News

Brokers expect Wm Morrison's like-for-like first--quarter sales growth to be steady at between 3 and 3.5%, but the Sunday Telegraph thinks the broader strategic issues will boost the shares in the months to come. Morrison has it all to play for. Buy.

After months of quietly building up his stake, Vincent Bolloré, the maverick French investor, has made his move on Aegis, the UK advertising group.

Hedge funds are bound to pile into Aegis and small investors are well placed to take advantage of the ensuing clamour for Aegis to do a deal.

The British group is also believed to have enjoyed strong trading in the past month, giving investors another reason to snap up some shares in the company. Buy says the Sunday Telegraph.

The Mail on Sunday picks three shares for volatile stocks markets. They are BP, Vodafone, and AstraZeneca.

For a company that was on the brink of ruin just a few years ago, logistics and packaging group Macfarlane has moved back into a decent position, transforming losses of £10.4m in 2003 and £2.4m in 2004 into profits of £3.7m last year.

The turnaround has been implemented by Peter Atkinson, who was drafted in as chief executive in 2004. He has now set his sights on a modest acquisition spree to strengthen the group's market position in the UK. Buy says the Telegraph.

Take a look at Bateman Litwin, the Dutch-based engineering and project management company that services clients in the oil and gas, power and chemical industries and is in the process of listing on London's junior Aim market.

It has also developed a number of proprietary technologies. Management says the float, and the $50m raised in the offer, will help to fund the next phase of the company's growth. Worth a punt reckons the Telegraph.

Western & Oriental floated on Aim in March and is still tiny, but the luxury travel group looks set to grow fast. The company acts as both agent and tour operator and already has a number of brands of its own, including W&O Travel and Regent Holidays.

Last month it strengthened its board with the appointment of Steven Hall as finance director. Hall joined from easyJet, where he held the same position. W&O looks like an interesting growth story. Buy says the Telegraph.

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