THE TIPSTER
TRICK or treat? Marstons – brewer of Hobgoblin beer and pub owner – has like the rest of the market, enjoyed a frightfully good October, with shares rallying close on 20 per cent. Although the market is becoming increasingly dominated by a handful of giants, earnings are expected to be in line with expectations when the full year numbers are released at the end of November. Assuming that consumers don’t end up spooked by the possibility of another recession and the bare bones of economic recovery remain intact it could well be a howling good end to the year for the group. Current IG Index price is 98.05p-98.75p.
Barclays’ statement released today should attract some attention from shareholders with revenues largely off versus previous quarters. The Eurozone debt crisis has certainly capped client activity, so hopefully the report will shed some clarity on costs. Analysts’ views on cost-to-income in the investment banking arena are generally above 70 per cent – greater than the banks 60-65 per cent predictions. Capital Spreads quotes a price of 210.0p– 210.5p.
House prices are set to be in focus today with the latest Nationwide house price survey for October, as the UK housing market continues to remain in the doldrums. With this in mind, investors will be looking at the latest interim numbers from house builder Berkeley Group Holdings. CMC Markets quotes Berkeley Group at 1,265.38p-1,270.64p.
Legal and General finally broke out of its near three-month trading range between 90p and 105p late last week and traders were jumping on the break-out trade, as it also cleared the 100-day moving average at 105p. Should the management statement out Tuesday be received positively, it may well retake the uptrend it was in since 2009, by climbing above 122p. Spread Co offers a spread on Legal and General of 113.59p-113.97p.