RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

EVENING REPORT 7 MARCH 2011

Shares came off the top at the beginning of the afternoon before recovering some of their poise toward the end of the lunch time session as futures markets indicated a moderately firm start in store on Wall Street. However, the index finished down on the day.

Oil prices were still an issue. Light crude rose to a 30-month high above $106 on Monday as civil war rages in Libya while reports that the unrest may have reached Saudi Arabia further added to the oil market's frayed nerves.

Petrofac was higher after the oil fabrications giant reported only a ‘minimal impact’ so far from the unrest, but the company is continuing to monitor the situation closely. The stock closed up 9p at £14.75.

Rolls-Royce announced that it and car maker Daimler are in discussions about a purchase of German engine maker Tognum. Rolls is among the heaviest fallers in the FTSE 100.

Reports over the weekend that BSkyB's shareholders want a much higher offer from News Corp have lifted the satellite broadcaster, while the LSE is mulling Nasdaq as a takeover target after it concludes its merger with Toronto SE according to another story.

Mining giant Xstrata moved quickly to snap up the outgoing Vodafone chairman Sir John Bond as its new chairman of the board. Sir John will replace Willy Strothotte, who is to retire after the AGM on 4 May. Xstrata closed down 10p at $14.15. Finally, UK oil and gas titan BG Group has signed a 20-year deal to provide 1.2m tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year to Tokyo Gas, Japan’s largest city gas supplier.

THE FTSE 100 CLOSED DOWN 16 @ 5973

THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS DOWN 51 @ 12,118

THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS DOWN 32 @ 2752

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1.6267 GBP - EURO 1.1630