RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

MIDDAY REPORT

11TH NOVEMBER 2010

Blue chips started pretty much as expected, posting reasonable gains in response to yesterday’s steady recovery on Wall Street, with commodity plays leading the pack.

The Dow Jones was trading deep in the red when London shut up shop Wednesday, but shed nerves ahead of today's G20 meeting in Seoul to eke out a 10-point lead by the close.

Miners marched higher from the off. Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Xstrata, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto are in demand, as is oil major BP.

Real estate giant Land Securities built underlying profit up by 6% during the first half – excluding valuation gains of £314m – and businesses are now more willing to commit to new space than even the company expected. Revenue profit grew to £135.9m in the six months ended 30 September, up from £128.4m the year before, though that jumps to £455.3m including the revaluation compared with a £4.6m loss last time.

Electricity generator International Power said expected 2010 spreads and load factors in its merchant markets remain in line with the guidance given in August.

Private equity house 3i ramped up investment and swung into profit during the first half. Profit before tax came in at £54m for the six months ended 30 September compared with a £57 loss in 2009, helped by a much smaller exchange rate hit. The net portfolio return rose by £4m to £236m.

THE FTSE 100 AT 12.30PM IS DOWN 7 @ 5809

THE DOW JONES CLOSED UP 10 @ 11,357 THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED UP 15 @ 2578

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1.61

GBP – EUR 1.17