RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

MIDDAY REPORT

18TH NOVEMBER 2010

The FTSE’s strong start has continued through the morning as traders avert their eyes from the ongoing Irish debt saga and pay attention to today’s stream of company updates.

Ireland, through, is hard to ignore. The Bank of Ireland chief has confirmed a loan is likely with brokers suggesting it could be as much as €85bn, including €20bn to provide support for the country’s beleaguered banks, Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish and Anglo Irish.

SABMiller is fizzing after a strong performance in all regions but Europe helped the brewing giant post a rise in profits in the half year to September 30. Pre-tax profits at the brewer of famous brands such as Miller and Peroni climbed to $1.69bn (£1.06bn) from $1.5bn over the same period the previous year as revenues rose to $9.43bn from $8.84bn. London Stock Exchange grew profits by 26% in the first half, helped by cost cutting and a sharp increase in the number of new issues. Profit before tax for the six months ended 30 September jumped to £100.2m from £79.4m a year earlier.

Anglo-Dutch publishing giant Reed Elsevier is trading much the same as it did in the first half, with subscription revenues constrained, and advertising, promotion and other cyclical markets continuing to stabilise.

Engineering and project management company AMEC has won a double-headed contract from ConocoPhillips for oilfield services in the North Sea.

THE FTSE 100 AT MIDDAY IS UP 76 @ 5768

THE DOW JONES CLOSED DOWN 15 @ 11,007 THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED UP 6 @ 2476

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1.59

GBP – EUR 1.17