RAMSEY CROOKALL

4th    August

Afternoon Report

The FTSE 100 trades down 0.9% , remaining in the red after the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 0.5%, as expected. Mining and energy stocks are the biggest fallers, with Vedanta Resources down 6.2% and Cairn Energy down 4.2% as commodity prices slip. Meanwhile, the FTSE has hit an intraday low of 5509.82 , the lowest level since September, when it fell to 5508.45. Next up, the ECB’s rate decision and US initial jobless claims.

Strong growth in emerging markets helped Anglo-Dutch food and household goods giant Unilever post higher sales and profits in the first half, though margins fell back as price rises failed to wholly offset the impact of higher input costs. The maker of Dove soap, Magnum ice creams and a host of other brands, posted turnover of €22.79bn for the first half, up 4.1% from the same period a year ago, while net profit climbed by 9% to €2.4bn.

Insurer Aviva and gold miner Randgold Resources are also up on second quarter results, but Inmarsat has come crashing back down to earth after the satellite operator’s interim numbers

Bermuda-based insurance underwriter, Catlin, has announced a big loss following the "unprecedented series of natural catastrophes during the first half of 2011". The firm reported a $201m loss before tax in the six months to the end of June, compared with a $86m profit the previous year

In the FTSE 250, US payment services provider Fidelity National Information Services has pulled out of offer talks with application software provider Misys, a heavy faller today.

THE FTSE 100 at 12:00               Down             53            @       5531

THE DOW JONES closed                Up               29            @       11896 

NASDAQ COM at closed                Up               23           @        2693                                      Exchange Rates

GBP – USD           1.6333 GBP - EURO          1.1459

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