RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

19th May 2011 Afternoon Report

The FTSE 100 is up 1%, pushing further into positive territory as a combination of a successful bond auction in Spain, upbeat economic data in the UK and well-received corporate news boosts risk appetite. All eyes remain on Glencore, the shares, which were priced at 530p, are trading at 543p. Still to come on the data front, US jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed index.

Investec ,the specialist bank and asset manager, saw operating profit before tax rise by 0.5%, as strong growth in Asset Management, Wealth and Investment and Investment Banking was able to offset a loss of £91.4m in Private Banking. Brewing firm SABMiller has hailed an "excellent financial performance" for the year ended 31 March, as profits swelled by 24%, helped by strong growth in the emerging markets. As a result, the group hiked its full-year dividend by almost a fifth from 68 cents to 81 cents.

Quality and safety services provider Intertek has opened lower after reporting a slow-than- expected performance in the Consumer Goods division. Nevertheless, organic revenue grew by 8% in the year so far, and the group anticipates achieving organic revenue growth in the high single digit range for the full year.

National Grid saw pre-tax profit rise by 25% in the year to the end of March, on the back of continued strong UK returns. The dividend has been increased to 36.37p from 33.68p the year before THE FTSE 100 at 12:00         Up 59 @ 5982

THE DOW JONES closed Up 80 @  12560

THE NASDAQ COMP closed Up 31 @   2815

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD           1.6203 GBP - EURO          1.1351