RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

      21st  September 2012

Evening Report

The FTSE 100 ends flat at 5852.62. Trading was lacklustre for most of the session, with only public sector net borrowing figures of interest.

Glencore International’s seven-month quest to seal a merger deal with Xstrata PLC is nearing a climax, with expectations building that Xstrata's board will endorse Glencore's latest proposal and help pave the way for the creation of a $75 billion mining and commodity-trading colossus.

BG Group expects Brazil to represent one-third of its global crude-oil output by 2020, and the oil fields in which it is already participating to produce as much as the entire North Sea at its peak, BG Brasil President Nelson Silva said Thursday in an interview.

Royal Dutch Shell has received approval from the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to start an exploration well in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska, Reuters reported Thursday.

BP said Friday it aims to stay in Russia for decades to come and could use some of the proceeds from the potential sale of its stake in TNK-BP to increase its share in Russian oil giant OAO Rosneft.

Lonmin, the world's third largest platinum producer, said Thursday its labor cost will rise 14% from Oct. 1 after the settlement of a wage dispute that resulted in nearly 50 deaths and lost production at its Marikana mine in South Africa.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are likely to discuss the possible merger between the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EAD.FR) and BAE Systems   at a meeting this Saturday.

Security company G4S  received a stinging criticism from British lawmakers Friday over its botched provision of personnel for the London 2012 Olympic Games, blaming flawed management information and poor communication within the company for failures in security at venues in the capital.

Entertainment retailer HMV Group Friday reported a 11.6% decline in like for like sales, products and services continue to grow strongly, driven by the program of store refits MV Retail in the 20 weeks to Sept. 15, and said that the strategic review of the remaining HMV Live business is ongoing.

THE FTSE 100             closed         Down       2      @       5,852 THE DOW JONES            @ 17:00        Up         37     @     13634 THE NASDAQ               @ 17:00        Up         12     @      3188 Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @      17:00                    1.6250 GBP - EURO     @      17:00                    1.2509