Thursday tips round-up: International Power and BHP Billiton

The Times's investment column, Tempus, looks at the power station builder, International Power which last year merged with parts of the French group GDF Suez.

It's come a cropper building a huge hydro-electric dam in Brazil from which the returns may not be as stellar as first hoped. Tempus thinks this is "no big deal" and instead points to the prospective yield of 3.2%. The suggestion is: hold.

Questor, in the Telegraph, gets down and dirty with mining giant BHP Billiton, highlighting a 20% increase in the dividend announced yesterday.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

The company has made much of improvements in the grade of copper being extracted from its Escondida mine in Northern Chile while profits were up 8% in the half year to the end of December.

With the yield for 2013 expected to come in at 3.4% and the shares trading at just 9.2 times earnings, Questor says buy.

BS