London afternoon: Investors cautious ahead of G20 meeting

8th Nov 2010 13:47

The Footsie drifted lower over the lunchtime session, hitting a new low for the day, as the afterglow of the Fed's quantitative easing boost begins to fade. There was also an element of caution ahead of this week's Group of 20 meeting in South Korea.It's been an unusually busy Monday for company results, with satellite operator Inmarsat the pick of the bunch so far. The company saw strong growth in its aeronautical and leasing services in the third quarter. Total revenue in the three months ended 30 September rose 18.8% to $308.8m from $260.0m the year before.Staying, loosely, on the subject of satellite, pay TV and internet service provider BSkyB has reached its target of 10m TV customers, with 36% of households in the UK and Ireland now taking its service.Security services firm G4S saw signs in the third quarter that developed markets have stabilised while it continued to see strong trading in new markets. Overall revenues in the first nine months of 2010 were 5.6% higher than in the corresponding period of 2009, or 4.2% higher using constant exchange rates.Goldman Sachs has taken the shine off the share price of gold miner African Barrick Gold, downgrading the stock to "sell", as it feels output may disappoint in the near term. Meanwhile, broker comment puts a dent in utility firm Scottish & Southern Energy, with Nomura downgrading the stock to "reduce" and suggesting that the dividend may be under threat. Royal Dutch Shell is to raise more than £2bn by selling down its stake in Aussie oil and gas company Woodside Petroleum.The company will retain a stake of just under 25% in Woodside, at least for another year, unless Woodside receives a bid or a strategic investor with a shareholding of 3% or more in Woodside wants to buy Shell's shares.The prospect of a takeover bid for Woodside is not being dismissed by traders, with some suggesting Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton, currently zero for three in its last three merger attempts, might find Woodside a suitable prospect for the cash burning a hole in its pocket.BAE Systems is going well on a weekend report that it could pick up a huge order from India for Eurofighters. Rolls-Royce, though is going the other way after more criticism over the Qantas engine problems and reports of possible litigation for patent infringementFund manager Gartmore is the largest mover, but the wrong way. Roger Guy, its star investment manager is stepping down from day-to-day fund management and will leave next May, while Dominic Rossi, the firm's chief investment officer, has also decided to quit and move elsewhere. The company has launched a strategic review of its whole business.Comparison website Moneysupermarket.com has rallied on weekend reports it is mulling a deal to take it private again.Oil group Afren says a security breach has occurred on the High Island VII jackup rig, which had recently arrived on location, preparing to commence infill drilling at the Okoro field. Two crew members are stable after receiving wounds to the leg, and have been evacuated by helicopter to a shore-based clinic. It is believed that five crew members have been taken hostage, Afren said. Aussie coal miner Caledon Resources has received a firm cash bid worth almost two-thirds more than an approach earlier in the year. The offer, from Guangdong Rising Asset management (GRAM), is worth 112p cash per share and values the company overall at £252m. Estate agent Savills expects underlying pre-tax profit for the year to 31 December 2010 to be in excess of £40m helped by a particularly strong performance in Asia and the UK. Transactions at its Prime London Residential business have continued at a healthy level, the group said, albeit fourth quarter will see lower volumes than the very strong final quarter of 2009. Housebuilder Bovis expects market conditions to remain challenging over the next few months but remains confident it can sell more homes in 2011. "Whilst there remains uncertainty concerning the near term direction of house prices, the fundamental demand and supply drivers of the housing market remain positive which should support volume and prices in the medium term," the group said in Monday's interim statement.Bermuda based specialist insurer Hiscox said gross written premiums in the first nine months of the year were broadly level at £1,205.3m compared to £1,212.2m in 2009.Sector peer Lancashire Holdings edges higher after third quarter gross written premiums totalled $135.0m, down from $139.7m a year earlier.Online fashion firm ASOS's interim results showed a 50% increase in revenues and a 59% hike in pre-tax profits but the market has become used to such strong growth, and the shares are currently on offer.Skin treatments supplier Sinclair Pharma's revenues grew strongly in the third quarter thanks to initial revenues from burns cream Flammazine.It looks like the end of the line for property repair and maintenance company Rok, which has called in the administrators.Chinese citrus fruit plantations owner Asian Citrus has managed to bump up prices by about 9% in its annual winter crop negotiations.