RAMSEY CROOKALL

19th  September

Morning Report

The FTSE 100 is down 2%, as worries mount that a delay in providing Greece with aid would lead the country to default. Banking stocks take a hammering on these worries with Royal Bank of Scotland down 5.2% and Barclays down 5.7%. Mining stocks slide on weaker metal prices. Xstrata down 4.0% and Kazakhmys down 4.7%. No major corporate or economic data is due. US NAHB housing market report is released before the US open.

'Imperial Leather' soap maker PZ Cussons said performance in the second half of the year has been in line with expectations, but the company's margins are under threat from rising raw material costs. Shares fell lower.

Cheese and milk producer Dairy Crest rose after saying that first half trading was in line and expressing confidence in full-year numbers.

Press reports about a possible fund-raising by Gulf Keystone have proved to be right. The AIM-listed oil and gas firm focused in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq confirmed it is considering its options with regards to an equity fund-raising. Shares fell into the red.

Recycled packaging and office products group DS Smith was among the few risers on the FTSE 250 after announcing the sale of its paper mill in Devon, as part its strategy to reduce paper production in order to focus on recycled packaging for consumer goods.

Travel company TUI Travel has chosen power systems giant Rolls-Royce to provide Trent 700 engines to power two Airbus A330 aircraft, due in 2012. Both stocks were unwanted early on.

THE FTSE 100 at 10:00                      Down       107       @      5206

THE DOW JONES closed                       Up         75        @      11509                       NASDAQ COM closed                          Up         15        @       2622               Commodities Spot Gold $/Oz           $1812 Brent Crude Oil          $111.41 September Delivery     Exchange Rates GBP – USD            1.5727 GBP - EURO         1.1519