Daily Mail, London, market report column

Source: Daily Mail, LondonSept.儲存倉 11--American slot machine maker Multimedia Games was put up for sale in 2010 but could not attract a buyer.US broking giant Goldman Sachs has apparently been put in charge of selling the company and rumours suggest private equity firms are falling over themselves to get involved.Multimedia's shares rose 2pc to $37.8 a share in New York early yesterday amid whispers that it could soon lose its independence with a bidder paying up to $50 a share in cash.CVC Partners, which walked away from a bid for Betfair (36p better at 1050p), is said to be in the mix along with Blackstone and Bain Capital. Multimedia Games is fast approaching 20,000 slot machines in the US market after gaining a license in Nevada in September 2011.Receding fears of a potential US-led strike on Syria helped the Footsie climb 53.25 points to 6,583.99, while the FTSE 250 jumped 177.87 points to 15,270.73. Wall Street closed 127.94 points higher at 15,191.06.Discount airline easyJet soared 91p to 1358p as an easier oil price allayed fears about rising fuel prices. Buyers were also buoyed by chief executive Carolyn McCall's comments that the company will be 'Europe's preferred airline in five years time due to its low-cost operating model'.The Luton-based firm last Friday also announced it is to start offering some passengers the opportunity to buy an all-inclusive ticket for the first time in its 18-year history. Punters will be able to choose their seat, place their bag in the hold, and pay by credit card.British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines climbed 14.3p to 319.8p on oil price considerations.Lloyds Banking Group closed 1.22p better at a five-year high of 78p amid growing speculation that the Government will soon confirm the sale of part of its 39pc stake. Dealers reckon it will sell 25pc of its holding, worth pounds sterling 5bn-plus. Royal Bank of Scotland, in which the Government owns 81pc, added 16p to 356p in sympathy.Mike Ashley's Sports Direct International closed 2.5p dearer at a record 715.5p on expectations that the FTSE Steering Committee will today confirm its elevation to the Footsie. The stock was trading at 330p a year ago but has blown competition out of the water and now commands a market valuation of pounds sterling 4.3bn.Making way for the sports retailer could be support services group Serco, 12p up at 564.5p, while controversial miner Eurasian Natural Resources' (3.8p off at 221p) place could also be in jeopardy. Paper & packaging group Mo迷你倉價錢di (17p up at 1095p) is also waiting in the wings to join the big boys.Better-than-expected 12 month performance fees helped fund manager Ashmore jump 19.3p to 382.2p. Performance fees came in at pounds sterling 33.4m compared with analysts' expectations of pounds sterling 17m-plus, while pre-tax profits of pounds sterling 251.2m were well ahead of forecasts of nearer pounds sterling 240m. Peel Hunt has a target price of 450p and says the stock trades at an unjustified discount to the sector.Conveyor belt manufacturer Fenner rose 18.6p to 389.5p following an in-line trading update. Buyers got involved on hearing that net debt at the year end is well ahead of expectations at pounds sterling 125m compared with analysts' expectations of pounds sterling 170m.Family-run Stoke-on-Trent mechanical and refractory engineer Goodwin soared 484p in a thin market to a record 3444p after reporting excellent first-quarter results. Pre-tax profits jumped to pounds sterling 6.35m from pounds sterling 3.75m on revenues of pounds sterling 37.6m, up from pounds sterling 30.4m last time. Shareholders were rewarded with an ordinary dividend of 35.33p plus an extraordinary payment of 17.65p a share.Online grocer Ocado advanced 15p to a record 365p on further consideration of Friday's upgrade by broker Numis. Punters still believe that joint venture partner Wm Morrison (2.8p up at 294.5p) will sooner, rather than later, launch a full-scale cash offer for the firm.Rising coal prices lifted highly speculative Czech miner New World Resources 22.5p or 30pc to 96p.A Shore Capital upgrade to buy from hold lifted Premier Foods 16.75p to 166.5p. The broker reckons new management is actively managing the balance sheet situation. It will explore a mix of new equity and perhaps the issue of a corporate bond which will help constitute a much more robust balance sheet. That would lead to a re-rating of the stock.Satellite operator Avanti Communications shot 54.5p or 31.59pc higher to 227p after chief executive David Williams bought 100,000 shares at 180p a pop following publication of the in-line annual results. Revenues increased 65pc year-on-year to pounds sterling 20.6m but the loss before interest and tax more-than-doubled during the year from pounds sterling 15.8m to pounds sterling 33.7m. The company had pounds sterling 39m of cash at the year end.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Daily Mail (London, ) Visit the Daily Mail (London, ) at .dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉最平