RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
EVENING REPORT
15 OCTOBER 2010
Leading shares were mixed with traders reluctant to take on big positions
ahead of this afternoon’s speech from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
The market is hoping that Bernanke will provide clues to the Fed’s plans for
a possible resumption of quantitative easing.
Insurers and miners remained a drag on the market, however, the miners have
seen a bout of profit taking while the insurers have been hit by a downgrade
of the whole sector by Citigroup.
RSA, Standard Life and Legal & General all retreated, but it is insurance firm
Old Mutual that is the main casualty after banking giant HSBC said is not going to
go through with its proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in South African
bank Nedbank from the insurer.
Telecoms giant BT was the best performing blue-chip after the company said it has
signed a memorandum of understanding with Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude,
the man behind the so-called “bonfire of the quangos”. BT has agreed on “new arrangements
designed to deliver efficiencies” but all of its government contracts will remain in place,
it assured the market.
Reckitt Benckiser has been fined £10.2m for abuse of the dominant market position of its
heartburn treatment Gaviscon in 2005.
finally, bus company Stagecoach is to re-enter the London market after acquiring the
third largest bus operator in London. Stagecoach is paying £59.5m in cash for the bus
business formerly owned by East London Bus Group, which is in administration. The
acquisition is expected to modestly boost Stagecoach’s earnings in the first year of
ownership.
THE FTSE 100 CLOSED ` DOWN 23 @ 5703
THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS DOWN 15 @ 11,079
THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS UP 8 @ 2444
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1. 6030
GBP – EUR 1. 1425
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