News

Footsie has held onto the triple digit gains posted this morning, with mining stocks among the biggest gainers on higher metals prices.

Footsie has made a strong start Friday morning after good gains in the US and Asia overnight.

Miners are boosted by a rise in prices for metals such as copper, which rose by the daily permitted limit, with good gains for Anglo American, Xstrata and ENRC.

TUI Travel said in anticipation of a period of weaker demand, it has implemented significant capacity reductions across its source markets to recover input costs. Fellow travel agent Thomas Cook is among the top FTSE 100 risers.

Defensively oriented stocks such as utilities National Grid and Severn Trent are among the few in the red.

Ladbrokes is not immune from recession, JP Morgan said as it trimmed its target price on the bookmaker to 190p from 220p.The broker cited the example of Ladbrokes' peer William Hill, which was hit by the recession of the early 1990s.

Anglo Dutch IT company Logica reported a 7% rise in third-quarter revenue and raised its full year revenue guidance to slightly above 4%.

Tullett Prebon posted a 26% rise in revenue to £332m in the four months to October and said it is taking action to reduce its cost base for next year. The inter-dealer broker said its financial position is strong, with net debt lower than reported at the half year.

Oil and gas firm Salamander Energy average production forecast is expected to increase by 60% in 2009 to approximately 16,000 boepd. Average daily production since the start of September has been approximately 13,000 boepd.

Russian-focused gold producer Peter Hambro Mining has moved to clarify recent comments about its reserve and resources levels, claiming they were based on a misunderstanding of its position.

New Star Asset Management's funds under management fell by 16% to £16.7bn in the three months to September and have since fallen further to £14.3bn currently.

Business services software supplier Anite said overall operating profits were up "significantly" with operating margins rising to over 25% in the six months to October.

Material technology firm Dyson warned that its performance for the second half of the current year is likely to fall significantly below expectations and said it does not expect to pay any interim dividend. The group said it has experienced a recent and material reduction in demand for its Saffil and Ecoflex products as a result of the significant downturn in the global automotive markets.