RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

13th May 2011 Afternoon Report

The FTSE 100 is up 0.7%, staying firmly in positive territory with the help of strong mining shares as commodity prices recover from Thursday's selloff.. A better-than-expected euro-zone GDP outcome also helps the index, as it alleviates some of the recent worries about the health of the EU economy.

In company news, oil services group Petrofac says it is “increasingly confident” that it will deliver profit growth in line with previous guidance after a strong performance so far this year.

Bourses operator London Stock Exchange (LSE) is higher after it hailed a 22% increase in adjusted operating profit and said a packed pipeline of new issues promises more to come.

Among today’s fallers is Stobart after the distribution group hit back at an article in the Daily Telegraph saying the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is examining a deal that will see Stobart buy a property portfolio from its chief executive.

And finally, Bermuda based insurance underwriter Catlin is up after it said rates for certain classes of business are starting to rise after a first quarter that saw an unprecedented number of significant natural disasters. Catlin reiterated its estimate of $375m of losses related to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the New Zealand earthquake and the floods in Australia.

THE FTSE 100 at 12:00 is         Up 43 @ 5988

THE DOW JONES closed Up 65 @  12695

THE NASDAQ COMP closed Up 17 @   2845

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD           1.6250 GBP - EURO          1.1375