RAMSEY CROOKALL

16th  September

Afternoon Report

The FTSE 100 is up 0.72%, extending gains, helped by positive comments from Merkel who says Germany remains committed to securing euro stability and must take an active role in preventing debt crisis contagion. On the U.S. data plate, the University of Michigan confidence figures are announced before the US open.

BG Group PLC  rose 1.94% after a report in the Financial Times that the firm had considered selling a minority stake in its Brazilian oil and gas business and that Chinese companies were among the interested parties.

Shares in ARM dropped 1.47% after Research In Motion reported disappointing results late Thursday and as Goldman Sachs removed the stock from its conviction-buy list, but kept its overall buy rating.

Exillon Energy rose after saying that its well EWS I-44 has found oil in West Siberia. The FTSE 250 Russia-focused oil producer said that the well was spudded on 1 August and flowed water-free oil naturally to the surface with a flow rate of 768 barrels per day.

AstraZeneca PLC's key new heart drug Brilinta has secured final backing from the U.K.'s health-care cost-effectiveness regulator for use on the state-funded National Health Service in England and Wales. Astra is currently trading up 0.3%.

THE FTSE 100 at 12:05                         Up           45        @     5382

THE DOW JONES closed                          Up           186       @      11433                       NASDAQ COM closed                             Up           34        @      2607               Commodities Spot Gold $/Oz           $1786 Brent Crude Oil          $112.84 September Delivery     Exchange Rates GBP – USD           1.5809 GBP - EURO         1.1445

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