London pre-open: Shares to fall as further Fed support looking unlikely

12th Mar 2012 07:24

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 12 points from Friday's close of 5,887, as the US Federal Reserve is now not expected to provide further support at its policy meeting tomorrow after last week's data revealed yet another surge in job numbers.  The merger discussions between financial software developers Misys and Temenos Group have been terminated, but Misys remains in talks with its other suitors regarding a potential takeover. Swiss firm Temenos, long thought of as a natural partner of Misys, has been in discussion with its UK peer since the beginning of February, but the two parties have evidently been unable to agree on a price. That leaves the field clear for the two rival private equity challengers, Vista Equity Partners and CVC Capital Partners, the latter working in conjunction with Misys's major shareholder, ValueAct Capital.Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin has resumed work at its flagship Sukari Gold Mine following last week's labour unrest which brought operations to a standstill. The stoppage was a result of a breakdown in ongoing discussions over salary increases and other benefits with some miners, the group said.Support services firm Carillion has been asked to deliver further construction work for the Thameslink programme, the cross-London rail network upgrade. As a delivery partner to Network Rail's Thameslink team, Carillion will be responsible for improvements to depots and stabling sites to allow the introduction of the new 12-carriage fleet in a contract deal worth around £120m.