RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

EVENING REPORT 14 February 2011

Mining stocks were buoyant after China’s economy grew 9.8% in the final quarter of 2010, but demand for miners has not prevented the blue-chip index from sliding into the red.

Exillon Energy, the oil producer with assets in northern Russia and West Siberia, was in demand after it announced an upgrade to its estimated reserves. The estimate of the group’s proved (1P) reserves has increased by 40% to 112m barrels, while proved plus probable (2P) reserves are estimated to be 74% higher.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce has won a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) contract with Emirates to look after its Trent engines on 70 of the airline’s new Airbus A350XWB aircraft.

Elsewhere in the aircraft sector British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) lost altitude after UBS cut its price target from 360p to 290p on concerns about fuel price rises and over-capacity issues on some routes.

National Express denied weekend reports that hedge fund Elliott wants the bus and train group to put itself up for sale or to merge with Stagecoach or SNCF of France.

Recruiter Harvey Nash's trading in the second half has been strong and results this year will be ahead of market expectations. Total revenue for the year to January will be £425m, gross profit of £68m and profit before tax of circa £6m, up 46% on the previous comparable year.

Finally, utility services group Telecom Plus expects full year profits to be ahead of market expectations, despite December’s severe weather conditions resulting in slightly slower customer growth in the third quarter.

THE FTSE 100 CLOSED DOWN 2 @ 6060

THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS DOWN 18 @ 12,255

THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS UP 5 @ 2354

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