London pre-open: Flat start expected

7th Apr 2010 07:37

Little movement is expected from Footsie in early dealings following an indecisive performance from US shares last night.Mobile phone giant Vodafone is to launch a customised version of Opera, the popular Internet browser, to run on low-cost handsets on 2G networks in a move aimed at developing markets.Specialist insurer and reinsurer Beazley has announced its preliminary estimate of its exposure to claims arising from the Chilean earthquake and the European windstorm Xynthia. The company expects the losses from the earthquake to be in the range of $55m to $75m, though uncertainty still surrounds the full scale of the losses.Food sales from its managed pubs continued to lead growth at pub group and brewer Marston's in the half year to April 3. The company remains on track to meet expectations for the full year.Power peripherals supplier Chloride enjoyed a satisfactory fourth quarter and expects to meet expectations for the year to March. Orders at the year-end were 16% higher than the previous year.Balfour Beatty has announced its second contract win in as many days, and this time it is for work on a terminal at Dallas Fort Worth airport. The infrastructure specialist contractor said a joint venture of which it is a member, along with Azteca Enterprises, H J Russell and CARCON Industries, has been selected to carry out preconstruction and construction services for the seven-year terminal development programme at the airport.Electrical parts distributor Electrocomponents has seen sales put on a growth spurt in February and March, which should see full year profits come in ahead of expectations. The company thinks profit before tax in the year to 31 March 2010 will be around £73m.