News

Alliance Trust, the closed-end investment fund this year secured a place in Britain's benchmark index for the first time. Alliance's 19% discount to NAV - the steepest in its peer group - is a clear attraction, but first-time investors may want to await further evidence of turnaround before buying in, says the Times.

Despite the worst trading period in 20 years, Enterprise Inns is forecast to suffer a decline in earnings of just 3%, putting the shares on a multiple of 4.6. Its strong cashflows and 10% yield mean Enterprise is far from a dead investment. Keep holding says the Times.

Game Group, the computer games retailer, has proved oblivious to the credit crunch so far. Game is priced at 13 times this year's earnings, and eight times next. That is more reasonable than it has been most of this year and, while times are uncertain, Game sits in an industry sweet spot. Add says the Times.

Although recruiter Harvey Nash is exposed to financial services, it accounts for less than 20% of sales, putting the group in a better position than many of its rivals. The shares now trade on just three times 2009 earnings and yield a chunky - and relatively safe - 7.5%. Buy says the Telegraph.

Engineering services group VT sits on a rating of 12 times 2009 earnings, at a time when earnings are forecast to grow in the high teens for the next two years. Given that VT has visibility, growth prospects and momentum, this seems a little harsh and the stock should be due a rerating. At these levels investors should be on to a good thing. Hold says the Telegraph.

Babcock International should be considered by punters as one of the safer stocks around: the group bids on public sector contracts, in areas such as nuclear, rail and defence. Because of its boring old reliance on the public sector, Babcock is a solid buy, but given the volatility in the market, it might be a bumpy ride. Buy says the Independent.

Emergency power supplier Chloride is a strong company that promises solid numbers and increased growth. The shares, however, are just not worth buying at this level.It is difficult to see how the shares will move much higher than where they are today without another bid, which the group has already shown it is not terribly interested in. As such it is difficult to build a case to persuade new investors to buy. Hold says the Independent.

Buyers should be careful about investing in oil and gas exploration company Afren. The company, which explores sites in Africa, has many good things going for it: it has recently started generating revenues and has more wells to explore from which it expects to start pumping out the black stuff soon. These are exciting times for Afren, but investors know that markets are not acting rationally and as such they should be careful. Hold says the Independent.
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