RAMSEY CROOKALL

10th  October 2011

Afternoon Report

The FTSE 100 up 0.8%, edging up a touch on reassuring news from French President Sarkozy and German chancellor Merkel meeting over the weekend to shore up the banking sector. Miners gain on firmer metal prices, reversing earlier losses.

JPMorgan Cazenove rose its target price for Wolseley to 1875p from 1380p following the group's FY'11 results. "We continue to forecast small underlying revenue growth, driven by sustained inflation, new store openings and an assumption that the group continues to take market share in key geographies," JPMorgan said.

The planned expansion of BHP Billiton Ltd.'s Olympic Dam mine in Australia moved a step closer today with approval from the federal and state governments, although tied to a long list of conditions.

AstraZeneca PLC the U.K.'s No. 2 drug maker after GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Monday it will invest $200 million in a new factory in China, representing its largest ever investment in a single manufacturing facility globally.

Premier Foods is among the top performers on the FTSE 250, as its share price attempts to recover from Friday's sell-off. Despite this morning's moderate rise, shares are still nearly 40% lower over the last week.

Premier Oil also rose strongly after saying that oil production has started at the Chim Sáo field in Block 12W, offshore Vietnam.

Heading the other way was recruitment firm Michael Page International, despite gross profits rising 26.5%, as gross profits from the UK rose by just 0.03% in the third quarter.

THE FTSE 100 at 12:00                  Up          46       @         5349 THE DOW JONES closed                   Down        20       @         11103              NASDAQ COMP closed                     Down        27       @         2479              Commodities Spot Gold $/Oz           $1663         Up 1.46%     

Brent Crude Oil          $106.90       Up     1.04 %

September Delivery   

Exchange Rates GBP – USD           1.5649 GBP - EURO          1.1516