LONDON (ShareCast) - London's blue chips have opened lower after US stocks closed on a weak note and miners fade even though moves to force short-sellers to disclose positions in companies undertaking rights issues have given companies in the middle of cash calls a boost.

HBOS, which has a £4bn rights issue at 275p closing in July, leads the way, presumably as short-sellers close positions, but companies that may possibly need to tap shareholders in future, such as Alliance & Leicester and Persimmon are also up. Johnston Press, another rights issuer, is also a big riser.

BG is up after it revealed another new oil discovery in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The exploration well, known as Guara, discovered oil within the BM-S-9 concession area, the second discovery within the BM-S-9 concession area where BG holds a 30% interest along with operator Petrobras (45%).

Enironmental consultant AEA is to buy Project Performance Corporation, an environmental management and information technology consulting firm headquartered in Virginia, United States, for a consideration £33m. A 4 for 5 rights at 40p will raise £39.7m to pay for the deal.

Guoco has upped its stake in Rank to 13.1% from 12.7%. The move by Guoco, run by Quek Leng Chan, is likely to add further fuel to speculation that the Asian firm is considering a bid for the UK group. The company, part of Malaysia’s Hong Leong Group, has been building up its holding in the UK firm since the beginning of 2008.

Menswear chain Moss Bros is to pay a special dividend of 1.3p on the 28 July 2008 even though like-for-like sales for the first 19 weeks of the year to 7 June were down by 1.5 %. "The men's retail market continues to be extremely challenging but management believes the business is well set up to navigate this difficult period," chief executive Philip Mountford said.

Recruitment firm Hydrogen Group has suffered collateral damage from the crisis in the investment banking sector, with levels of recruitment activity flat in a traditionally busy time for the sector.

Bid target Meldex has responded to a recent slide in its share price by assuring investors it is not preparing to launch a rights issue. The pharmaceutical and healthcare company says it knows of no business reason for the recent sharp fall in its share price.

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