LONDON (ShareCast) - London is expected to open lower after falls on Wall Street overnight. Northern Rock and the banks may dominate again with talk that another lender is tapping the Bank of England for emergency funding. Traders expect Footsie to open down 30 points.
Northern Rock will be busy as it is expected to receive up to eight proposals today, deadline day, for buying all or some of the stricken bank.
British Airways may be also be lively following reports that it faces a multi-million-pound compensation bill after a deal in which it has agreed to pay some passengers £430 each for cancelling their flights. The Times says the deal opens the way for thousands of passengers — who were left stranded in February because of an industrial dispute — to make claims against the airline.
Elsewhere, Aero Inventory has signed a ten year exclusive contract with ACTS Aero Technical Support & Services Inc to supply aircraft parts. The contract commencement date is 15 November 2007. The total consideration to be paid to ACTS amounts to US$95m. The contract is expected to generate revenues for Aero Inventory of some US$1.2bn over the initial ten-year contract period.
Surgical instruments specialist Gyrus has received a writ from ArthroCare alleging an infringement of one of ArthroCare's patents. Gyrus said the action related to a number of its products, including its jPlasmaKnife and Plasma Trissector, but that they formed a very small percentage of overall group revenues.
Engineer 600 Group's interim operating profit before net financial income and tax was £0.6m (2006: loss of £0.5m). Net financial income increased to £1.1m (2006: £0.9m) mainly due to the non-cash impact of the UK pension scheme. European markets, including the UK, experienced significant growth. North America has shown some softness in recent months reflecting current difficulties in financial markets, it said.
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Experian Group (EXPN) 429.50p 0.00%
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Northern Rock (NRK) 134.70p 0.00%
United Utilities (UU.) 699.00p 0.00%
Alliance & Leicester (AL.) 648.00p 0.00%
ICAP (IAP) 593.00p 0.00%
Capita Group (CPI) 673.50p 0.00%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,056.00p 0.00%
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Ashtead Group (AHT) 89.75p 0.00%
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F&C Commercial Property Trust (FCPT) 96.00p 0.00%
Greggs (GRG) 4,776.00p 0.00%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 69.25p 0.00%
Croda International (CRDA) 612.00p 0.00%
National Express Group (NEX) 1,211.00p 0.00%
Merchants Trust (MRCH) 466.00p 0.00%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ashtead Group (AHT) 89.75p 0.00%
Quintain Estates & Development (QED) 550.00p 0.00%
Minerva (MNR) 179.00p 0.00%
Regus Group (RGU) 90.00p 0.00%
F&C Commercial Property Trust (FCPT) 96.00p 0.00%
Greggs (GRG) 4,776.00p 0.00%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 69.25p 0.00%
Croda International (CRDA) 612.00p 0.00%
National Express Group (NEX) 1,211.00p 0.00%
Merchants Trust (MRCH) 466.00p 0.00%
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MTL Instruments (MTI) 555.00p 0.00%
BTG (BGC) 102.50p 0.00%
Corin Group (CRG) 623.50p 0.00%
Robotic Technology (RTS) 11.50p 0.00%
Parity Group (PTY) 68.00p 0.00%
Visonic (VSC) 52.00p 0.00%
Antisoma (ASM) 28.50p 0.00%
Vega Group (VEG) 204.00p 0.00%
Horizon Technology (HOR) 65.25p 0.00%
Ark Therapeutics (AKT) 107.75p 0.00%
FTSE TechMARK - Fallers
MTL Instruments (MTI) 555.00p 0.00%
BTG (BGC) 102.50p 0.00%
Corin Group (CRG) 623.50p 0.00%
Robotic Technology (RTS) 11.50p 0.00%
Parity Group (PTY) 68.00p 0.00%
Visonic (VSC) 52.00p 0.00%
Antisoma (ASM) 28.50p 0.00%
Vega Group (VEG) 204.00p 0.00%
Horizon Technology (HOR) 65.25p 0.00%
Ark Therapeutics (AKT) 107.75p 0.00%
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