RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

MIDDAY REPORT

20 SEPTEMBER 2010

UK blue chips have made good ground in early dealings with oil and mining groups in demand.

BP is one of the top performers after the US coast guard signalled that the oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico has been permanently sealed. US authorities described the leak from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico as "effectively dead". Other oil groups are also going well led by India's Essar and BG.

Miners are another sector posting good gains. Big hitters Rio Tinto and Xstrata are two of the top performers.

Insurer Brit Insurance has responded to Friday's late announcement that the consortium headed by US private equity firm Apollo has upped its bid offer to £10.75 per share. The shares are almost 5% higher at £10.35.

And BAE Systems has strengthened its position in the US counter-terrorism market with the acquisition of the consultancy division of American firm L-1 Identity Solutions. The UK weapons group will pay $296m in cash for the L-1 division, which comprises three firms SpecTal, Advanced Concepts and McClendon.

Elsewhere, global banking titan HSBC is to sell its wholesale banknotes business in Asia to United Overseas Bank (UOB). UOB is paying $15m in cash for the assets, with the transfer expected to take place in the final quarter of 2010.

Finally, Sterling Energy, the oil and gas company with interests in the Middle East and Africa, has seen its share price slump after mixed results with its latest exploration well drill tests in Kurdistan. The shares have fallen 50p to 78½p.

THE FTSE 100 AT NOON IS UP 67 @ 5575

THE DOW JONES CLOSED UP 13 @ 10,607

THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED UP 12 @ 2315

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1. 56 GBP – EUR 1. 19