RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

EVENING REPORT

23RD NOVEMBER 2010 The Dow Jones index registered a triple-digit fall as Wall Street opened and sentiment in London has dipped further.

Fears of debt contagion in the euro-zone are pushing the banks down, with Barclays, Standard Chartered and Lloyds Banking the hardest hit. Royal Bank of Scotland defies the trend, however, after UBS upgraded the stock to 'buy', the broker suggesting the bank can manage its £50bn Irish exposure.

The Korean situation is sapping demand for miners such as Vedanta, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta. Gold miners Randgold Resources and Fresnillo both defy the trend in the mining sector, however, as risk averse investors respond to increased tension in the east by pushing up the price of gold

Aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce got a lift from news that a pair of A380 super-jumbos owned by Qantas will resume flights again on Saturday, three weeks after the airline’s entire fleet was grounded after an engine exploded mid-flight.

Mitchells & Butlers' debt reduction programme has cut the pub group’s interest bill, helping boost full-year profit by 26%. The M&B board said it will make a decision on dividend payments after monitoring the level of operating cash flow generation and capital investment opportunities for the business during 2011.

Water Group Severn Trent posted a fall in profits in the six months to 30 September despite higher revenues, after facing a number of charges. The company, which serves 8m customers across England and Wales, said pre-tax profits fell to £101.1m from £208.2m the previous year on turnover that rose to £867.9m from £852.1m.

De La Rue’s underlying interim profits tumbled after the well-flagged problems at one of its paper production sites. That cost it £35m and the resignation of chief executive James Hussey. The firm says demand for banknotes was also weak generally in the past six months with revenues falling from £252m to £209m.

THE FTSE 100 AT CLOSED DOWN 99 @ 5581

THE DOW JONES AT 4.45 PM IS DOWN 175 @ 11,003 THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.45 PM IS DOWN 46 @ 2485

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