The Faraj List of Exploding Stocks Part 3.04 (FAR3)

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,820.1 up 1.1
FTSE 250 6,923 up 26.7
DJIA 10,800.30 down 28.89
Nasdaq Composite 2,178.34 up 1.34
S&P 500 1,213.55 up 0.10
Nikkei 225 closed for public holiday
Hang Seng 14,230.14 up 66.59
Gold 437.20 (437.72)
Oil - Brent Feb 40.35 usd (39.17)

BREAKING NEWS
* Two more fund managers embroiled in the split capital investment trusts crisis
have agreed to restrict their roles in the financial services industry for at
least a year, the FSA announced yesterday - The FT
* Housebuilders are facing a big rise in the cost of submitting planning
applications under government plans - The FT
* Some senior executives at Royal Bank of Scotland could face criminal charges
in the US over dealings with the collapsed energy giant Enron - The Independent

PRESS COMMENT
FT
Lex Column: The US dollar (For dollar bears, buying the euro remains the path of
least resistance), (perhaps the safest currency tip for Europeans with US bosses
is that it is a bad time to ask New York for a pay rise)
Times
Rumour of the Day: SPORTINGBET (talk that it has seen a further rise in
transaction volumes since its first quarter trading statement in November) -
Tempus: 'Tempus Ten end year with a bang despite early jitters' (Reviews
performance of its ten tips for 2004; Tate & Lyle, Rank, Lloyds TSB, Imagination
Technologies, mmO2, Cambridge Antibody, Workspace, Communisis, National Grid
Tranco and BP)
Independent
Shares and Market Report: SPORTINGBET (talk that the group has enjoyed a very
strong December), WSP (whispers that business is booming)
Express
Share Whisper: INVERESK (merger talk); Who's dealing (director Kenneth Ross sold
20,000 shares at 427 pence, leaving him with 265,024 or 0.89 pct)
gl/ma