RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

MIDDAY REPORT

8 OCTOBER 2010

London opened quietly as traders focus on the US where September's non-farm payrolls numbers are due to be released this afternoon. Expectations are for a 5,000 increase in non-farm payrolls, while the unemployment rate is expected to nudge up to 9.7% from 9.6% in August. Until those numbers are confirmed, however, traders seem generally content to sit on their hands.

Miners are one sector going well on hopes that the numbers could tip the Federal Reserve's hand into more stimulus measures. Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are all higher, though Fresnillo is lower.

Barclays is also down after PCP3, a vehicle linked to Man City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, sold 220m shares.

Holiday company Thomas Cook and the Co-operative Group are merging their high street travel agents and foreign exchange businesses. Today’s move creates Britain’s largest high street travel network with over 1,200 shops – 803 Thomas Cook and 401 Co-op – and result in savings of over £35m a year.

Finally, mobile phone networks operator Vodafone has snapped up two telecom expense management firms: US company TnT Expense and Australian firm Quickcomm. The former has gross assets of $2.8m and the latter $6.9m.

THE FTSE 100 AT 12.00 IS DOWN 49 @ 5612

THE DOW JONES CLOSED DOWN 19 @ 10,948

THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED UP 3 @ 2383

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1. 5875

GBP – EUR 1. 1428

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