NEWSFLOW

NEWSFLOW

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Back in March I observed that I wanted to see the building products supplier and facilitator Breedon (BREE) attempt to cut the price of its deal to buy the UK assets of global behemoth Cemex. Since then the company pushed out some numbers where it may have given no guidance but it noted ‘there is significant pent-up demand to be satisfied in both housing and infrastructure, reinforced by the substantial programme of investment confirmed by the Chancellor'...and remained optimistic about the deal. Well get those calculators out again as today the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) 'raises competition concerns in the supply of building materials in some parts of the UK'...

NEWSFLOW

NEWSFLOW

NEWSFLOW

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From my larger cap perspective, a slightly dull regulatory news disclosure crop for the first two days of the business week. I see the plumbing and heating systems company Ferguson (FERG) - whose decision to spin-out its small UK business I supported a few weeks back - puckered up its full-year results which showed between 6-8% growth at both the revenue and profit level, led by the US business (which accounts for around 90% of overall turnover). Despite this, a 10% rise in the full year dividend and comments observing it is 'well-placed' for 2020, at sixty quid a share I cannot get excited – even if it is doing the right thing with the UK business. Otherwise, I have to make a rare analytical foray into the AIM cesspit…

NEWSFLOW

NEWSFLOW

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I see the housebuilders got another share price stuffing yesterday on fears that the Help to Buy policy (which I have lampooned on this website recently here) might come to an end. I see the updates today from Barratt Developments (BDEV) and Berkeley Group (BKG) have hardly reignited the shares despite all sorts of 'record results' comments from the former. Well when the average house price is around six times income (and a way higher multiple in London) then value there is not. However...