc plans to add more seats to meet a sudden rise in demand.

Carpetright plc decreased 0.8% to 915.50 pence after the specialist floor covering retailer said full-year revenues rose 9% to £258.0 million from £236.8 million a year ago. Net profit for the full-year rose 14.7% to £7.8 million or 11.5 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £6.8 million or 10.1 pence per share a year ago.

Connaught plc the social housing firm fell 1.7% to 370.00 pence.

Fiberweb Plc surged 13.7% to 66.00 pence after the nappy-material maker expects better results for the full year to December 2009. European industrial has continued to perform well with encouraging sales growth from new products in both medical and construction markets.

Go-Ahead Group PLC rose 0.4% to 1,277.00 after the bus and train group said it expect bus operations to remain strong in the second half of this year and to benefit from a full year of acquisition contributions, and a fully hedged reduction in fuel costs of around £6 million, in the next financial year.

Informa plc the Lloyd List publisher and exhibitions group gained 0.1% to 295.30 pence.

International Personal Finance plc increased 7.6% to 217.00 pence after the credit lender said that the full year results are expected to be ahead of the expectations if the current trend continues for the rest of the holiday period.

National Express Group PLC fell 1.0% to 185.00 pence.

The Rank Group Plc gained 4.1% to 81.30 after the bingo and gaming group said Tuesday that it will request the repayment of £25.9 million ($42 million) of overpaid tax after a tribunal ruling regarding taxes on certain types of amusement machines.

Renovo Group plc declined 2.6% to 27.25 pence after the biopharmaceutical product company said full-year revenues fell 33% to £5.07 million from £7.6 million a year ago. Net loss for the full-year was £17.1 million or 9.1 pence per diluted share compared to net loss of £13.4 million or 7.2 pence per share a year ago.

Robert Walters plc rose 1.1% to 183.00 pence and the recruitment company expects to achieve break-even or a small profit before tax for the year ending December 2009 on the lower cost base and a slight improvement in trading conditions.

Scott Wilson Group plc declined 0.4% to 120.00 pence after the design and engineering consultancy said first-half revenues fell 8% to £159.3 million from £173.2 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half rose 8.7% to £6.99 million or 9.62 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £6.43 million or 8.34 pence per share a year ago.

Serco Group plc added 0.6% to 526.00 pence after the support services company, said Tuesday it remains on track to deliver on financial guidance for 2009, and continues to see further potential opportunities in both existing and new markets.

Tenon Group PLC the business advisory firm increased 1.0% to 50.00 pence.

VT Group plc fell 0.1% to 525.00 pence said that it has made two approaches to Mouchel Group plc over a four week period. The second proposal, which was made on December 2 was to exchange each Mouchel share for 0.475 new company shares with a 50% cash alternative on a mix and match basis funded from company''s own resources.

Whitbread PLC advanced 0.3% to 1,385.00 pence after the Costa coffee owner said that the boards of directors of Costa Limited and Coffeeheaven have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer for Coffeeheaven.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 30 increased, 68 declined and 4 were unchanged.

Fresnillo Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 2.75% followed by losses in Amec Plc of 2.71%, in Tullow Oil Plc of 2.71%, in Barclays Plc of 2.59%, and in HSBC Holdings Plc of 2.51%.

Legal & General Group Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 2.33% followed by increase in Severn Trent Plc of 2.10%, in Carnival Plc of 2.05%, in United Utilities Group Plc of 1.99%, and in The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc of 1.66%.