London midday: Calm before the storm

26th Apr 2011 12:07

Shares are little changed on a quiet beginning to a week that will spark into life tomorrow with a stream of updates and preliminary first quarter GDP figures.There are some interesting movers today though.Shares in Heritage Oil jumped after the oil explorer announced that it is buying back $100m (£60m) in shares. It said it is making the move because it "considers that the current share price is trading at a significant discount to the intrinsic, underlying value of the company."Meanwhile, Micro Focus International, the software firm which recently announced two profit warnings, a share buy-back, and the departure of its chief executive, has confirmed speculation of a potential sale, sending its share price higher. The group revealed on Tuesday that it has received a "very preliminary, non-binding approach in relation to a possible offer" and is said to be considering its response. News of a strike at its main mine is hurting Hochschild Mining. The Argentine Mining Labour Association initiated the action at the San Jose silver and gold mine in Argentina due to a dispute over pay increases for contract workers, Hochschild said.Mining titan Rio Tinto has come to an agreement with the government of Guinea, paving the way for work to begin on the Simandou iron ore project in the southern part of the country. Rio's subsidiary, Simfer, is to pay $700m to the Guinean Public Treasury upon promulgation of Presidential Decrees granting Simfer's mining concession and the approval of the proposed Simandou joint venture set up by state-owned Chinese almuminium company Chalco and Rio Tinto.Printing technologies firm Domino Printing Sciences has formed a joint venture with food safety specialist New Market Impressions to develop and deploy proprietary food safety and traceability technologies for the US egg industry, with plans to expand globally.Translation software firm SDL said its performance for the first quarter of 2011 was in line with management expectations for both revenue and operating profit. The group, which provides patent translation software services for Ford, Canon and Dell, said demand conditions overall remain strong.Financial Times publisher and education group Pearson has acquired Schoolnet, which provides tailored instruction for US school kids, for $230m (£140m). Pearson said it expects the acquisition to be broadly neutral to earnings per share in 2011, including integration costs, and to enhance Pearson's adjusted EPS and return on invested capital in 2012. Convenience food group Uniq benefited from Marks & Spencer's decision to reduce the number of sandwich suppliers it uses from three to two last year. Pre-tax losses in 2010 narrowed to £11.2m from £18.9m the previous year on revenues that rose to £311.9m from £287.2m. FTSE 100 - RisersInternational Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 227.00p +3.32%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,308.00p +2.91%Aggreko (AGK) 1,706.00p +2.40%ARM Holdings (ARM) 617.00p +1.98%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 403.10p +1.90%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,647.00p +1.67%Essar Energy (ESSR) 447.20p +1.64%Vodafone Group (VOD) 171.75p +1.60%Tesco (TSCO) 401.60p +1.59%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,287.00p +1.46%FTSE 100 - FallersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,230.00p -1.41%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,374.00p -1.22%Next (NXT) 2,212.00p -1.21%TUI Travel (TT.) 236.10p -1.17%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 652.70p -1.05%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,256.00p -1.03%Anglo American (AAL) 3,130.50p -1.00%Lonmin (LMI) 1,632.00p -0.85%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,348.00p -0.76%IMI (IMI) 1,034.00p -0.67%FTSE 250 - RisersHeritage Oil (HOIL) 263.70p +7.94%Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 360.00p +6.51%Pace (PIC) 163.30p +5.22%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 96.20p +3.78%William Hill (WMH) 221.30p +3.75%Premier Foods (PFD) 31.17p +3.42%Persimmon (PSN) 485.20p +3.26%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 628.00p +3.12%CPP Group (CPP) 126.00p +2.77%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 166.50p +2.27%FTSE 250 - FallersCentamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 135.30p -4.18%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 47.00p -3.51%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 292.70p -3.34%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 478.80p -3.21%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 159.30p -2.81%Inchcape (INCH) 355.90p -2.65%Sports Direct International (SPD) 191.90p -2.44%JKX Oil & Gas (JKX) 301.90p -2.30%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 311.40p -2.08%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,374.00p -1.79%