RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
4 APRIL 2011 MORNING REPORT
The FTSE 100 is up 0.1%, perking up from opening lows, led by strength in mining stocks
as base metals traded modestly higher in Asia overnight.
It has been a morning for asset sales with both telecoms giant Vodafone and oil colossus
BP pressing on with their respective asset sale programmes.
Vodafone’s sale of what it considers non-core minority stakes continues with the sale of
its 44% holding in French mobile phone group SFR to French media group Vivendi for €7.75bn
(£6.8bn) in cash. The shares are higher.
BP is to sell its wholly owned subsidiary ARCO Aluminium to a consortium of Japanese
companies for $680m in cash.
Elsewhere in the oil and gas sector BG Group has made a third gas discovery in Tanzania.
The oil and gas group made the discovery about 18km off southern Tanzania at a depth of
about 950 metres. The discovery is about 200km south of BG’s previously announced Pweza
and Chewa discoveries.
Finally, east Yorkshire-based pork supplier Cranswick said results for the year to 31 March
2011 will be broadly in line with expectations. Underlying like-for-like sales for the year
to 31 March 2011 increased by 4% while volumes during the period gained 6% on the same basis.
Underlying sales in the fourth quarter were in line with those of the previous year. Operating
margin was in line with management's expectations.
THE FTSE 100 AT 9.45 IS UP 10 @ 6020
THE DOW JONES CLOSED UP 56 @ 12,376
THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED UP 8 @ 2789
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1. 6144
GBP - EURO 1.1350
Monday 4th, April 2011 10:10pm.
