RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

EVENING REPORT 27 SEPTEMBER 2010

The market really couldn’t make up its mind today, with the FTSE 100 now back at Friday’s closing level after opening firmer and then turning lower this afternoon.

Unilever was the best performer, closing up 23p at £18.16. The household products group is paying $3.7bn (£2.3bn) in cash for America’s Alberto Culver, adding the TRESemmé, Nexxus, VO5, St Ives and Simple brands to the conglomerate’s portfolio. It should also deliver “significant” synergies and, excluding restructuring costs, will be accretive to earnings per share (EPS) in the first full year, said the owner of Dove, Clear, Sunsilk, Pond's and Vaseline. The shares closed

Fellow consumer products group PZ Cussons is to buy fake tan products specialist St. Tropez Holdings. The Imperial Leather soap owner is paying £62.5m to private equitygroup LDC to get its hands on St. Tropez which has a product range that includes lotions, mousses, sprays and other products serving consumers who wish to achieve a safe, natural looking tan without roasting on a sun bed or on the beach. The shares closed up 16½p at 364p.

AstraZeneca's prostate cancer treatment zibotentan showed little patient benefit in the first of three late stage trials, the drugs giant has revealed. The shares were down 54p at £32.80.

Wolseley, supplier of goods to the plumbing and heating trade, is to shift its tax base to Switzerland and resume paying dividends. Although revenue for the year to 31 July fell 9%, or 10% in constant currency terms, to £13.2bn, this was above the market consensus of £13.1bn, while the fourth quarter saw an encouraging 4% gain in like for like sales. The shares closed at £12.07, down 20p.

And Broker sentiment has been less kind to technology firm Smiths Group, which has been downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by BofA Merrill Lynch, but leisure group Whitbread is wanted on the back of an upgrade by Credit Suisse, at the close they were up 6p at £16.28.

Finally, North Falkland Basin oil and gas explorer Rockhopper confirmed today it has plugged and abandoned the Sea Lion 1 well while it pores over the drill and test results. The shares were down 35½p at 474½p.

THE FTSE 100 CLOSED DOWN 25 @ 5573

THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS DOWN 31 @ 10,828

THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS DOWN 8 @ 2372

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1. 5833 GBP – EUR 1. 1742

??

??

??

??