RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO   May 25th 2012

Evening Report

The FTSE 100 ends a bumpy session flat at 5351.53, supported by some encouraging US data, in the form of May's University of Michigan index. At the same time, earlier worries about Spain's Catalonia region dissipate, somewhat, after the region said it would meet its financial requirements.

Mining stocks were firmly out of favour on reports that China's banks could miss their 2012 loan targets, exacerbating concerns over a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy which is a source of strong demand for commodities. Fresnillo, Randgold, Vedanta and ENRC were among the worst performers.

Meanwhile, United Utilities was extending gains made yesterday when it said that it has seen a marked improvement in customer satisfaction in the last year or so, and it is on track to meet regulatory out-performance targets. Nomura this morning upped its target price on the stock from 695p to 715p.

Investors of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) seemed to welcome the news that former Unilever CEO Patrick Cescau would be replacing IHG Chairman David Webster at the end of 2012.

Cape, the energy and mineral resources services provider, plummeted after it revealed that its full-year profits will be held back by a £14m one-off charge related to its GL3-Z LNG (liquified natural gas) Project in Arzew, Algeria. Revenue guidance is unchanged.

THE FTSE 100             closed          Up          1       @      5,351 THE DOW JONES            @ 16:50         Down        29      @     12500 THE NASDAQ               @ 16:50         Down        3       @      2836 Exchange Rates

GBP – USD       @      16:50              1.5649 GBP - EURO     @      16:50              1.2502

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