RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
5 APRIL 2011 MIDDAY REPORT
The FTSE 100 is down 0.27% amid a shortage of big company news and ahead of some
important economic announcements.
The US Federal Reserve is due tonight to publish the minutes from the most recent
meeting of its rate-setting committee while later in the week the Bank of England
and the European Central Bank (ECB) will announce their decisions on their key lending
rates. The ECB is widely expected to hike its key lending rate by a quarter of a point
while the Bank of England is expected to stand pat.
Elsewhere, music and film retailer HMV continues to struggle against tough conditions
on the high street and competition from supermarkets and digital downloads. It said it
expects profits before tax for the full year to come in at £30m. In a trading update
last month HMV predicted pre-tax profits would be “moderately below” market expectations
of £45m. The company has also been given more headroom by its lenders though, and the
share price fall is not as severe as it might have been.
Shares in EnQuest are higher. The UK-focused oil and gas group said it was “very disappointed”
with the government’s decision to increase taxes on North Sea oil firms, though it remains
confident of delivering on its 2011 targets. The high oil price and increased production helped
push the company’s revenues up to $614.4m in 2010, from $319m the previous year. Pre-tax
profits soared to $71.5m from $24.6bn.
The London Stock Exchange is to sell Servizio Titoli, a provider of shareholder management
services to listed companies in Italy, to Computershare for €30m. A further consideration,
up to a maximum of €2.4m, may be payable on completed of the deal, which is expected in May.
Finally, advertising giant WPP is buying a minority stake in Canadian firm Vice Holdings,
a global youth media brand that operates in more than 30 countries.
THE FTSE 100 AT NOON IS DOWN 20 @ 5996
THE DOW JONES CLOSED UP 23 @ 12,400
THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED DOWN 1 @ 2789
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1. 6155
GBP - EURO 1. 1386
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