LONDON (ShareCast) - Footsie is leaning heavily on the miners to keep in the blue after a trio of cash calls and some mixed trading statements this morning.

Comments by BHP Billiton’s chief executive that he has not ruled out an increase in the bid for rival miner Rio Tinto has sparked buying across the mines sector. Speaking in an interview on the CNBC television network, BHP’s chief executive Marius Kloppers said “we can’t rule out anything” when asked whether the company would consider adding cash to its all-share offer for Rio Tinto. Other miners are up in sympathy.

Rail and bus group First Group is to raise up to £260m with the issue of 43.7m shares, 10% of the shares currently in issue. The final price has yet to set. Adjusted operating profit for the year to March was up nearly 40% at £360m. The new cash will pay off part of the debt raised to buy Laidlaw last year.

Land Securities swung to a full-year pre-tax loss after a revaluation deficit on its investment properties of £888.8m in the year ended 31 March, Basic net asset value per share fell 10.3% to 2067p. The group’s investment portfolio valuation is down 8.8%.

A sharp drop in sales has slashed almost half a billion pounds off the forward order book of Barratt Developments, the housebuilder revealed. The group’s forward order book currently stands at about £1.56bn versus £2.1bn a year ago following a 7.6% slide in housebuilding revenues during the 19 weeks to 11 May to £825m.

Mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley is to raise approximately £300m, net of expenses, in a 16 for 25 rights issue at 82p. This represents a 36% discount to the theoretical ex-rights price and a 48% discount to the closing price last night. The 2008 interim dividend, due in October 2008, is to be paid in shares with a new target for underlying dividend cover of between 2.0 to 2.5 times underlying earnings. Alliance & Leicester and HBOS are also lower.

Contract caterer Compass beat broker forecasts with a 29% rise in first-half profit to £289m in the six months to March 31. " Balance sheet efficiency remains a priority and looking forward, we are confident about the second half of the year and the future potential for the business. With this as the background, we are increasing the interim dividend by 11% and will buy back a further £400m shares of our over the next 18 months," it said.

Software group LogicaCMG's first quarter revenue rose 3.6% on a pro forma basis to £856m (2007: £826m), with March impacted by the effect of an earlier Easter. For the first four months of 2008, revenue was up 6.0% on a pro forma constant currency basis. UK revenue was stable in the first quarter, with positive momentum into the second quarter of 2008. "Overall market activity levels appear resilient and underpin our confidence in our 2008 guidance," it said.

Local newspaper publisher Johnston Press is to raise £212m through a deep discount right issue and share subscription by Malaysian group Usaha Tegas after a slump in advertising revenues in the past four months.

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