RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO  5th July 2012

Evening Report

U.K. stocks swung between gains and losses as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the euro-area economy has faced some “downside risks,” offsetting optimism about interest-rate cuts in Europe and China. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.14%.

US Private-sector hiring jumped at an unexpectedly strong pace in June, according to a report from Automatic Data Processing, as companies added 176,000 jobs, far more than the 108,000 economists had been expecting.

The Bank of England will pump another 50 billion pounds into the U.K.'s ailing economy in its latest attempt to jumpstart growth and counter the effects of the debt crisis in the neighbouring euro zone.

U.K. insurer Aviva ,under new Chairman John McFarlane, detailed a new strategic plan Thursday that aims to narrow the company's business focus, boost capital and improve its financial performance. The shares closed up just over 1% up.

Centrica retreated slightly after Goldman Sachs lowered its rating on the shares to neutral from conviction buy.

Xstrata obtained permission to adjourn a shareholder meeting due July 12 to approve its merger with Glencore International Plc. Xstrata is changing the terms of management retention awards in response to shareholder demands.

 GKN rose the most since May 2010, after saying it will pay 633 million pounds to buy Volvo’s aircraft-engine unit to tap demand for lightweight composite parts and narrow the gap with competitors such as Safran SA.

Dunelm Group gained after saying it sees full-year pretax profit at about 96 million pounds, higher than analysts’ estimate of 92 million pounds.

Tate & Lyle  rose after Exane BNP Paribas raised its recommendation on the shares to outperform, the equivalent of buy, from neutral.

THE FTSE 100             closed         Up          8        @      5,687 THE DOW JONES            @ 16:45        Down        30        @     12913 THE NASDAQ               @ 16:45        Up          5        @      2981 Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @      16:45                  1.5524 GBP - EURO      @      16:45                  1.2543