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PARTYGAMING was one of yesterday's big losers as worries about US regulations refused to die down. The influential US House of Representatives financial committee has passed the Leach Bill, which seeks to block payment mechanisms including credit cards on online gaming websites.

This could in effect ban online gambling - with serious consequences for all the operators. So 888 Holdings was also weaker, despite unveiling record annual earnings and a confident outlook.

But ABN Amro takes a more optimistic view of the American situation. "We believe the debate will intensify through 2006, but ultimately the US legislators will shift the debate to how to regulate - not prohibit - internet gaming." At 115p, ABN Amro is a fan of PartyGaming, way down from its 2006 high of 154p.

PartyGaming is currently trading at a 2006 pricetoearnings ratio of 13 times brokers' estimates, a big discount to peers.

Sportingbet is trading at 17 times 2006 estimates.

Some serious stakebuilding is going on in housebuilder Persimmon. In the last couple of days Cater Allen, the private bank owned by Abbey National, has upped its stake to 7.25% from 4%. While the housebuilding sector has long been tipped for further consolidation, Persimmon, with a market capitalisation of just under Pounds 4 billion, has thus far seen itself as a bidder rather than a target.

Soon after swallowing Westbury for Pounds 643 million, Persimmon was snacking on Pounds 25 million Carlisle specialist Senator Homes. Cater Allen's interest pushed Persimmon into the top handful of FTSE risers yesterday, although it is some way off this year's high of 1428p.

A barely-there bounceback in February's retail figures failed to create any enthusiasm for the UK's leading retailers, with heavy falls noted across the board. BQ owner Kingfisher was worst hit, followed by middle-ofthe-road fashion chain Next.

The retail statistics also halted Marks Spencer's recent rebound.

While the stats suggest the consumer uplift noted in January has run out of steam, Marks' next trading update is expected to be positive. According to Numis retail analyst Steve Davies, MS chief executive Stuart Rose was in an "ebullient" mood. In a note to clients, he reported: "While he was not giving away any details, he is clearly looking forward to the next trading update."

Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline saw its shares slump as heavyweight broker JPMorgan downgraded the stock to underweight from neutral.

JPMorgan reckons Glaxo "faces insurmountable-odds in trying to replace the sales we expect it to lose".

SkyePharma was also out of favour after Evolution downgraded the drugs group to reduce from add and told clients to sell on the basis of worries about its pipeline and cash position.

New York stocks climbed overnight, with investors cheered by benign inflation and housing numbers. The Dow ended 43.47 higher at 11,253.24. In Tokyo, the Bank of Japan helped soothe fears about rising interest rates, and the Nikkei Average closed up 243.52 to 11,253.24. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 64.03 to 15,793.07.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:52 AM