ABN cut its rating on the stock to reduce from hold

ABN cut its rating on the stock to “reduce” from “hold”.Online Travel soared 4.75p to 28.25p on news of an all-share bid from its rival lastminute , down 8p to 227p. Yule Catto dropped 7p to 255p before today’s full-year results from the speciality chemicals group. In December, Yule Catto disappointed the market with a particularly gloomy outlook message for 2004, causing analysts to cut their profit forecasts by between 20 and 30 per cent. “After a strong share price recovery, we believe investors should take profits and switch into rival GUS, which looks better value,” said Dresdner. Dixons shares have doubled from last year’s lows but the broker is worried that growth remains sluggish in the electricals market and will hold the stock back.Smith & Nephew improved 7.25p to 530p as Sir Chris O’Donnell, the chief executive of the medical devices group, made a number of well-received presentations to institutional investors in the Square Mile. Like T&L, the defence and aerospace group generates a large proportion of its earnings in dollars.

Meanwhile, the dollar rise is bad news for commodities prices and in turn bad news for mining stocks. BHP Billiton gave up 20.5p to 505.75p, Rio Tinto retreated 45p to 1,445p and Anglo American dropped 37p to 1,383p.Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein unsettled sentiment towards Dixons, down 3.75p to 155.5p, as the German broker downgraded its recommendation on the retailer to “reduce” from “hold”. T&L has significant exposure to the American currency and news that the greenback is rallying is very good news for the group. Others suggested that government plans to create REITs – real estate investment trusts – could greatly benefit a property-rich company such as T&L. “REITs could potentially allow T&L to realise the bulk of the value from its property portfolio in a very tax efficient way,” argued one market professional.In the FTSE 100 index, BAE Systems put on 4.5p to 205p in reaction to the rise in the US currency. Analysts on the whole poured cold water on talk of a bid for T&L and noted that any deal would require the backing of the US food company Archer Daniels and the French group CIP, which together control 25 per cent of T&L.This rise in the dollar is a more likely explanation for the stock’s jump yesterday, they argued.

Unusually strong demand for Tate & Lyle stock yesterday left shares in the sugar and starch producer up 9.25p to 303.5p and set tongues wagging about why investors have suddenly developed such an appetite for the group. So far, he seems to have spent most of his time fire fighting legacy problems. Ms Weir is presumably perfectly competent, but the City was hoping for more.jeremy.warner independent.co.uk. To the City, Kingfisher’s former finance chief FD seems a less than brilliant choice, the more so as Lloyds TSB is these days widely thought of as a “problem” company and her predecessor, Philip Hampton, was so highly thought of. Even so, Lloyds believes it has won over enough to shareholders to risk going live with the appointment.Eric Daniels, the newish chief executive, has been in the job nearly a year now, and he badly needs to say something positive. In dead pan fashion, it details the management changes, but it fails to explain why they have been made or what they might lead to.Shell insists it can say nothing as long as the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to investigate the company, for fear of compromising its position in the mountain of litigation which has already been filed against it. Like a rabbit held in the headlights of an oncoming car, the company seems incapable of meaningful movement.