London afternoon: New recession fears hammer markets

14th May 2010 15:50

Shares across Europe have have tanked on concerns that measures to tackle the European debt crisis could spark widespread civil unrest and send the eurozone into a prolonged recession.Consumer spending is likely to come under pressure as European governments - including the UK's - seek to address their difficult debt positions following the economic crisis and the fiscal spending programmes implemented to spur recovery.Banking is one of weakest sectors today, not helped by news that the Competition Commission will press ahead with the ban of the sale of payment protection insurance alongside credit cards and personal loans. Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland are all lower. Xstrata, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are among the mining stocks in the red, as commodity prices slip back. Gold prices have moved ahead though as investors seek refuge from the turmoil and this has boosted the share price of Mexican silver miner Fresnillo. Building supplies group Wolseley is the best performer, after it more than doubled trading profit during the third quarter and predicted full-year profit will beat forecasts of £374m. Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has appointed Kevin Beeston as non-executive chairman to succeed Norman Askew. Beeston, who recently left service company Serco after 25 years with the company and 8 years as its chairman, will take on the role with effect from 1 July.Intertek saw organic revenue for the first four months of the year increase by 3% at constant exchange rates, but warned that some of its markets remain challenging. Bad weather and customers winning more hit gaming group Ladbrokes in the four months to April. Group net revenue was down 6% over the period with betting shop net revenue down by 11%. Operating profit rose by 3%, nonetheless, though this excludes its high roller customers, where operating profits fell sharply from £25m to £8.9m. eGaming revenue fell 2%, though profits jumped 41%.Improving activity levels and order book at Renishaw has put the precision tool maker on course to top last year's annual revenue figure and for profits to be "significantly" higher than expectations. Chiefs said the positive trend in order intake reported at January's interim results continued during the third quarter, lifting the order book to £24.1m by the end of April from £9.7m at the start of the financial year.IT services provider Computacenter grew revenues by 8% in the first three months of the year and has seen similar growth rates during the second quarter, led by a strong rebound in the UK.Student accommodation developer and manager Unite said it has seen clear evidence of increased letting activity in recent weeks, partly due to promotions. Reservations for 2010/11 have increased to 71% from 59% at the end of February, the company said.