RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO 25th October 2012

      Morning Report

The FTSE 100 is up 0.5% , hardly moving immediately following the release of UK GDP data which exceed expectations. Amongst stocks, Fresnillo is up following an upgrade to neutral by Citigroup. Unilever is up 2.8% after good quarterly results. US initial jobless claims and durable goods orders are next on the agenda, scheduled for release at midday.

Unilever, the consumer products firm behind brands such as Flora, Marmite and Persil, saw underlying sales growth beat expectations in the third quarter, helped by a strong performance in the emerging markets.

AstraZeneca continues to feel the effects of the expiry of patents on key brands, with revenues declining in the third quarter, although it has maintained its core earnings per share (EPS) target, as defined by the company, for the full year.

Logistics firm Stobart said underlying pre-tax profit fell as the recessionary climate continues to hurt growth in the transport sector, however it said long term expectations across the business remain robust.The haulage firm, which has been streamlining the business, said it is confident it has positioned itself well in a challenging economic environment.

International car dealer Inchcape delivered an upbeat third quarter update, despite market headwinds, and said it expects the robust performance to continue for the rest of the year.

Transport group Go-Ahead has announced that its long-running Chairman, Sir Patrick Brown, will be stepping down from the board next year after his retirement.

Anglo American has delivered a solid production report for its third quarter, with increases across five of the seven commodities it mines. For the period ending September 30th it also made some important corporate moves. These included the acquisition of a 40% shareholding in De Beers for $5.2bn cash, and the sale of a 25.4% share in Anglo American Sur for $2bn in cash.

THE FTSE 100              @ 10:00         Up         26      @      5831 THE DOW JONES            closed           Down       25     @      13077 THE NASDAQ               closed           Down       8       @      2981

Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @       10:00                1.6117 GBP - EURO      @       10:00                1.2385

Gold $/ OZ                        $1715