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In the 10 weeks to 8 October like-for-like sales rose 1

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In the 10 weeks to 8 October, like-for-like sales rose 1.8 per cent across the group. The Clintons chain enjoyed a 1.2 per cent increase, while sales at Birthdays soared 4.1 per cent.But life was not always so good at Birthdays. This time last year Mr Lewin was almost certainly regretting the purchase of the chain. Its performance was faltering, while the acquisition had taken debt at the company to over £100m. In fact, some in the City were worried that Clintons might breach its banking covenants. After much restructuring - poorly performing stores were closed, the estate was refitted and a new till system was installed - Birthdays seems to be in recovery mode.Although the group registered a full-year loss of £6.1m yesterday, a figure slightly bigger than analysts' expectations, Mr Lewin says the retailer is now well-placed for the all-important Christmas trading period. He expects Birthdays to become profitable some time in 2007, helping the whole group to deliver a pre-tax profit of some £10m by the end of the year.At £90m, Clintons' debt burden remains high, but any worry that the company will struggle to service it has gone.

The amount of cash the business generates covers its interest payments nearly five times.Clearly a recovery is on the way at the retailer, but at 19 times forward earnings this seems already reflected by its share price.Trinity MirrorOur view: AvoidShare price: 488p (-8.25p)Investors should steer clear of the newspaper group Trinity Mirror. That was the message from Deutsche Bank to its clients yesterday. Why? Quite simply because trading conditions are dire in the UK newspaper arena.The problems facing the industry are cyclical at present, says the broker. Although the UK economy has been strong for the past 18 months, advertising markets are in a dreadfully weak state.

Further down the line, it expects the newspaper industry to be hit by structural changes, namely an even more rapid decline in circulation and the loss of advertising to the internet.Deutsche believes the main hope for Trinity shareholders is a takeover of part or the whole of the business. However, recent news of the group's strategic review seems to have generated little noise from private equity firms. Judging by the value of the offers for Daily Mail & General's Northcliffe regional newspapers arm earlier this year, this state of affairs is unlikely to improve. Deutsche suggests there is now only a 20 per cent chance of a break-up bid for Trinity.. It is one of the biggest prizes the airline industry has to offer. The race to the tape began in earnest yesterday when British Airways launched the competition to buy new long-haul aircraft.

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