News

London is managing to hang on to midmorning gains as deal news and some well received results cancel a mixed mining sector.

Carphone Warehouse is top performing blue chip at lunchtime on news it has signed a wholesale deal with Vodafone to launch a new contract called Talkmobile.

Household goods retailer Home Retail is also ahead after it performed "very strongly" in the first half, with benchmark pre-tax profit up 40% thanks to higher sales at Argos.

The group, which demerged from GUS in October last year, reported a profit for the 26 weeks to 1 September of £149.8m, up from a pro forma £107.2m a year ago.

Miner Kazakhmys said total copper cathode output declined 5% in the third quarter, adding that overall production for the year could be lower than 2006.

Broker Seymour Pierce responded by downgrading the stock from "hold" to "underperform". Lonmin, Vedanta Resources and BHP Billiton are also in the red, while Xstrata and Anglo American are higher.

Elsewhere in the sector, Rio Tinto improved after it said its offer for Canadian aluminium business Alcan has been successful, having received 79.41% acceptances for the $38.1bn cash deal.

Insurer Friends Provident is among the top risers after it said life and pensions new business increased 35% in the third quarter. It also announced new target returns of capital to shareholders after the merger between Friends and Resolution. Fellow insurers Aviva and Prudential joined the advance, but Resolution lost ground.

Relations between Scottish & Newcastle and Carlsberg continue to deteriorate. Yesterday the British brewer accused Carlsberg of breaching the terms of the Baltic Beverages joint-venture agreement; the Danish brewer has today refuted the claims. Scottish & Newcastle is trading lower on the day.

Davis Service is leading the mid-caps after it said it saw double digit growth in both revenue and operating profits in the third quarter plus higher interest costs, reflecting acquisitions made in the first half.

Intercontinental Hotels has announced it will take an exceptional charge of £30m to finance the worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand.

Engineering firm Bodycote saw sales for the nine months to the end of September grow 18.7% at constant exchange rates and expects all its markets to remain buoyant except automotive.

Stuart Blake has stepped down from his role as chief executive of recruitment company Greatfleet with immediate effect due to ill health.

BP Marsh & Partners, a niche venture capital provider to early stage financial services businesses, has seen its net asset value excluding deferred tax rise 12.8% on last year.

Document management specialist IDOX is sharply higher after a group of its top ranking directors lifted their stake in the company.