London afternoon: Stocks still struggling

19th Nov 2010 15:31

A poor start on Wall Street has done nothing to help a recovery in London where the leading index is stuck near 5,700.Outsourcing giant Capita, which yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been subdued due to government cuts in public spending, is suffering more falls today.Miners continue to struggle, but they've been joined by a bunch of retailers including Marks and Spencer, Next, Morrison's and Sainsbury's.Miners Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Anglo American are weaker, as are banks Standard Chartered, Barclays and HSBC as the market awaits news on the possible bailout of Ireland, perhaps worth over €80bn.Elsewhere in mining, Vedanta Resources has arranged a $6bn financing agreement with a consortium of banks to cover part of the $8.5bn-9.6bn needed to acquire 51-60% of Cairn India. The company is buying 31%-40% and subsidiary Sesa Goa Ltd the remaining 20%. "The financing announced today provides the group with funding flexibility," explained chairman Anil Agarwal. "A testament to the strength of the Vedanta story," he said.Rival UK drugs group BTG has emerged as the potential bidder for stent specialist Biocompatibles, with the two groups agreeing a takeover that values the firm at £177m or 430p per share. Biocompatibles shareholders will receive 1.6733 New BTG Shares and 10p in cash for each Biocompatibles share. The offer is worth about 40% more than the price on the day Biocompatibles announced it had been approached. BTG is down 10% and Biocompatibles up 12%.Regus, the serviced office specialist, increased revenue slightly during the four months to the end of October, as expected at the time of the interim results in August. Revenues at actual exchange rates rose to £336.5m from £332m a year earlier. The company still thinks now is the best time to invest in growth, with 48 of the 92 centres added so far this year completed since the start of July at a cost of almost £30m. Emerging markets accounted for 58% of them.London-based pub group and brewer Fuller's shrugged off the economic gloom with progress in all divisions but especially its hotels and managed pubs arm over the past six months. Profits in the half year to September rose by 11% to £16.8m, on sales up 4% at £121.5m. The dividend rises by 6% to 4.75p.Sales picked up at upmarket cooker maker Aga over the key autumn sales period, though the weak housing market is a concern. "We are encouraged by the performance of our brands - Rangemaster is having another successful year and we are pleased to see Aga volumes increasing," the firm said, though it added "tough housing market conditions dictate caution."Asia-focused oil and gas company Salamander Energy still expects production to hit 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boepd) by 2013 as producing assets perform to plan. Output guidance for 2010 is kept at 20,000 boepd, raised in August following the acquisition of an additional 40% interest in Block B8/38, Thailand from Soco International, and up from 13,600 boepd in 2009.Record orders over the past three months have kept valve and actuators group Rotork on course this year. "Order intake in the period remained strong, with the third quarter 28% higher than the prior year, a new record," the firm said. "Revenue and margins have been consistent with management expectations and the full year profit outlook remains in line with previous guidance and market consensus," it added.