News

After performing strongly over the first four months of the year, travel group Thomas Cook's share price has fallen nearly 15% over the last month, amid oil and consumer concerns.

Those challenges are unlikely to ease in the short term. Management is doing everything right but the pressure seems inexorable. Sell says the Telegraph.

John David Group, the retailer better known as JD Sports, appears to be bucking the retail trend. At a time when most non-food store groups are seeing sales fall, JD is doing the opposite. While investors should be wary about the retail sector given all the bad news out there, JD might be worth a punt as it has bucked the trend for some time now. The shares are a buy says the Telegraph.

RM, the largest supplier of software, services and IT infrastructure to UK schools, announced yesterday that Tim Pearson, its chief executive for six years, will leave in three months. His replacement is Terry Sweeney, who led the group's educational resources and software operation. The regime change could represent a move towards the next phase of growth and with the short term pretty secure, as a defensive stock RM looks a decent buy says the Independent.

The immediate problem for office space provider Workspace is that although the yield on the company's portfolio has risen substantially, by one percentage point to 6.9% on an equivalent yield basis, it is too early to tell whether the low point has been reached. Meanwhile, even at 169p, a four-year low, and a 45% discount to NAV, the short-term nature of its leases and secondary nature of its sites may continue to weigh on sentiment. Avoid says the Times.

Revenues from Asia and the Middle East, where civil engineer Hyder Consulting's expertise in tall buildings remains in strong demand, continue to grow at more than 20%. A commitment to cut dividend cover towards four times (against 11 at present), should provide a floor at 370p, or 12 times current-year earnings. More enticing is the outside chance that the exit of its top management team might tempt an opportunistic rival to kick-start the sector's oft-mooted consolidation. Buy says the Times.

Hyder shares are at 370p, equivalent to 9.8 times 2009 estimated earnings, meaning that in theory they still have plenty of room to run. Until the management succession is sorted out, it is probably more sensible to err on the side of caution. Hold says the Independent.

Trading on around 12 times forward earnings, fund manager City of London Investment Group is not expensive - and appears to have more to deliver. And unlike any emerging markets tracker fund you might put your money in, City of London will pay you a tasty yield of more than 5% too. Buy says the Independent.

If there is merit in a merger between Informa and UBM, it lies not with geographic fit or in potential revenues synergies but in the two companies' balance sheets. In short, Informa has too much debt and, by most standards, UBM too little. For now, investors on both sides should sit tight says the Times.

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