Centamin Shares Rise as Analysts Upgrade Stock

1120 GMT - Centamin shares rise 2.2%, outperforming other London-listed miners of precious metals, after brokerages Liberum and Berenberg upgraded the stock to buy. Bonanza structures at Centamin's flagship Sukari mine in Egypt could provide short but sharp boosts to gold production, Liberum's Yuen Low says, adding that first indications of new satellite orebodies could be announced this year. Moreover, Berenberg forecasts that precious-metals miners will perform well in early 2022 driven by seasonal buying, concerns about the pandemic and rising inflation. Liberum raises its target price on Centamin stock by 23% to 106 pence, while Berenberg increases it further, to 112 pence. 


 
Companies News:

Churchill China Sees 2021 Pretax Profit in Line With Market Expectations

Churchill China PLC said Friday that it expects to meet market expectations for pretax profit for 2021.

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Aston Martin Backs Medium-Term Guidance, 2021 Sales Rose

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC on Friday backed the company's medium-term earnings objectives, and said sales for 2021 grew as expected.

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Shell to Return $5.5 Bln From Permian Sale via Buybacks -- Update

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Friday that it will distribute the remaining $5.5 billion of proceeds from the sale of its Permian Basin assets in the U.S. through share buybacks.

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Essentra Sees 2021 Profits in Line With Views After Strong 4Q

Essentra PLC said Friday that it expects to report results for 2021 in line with analysts' forecasts.

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Judges Scientific Sees 2021 Earnings Ahead of Market Consensus

Judges Scientific PLC said Friday that it expects to report 2021 adjusted earnings per share ahead of market expectations.

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System1 to Hold Buyback Program of Up to GBP750,000

System1 Group PLC said Friday that it will undertake a share buyback program of up to 750,000 pounds ($1 million) to improve shareholder returns and satisfy obligations relating to employee share programs.

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AdvancedAdvT Confirms Interest in M&C Saatchi Takeover

AdvancedAdvT Ltd. confirmed Friday that it is interested in a share exchange merger with U.K. advertising company M&C Saatchi PLC, and that any deal would constitute a reverse takeover under listing rules.

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Lookers PLC Expects 2021 Pretax Profit Above Market Consensus, Aims to Restore Dividend

Lookers PLC said Friday that it expects its adjusted pretax profit for 2021 to beat market consensus of 82 million pounds ($111 million), and that it is looking to restore dividends after benefiting from a strong fourth quarter.

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Segro Appoints Andy Harrison as Chairman; Gerald Corbett to Step Down

Segro PLC said Friday that it has appointed Andy Harrison as its new chairman, replacing Gerald Corbett, who is stepping down.

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Aston Martin Warns on 2021 Earnings -- Update

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC on Friday warned that earnings for 2021 will be lower than expected after the company shipped fewer than anticipated Valkyrie sportscars in the fourth quarter of the year. 


 
Market Talk:

UBS Favors Currencies Expected to Benefit From Rate Rises

1229 GMT - UBS Global Wealth Management recommends holding currencies of central banks that are raising interest rates or close to taking such action. "This favors the U.S. dollar, sterling, Australian dollar, Norwegian krone, and the Canadian dollar, with the USD probably the most attractive of this group," UBS analysts say. "The greenback offers safe-haven appeal and a yield advantage, which should prove very positive for the currency, particularly in the first half." AUD, CAD and NOK are supported by yield and higher commodity prices while GBP is gradually recovering from its undervaluation, they say. The analysts' "strongest convictions" are long positions--bets on an asset price rising--in USD and GBP both versus the Swiss franc and in AUD versus the euro.

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Experian to See Recent Strong Performance Trend Continue

1210 GMT - Experian's third-quarter update is expected to reflect a continued strong performance, Shore Capital says, forecasting underlying growth of around 9%. As emerging territories and businesses in Europe and Asia begin to turn positive, they will offer the Ireland-based consumer-credit reporting company potential margin leverage, Shore says. The U.K. investment group expects strong like-for-like comparables against last year as the recent solid performance continues. The company has entered a period of accelerated growth through the advance of the digital economy, reflecting high value-added services leveraging regulated data, Shore says. Barriers of entry are high, it notes. Shore forecasts earnings growth of around 48% over the next three years and has a buy rating on Experian stock.

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Aston Martin Still Seen as Incapable of Running Smoothly

1041 GMT - Aston Martin's warning that it shipped fewer Valkyrie luxury sportscars than expected in the fourth quarter emphasizes the message that the company seems incapable of running smoothly, AJ Bell says. Although the British luxury car maker said its core business is as healthy as it has been in a long time, the U.K. brokerage says Aston Martin has suffered multiple profit warnings and has form for disappointing shareholders. "Let's hope management doesn't live to regret such a bullish comment," AJ Bell says.

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Strong US Jobs Data Would Likely Lift Pound Vs Euro

1015 GMT - Sterling should strengthen versus the euro if the dollar rises on potentially robust U.S. nonfarm payrolls data later that would support the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates soon, ING says. Expectations that the Bank of England will lift rates further in 2022 while the European Central Bank keeps rates steady mean GBP/USD will fare better than EUR/USD if the dollar strengthens so EUR/GBP will trade lower, ING analysts say. "We continue to hold that view and any dollar strength on the jobs data today could push EUR/GBP closer to the 0.8280/8300 area." EUR/GBP last trades flat at 0.8355. The payrolls data are due at 1330 GMT.

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Shell 4Q Update Is Below Market Expectations, ING Says

0857 GMT - Shell's update for the fourth quarter of 2021 is below market expectations, ING says, adding that the company won't reach its $6.3 billion adjusted earnings forecast for the quarter. This reflects the fact that Chemicals is expected to deliver break-even earnings, weaker results in Oil Products, and Integrated Gas production halts in Australia. However, it is difficult to know to what extent shares will move on these numbers, given that the company confirmed another $5.5 billion share buyback and Brent oil prices have risen above $80, ING says. "Our Hold with a TP of EUR20.50 stands as we believe all good news of RDS is discounted in the current share price," the Dutch bank says.

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Shell 4Q Update Is Neutral to Market Expectations

0817 GMT - Shell's trading update for the fourth quarter is neutral to consensus expectations and slightly worse than prior guidance, with multiple figures now at the low end of what was previously guided, Biraj Borkhataria of RBC Capital Markets says. The analysts highlights that LNG volumes are lower than expected, as operational issues hurt production, and that Shell has confirmed it will distribute the remaining $5.5 billion of proceeds from the Permian sale via buybacks at pace. Shares in the oil-and-gas major slip 0.3%.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-07-22 0900ET