RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO 20th August 2012

Morning Report

The FTSE 100 is trading fairly flat. Outside the FTSE 100 , Bovis Homes and Amlin are up after well-received 1H updates. Looking ahead, the focus will be firmly on the US Fed this week with markets looking forward to the release of the Fed’s minutes on Wednesday ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium.

Banking peers Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland were in demand early on, though under-fire lender Standard Chartered bucked the trend following last week's $340m settlement with US authorities surrounding alleged dealings with Iran.

However, miners were out of favour this morning with potential merger partners Xstrata and Glencore lower on the back of reports that the latter will not sweeten its offer bid for the former. Sector peers Eurasian Natural Resources Corp were also heavy fallers.

Johnnie Walker whiskey maker Diageo was making gains on reports that it was closing in on a $3bn (£1.9bn) deal to acquire Jose Cuervo tequila. The firm already distributes the tequila brand globally.

House-builder Bovis Homes rose after seeing profits come in ahead of forecasts in the first half, helping the firm to double its interim dividend.

Insurance and reinsurance firm Amlin was also higher after revealing a first-half profit compared to a loss the same time a year earlier as catastrophe loss activity reduced sharply.

THE FTSE 100              @ 10:00         Down       3          @      5,849 THE DOW JONES            closed           Up         25         @     13275 THE NASDAQ               closed           Up         14         @      3076 Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @      10:00             1.5710 GBP - EURO      @      10:00             1.2720