LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares continue to drift back in thin trading, with resource stocks leading the sedate retreat.

Struggling sportswear retailer JJB Sports has done its best to inject a bit of excitement into proceedings with details of short term funding plans and changes at the top. It has the support of major shareholders for a placing and open offer of shares at 5p each to raise £31.5m. As reported in the press, restructuring specialist Mike McTighe, currently the chairman of Pace, Volex and WYG, will take over as chairman from John Clare, who has been in the chair for less than a year.

Trading has remained tough, with the recent poor weather conditions adding to woes. On a like-for-like (excluding VAT) basis, revenue for the period 2 August 2010 to 19 December was 1.6% higher than for the same period last year. Total group revenue for the same period was up 1.0% year-on-year.

Management has been encouraged, however, by the performance of six of its recently refurbished stores and, importantly, still has the support of major suppliers such as Adidas and Nike.

<>Randgold Resources is the worst performer as it falls back in line with the price of gold.

Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer now expects to lose $20m (£13m) as a result of the New Zealand earthquake, up sharply from initial estimates.

Avocet Mining has signed a binding agreement for the conditional sale of its South East Asian assets to J&Partners, a private Cayman Islands company, for $200m cash.

Media Corp has seen the best start to a year ever for its online advertising arm, Eyeconomy, with the company describing business as "exceptionally strong".

Drug research group Cyprotex reports solid progress following the integration of Apredica and Cellumen, with full year results for the period ended 30 December to be in line with market expectations.

Oil and gas company investor Westmount Energy is to return 45p per share or £3.4m in total through a B share issue. The cash return is worth more than half of its market value at last night's close.

Indian investment group Hirco has confirmed chairman Niranjan Hiranandani has stepped down while enquiries by the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation into allegations of irregularities in the handling of employees’ provident funds for other Indian companies are underway.


Potash mining group Sirius Minerals has acquired a further 1445 net mineral acres of lease areas adjacent to its existing properties in North Dakota.

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