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Ted Baker shares, at 16 times current-year earnings, trade at a premium to their clothing retail peers but sit at a discount to the luxury goods sector, in which the likes of Burberry and Hugo Boss are on 20 times and 24 times, respectively.

Forecast earnings growth, at 7% and 9% for the next two years, is relatively pedestrian but the company's slow but steady approach, both in the US and through licensees in the Far East and the Middle East, is to be welcomed. Baker shares have farther to go says the Times.

Trouble looms at Independent News & Media. Rebel shareholder Denis O'Brien has started to ask questions about how the company is run at a time when the business is performing well. The problem is that IN&M is a discovered jewel, with the shares trading at about 21 times forward earnings. Only a hold unless O'Brien forces a change of strategy says the Times.

With NHS volumes picking up at home, sterilising specialist Synergy Healthcare shares - trading at 17.8 times 2009 earnings, a 15% discount to the healthcare sector - offer long-term value. Hold on says the Times.

The waste collection business was the one weak spot of yesterday's results from Biffa but the company has benefited from new legislation and government targets on landfill and recycling. New rules - due to be in place from this autumn - on sorting and separating waste are also good news. The stock is trading at 18 times forecast earnings with a prospective yield of 2.4%. Worth sticking with says the Telegraph.

The lack of progress on PFI contracts and the increase in competition for collection contracts is undoubtedly a cause for concern for Biffa, but there were enough pluses in the full-year numbers to make the share worth hanging on to, adds the Independent.

Since easyJet's shares peaked at 732p in April, the market really has taken fright at the turbulence hitting the aviation sector. Even so, throughout all of this easyJet has stuck to its guidance that this year's profits will be 40-50% higher than 2006's, implying around £193m on an adjusted basis, boosted by cost cuts. easyJet's shares now trading on a multiple of 15 times backed by the value of new planes. Keep buying says the Telegraph.

For the future, contractor Jarvis is pinning its domestic hopes on being one of four major contractors to be appointed by Network Rail for the never-ending task of track renewal. In the meantime, Jarvis believes there is scope for winning contracts abroad - a sensible hedge against any downturn in the UK. The shares still look in fragile health. Avoid for now says the Independent.

Bango, which runs a system by which companies deliver content to mobile phones, missed already-reduced expectations with revenue rising 38% but losses widening substantially. The stock trades at eight times pre-tax earnings, which is not expensive for a growth stock, but, with much work to do, new investors should wait for more compelling signs of life before tucking in. Hold says the Independent.
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