RAMSEY CROOKALL

18th  October 2011

Evening Report

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.48%, with a slight slowdown in Chinese growth the latest development to adding to nerves over the state of the economy.

Inflation in the U.K. accelerated to match a 2008 record of 5.2% in September, official figures showed Tuesday, stoked by big increases in the prices households pay for gas and electricity.

The news of slower growth in China burdened shares of luxury-goods group Burberry, which closed down 1.42%.

Standard Chartered shed 2.74% and shares of HSBC Holdings PLC slipped 0.52% as banks on the Continent lost ground on worries about finding a solution to the debt crisis in the euro zone. Shares of Xstrata PLC slid 1.3% after a third-quarter production update. Xstrata said it saw record coal output in the period, but mined copper output fell against a year ago due to weather issues, planned lower grades and repairs to mining facilities.

Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner Whitbread is bucking the downward trend today after it saw group like-for-like sales rise by 3.3% in the six months to the start of September. Total revenue was up 10.7% to £891.3m from £805.4m the year before, while underlying profit before tax was up 15.2% to £174.9m from £151.8m. "The first half performance puts us on track to deliver full year results in line with expectations," said Whitbread's chief executive, Andy Harrison.

Another riser today is Lamprell. The a specialist engineering firm serving the oil and gas industry has announced the National Drilling Company (NDC) of Abu Dhabi is exercising its option for Lamprell to build two “jack-up rigs”. A jack-up rig is a platform that can stay still on the sea floor but then be moved if necessary. Some have described them as "boats on stilts."

Engineering group IMI has bought TH Jansen Armaturen, a German business specialising in severe service valves and related flow control products, for an enterprise value of €17.5m, including around €5.2m of assumed debt.

THE FTSE 100 closed                      Down        26      @        5410

THE DOW JONES at 16:40                   Up          55      @        11454             NASDAQ COMP at 16:40                     Flat          @        2613

              Commodities Spot Gold $/Oz           $1644            Down            1.48 %     Brent Crude Oil          $109.76          Down            0.03  %









Exchange Rates GBP – USD               1.5655 GBP - EURO             1.1409