RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

MIDDAY REPORT

24 NOVEMBER 2010 London has opened better than expected thanks to a rebound by the miners and a smattering of good trading updates.

UK banks are weak again becasue of the situation in Ireland. Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are all lower.

Miners are doing better today, led by Kazakhmys and Xstrata. The pair have been the Yo Yo’s of the sector recently, up one day and down the next.

In company news, Capital Shopping Centres, formerly part of Liberty International, has confirmed it is close to agreeing the purchase of Manchester’s Trafford Centre in a deal worth £1.6bn.

Interim results from water supplier United Utilities were slightly ahead of management expectations. In the six months to 30 September the company made an underlying profit before tax of £196.2m, down from £258.2m the year before.

Buy-to-let mortgage lender Paragon reported a sharp increase in full year profit on strong rental demand, a decrease in its provision for losses and as the turmoil of the credit market crisis continues to fade.

Sportingbet, the online bookie, continues to see strong growth in the ‘in play’ side of the business. Amounts wagered in the three month period to 31 October – the group’s first quarter – rose 10.9% to £513.9m from £463.2m the year before, with the sums bet on sporting events in play rising 27%.



THE FTSE 100 AT NOON IS UP 36 @ 5617

THE DOW JONES CLOSED DOWN 14 @ 11,036 THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED DOWN 37 @ 2494

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1.5768 GBP – EUR 1.1833