RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

MIDDAY REPORT

9 NOVEMBER 2010

London has opened stronger than expected after the dip on Wall Street overnight, largely due to some well received trading updates from index heavyweights on a very busy company announcement day. Primark and British Sugar owner Associated British Foods had a record year with group revenue up 10% to £10.2bn and adjusted profit before tax up 26% to £825m.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone raised its profits forecast for the current year and vowed to get more cash out of its stakes in Verizon Wireless and SFR one way or another in a bullish half-year update. The firm now expects adjusted operating profit for the 2011 financial year will be in the range of £11.8bn to £12.2bn, up from its previous range of £11.2bn -£12bn

BP is going well after a US presidential commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster found no evidence to support charges the company and its rig partners put profits ahead of safety.

Barclays eked out a small increase in nine-month profit as a doubling of profit at the investment banking arm offset huge impairment charges at the Spanish business. The bank has made £4.27bn so far in 2010, up 4% on the same time last year, or 6% to £4.24bn excluding movements on own credit, gains on acquisitions and disposals and gains on debt buy-backs. Impairment charges were slashed by 31% to £4.30bn

THE FTSE 100 AT 11.00 AM IS UP 45 @ 5895

THE DOW JONES CLOSED DOWN 53 @ 11,393 THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED DOWN 4 @ 2574

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1. 61 GBP – EUR 1. 15



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