Market Report: Lady luck abandons online gaming group
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Version 0 of 1. Bwin.Party is rolling the dice but lady luck is not on its side. The online gaming group has fallen 26 per cent this year amid declining profits. Shares picked up off a 80.15p low in August after Bwin announced a cost-cutting plan. But yesterday it tumbled 10.2p to 89.65p amid fears that it could get thwacked by new EU tax regulation. New VAT rules for digital businesses, which take effect from January 1, mean the tax will be charged based on where the customer is, rather than the company. Deutsche Bank thinks Bwin.Party will be the worst hit. It is registered in Gibraltar, where there is no VAT, and 26 per cent of its first half revenues came from Germany, where the rate is 19 per cent. Unlucky. The Footsie ended the month in an ebullient mood, buoyed by moves from central bankers. Lenient banking leverage rules from the Bank of England and a surprise increase in Japan’s stimulus programme helped the FTSE 100 add 82.92 points to 6546.47. The index still stands 11.05 points below where it began the month. Gold and silver producers slipped as prices of the precious metals tumbled to fresh four-year lows. Resurgent equity markets and the rallying dollar have weakened demand for the safe-haven holding. Randgold Resources fell 101p to 3678p, Fresnillo lost 19p to 697.5p, Centamin dipped 3.65p to 51.2p, African Barrick Gold slipped 8.1p to 206p and Petropavlovsk tumbled 1.75p to 21.5p. Office space provider Regus eased fears about expanding its debt pile as it confirmed capital expenditure for the year would be about £210m, below analysts’ expectations. Regus leapt 12.6p to 197.3p. Specialty chemical producer Elementis fizzed up 6.9p to 263.9p after reaffirming full-year targets. Canaccord Genuity said the company’s third quarter results showed “remarkably resilience” given a slowdown in Western Europe. ULS Technology, which provides software for brokers, solicitors and estate agents among others, slipped 10.87p to 34.87p after admitting that operating profit for the year is expected to be below forecasts. |