London open: Footsie shrugs off Fitch warning

15th Mar 2012 08:52

- Fitch goes negative on UK ratings outlook- Tesco's UK boss walks the plank- Argos still seeing a slump in like-for-like salesUK equities are little changed ahead of US jobs data and manufacturing data this afternoon. Investors have largely shrugged off the warning from credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings that the UK is marginally more likely to lose its AAA rating than retain it.The agency has revised the outlook on the United Kingdom's triple-A rating to "negative" from "stable". The agency explains that the change reflects the "very limited" fiscal space to absorb further adverse economic shocks in light of such elevated debt levels and a potentially weaker than currently forecast economic recovery. Fitch notes that the UK's structural deficit is second only to that of the US and that its debt level is "significantly above" the 'AAA' median, although the agency does judge the government's fiscal consolidation plans to be "credible". Another departure at TescoBritain's leading supermarket chain, Tesco, has long been regarded as one of Britain's world-class operators but it is increasingly looking like a company in turmoil as this morning it was confirmed that Richard Brasher, the head of Tesco's UK operations, is to quit the board.Chief Executive Officer, Philip Clarke is taking a much greater interest in the UK business since the supermarket group's recent profit warning, and no one likes working with the boss constantly looking over your shoulder.The firm is in better shape than Home Retail Group, the owner of the Atgos and Homebase brands. Indeed, some argue that Tesco is largely the cause of the problems at Argos, which is struggling to hold on to market share as Tesco Direct encroaches on its market.Like-for-like (LFL) sales at Argos chain have taken another tumble in 2012. The group said Argos's LFL sales in the eight weeks to February 25th were down 8.5% year-on-year (YOY). The Homebase part of the business fared a little better, but still saw LFL sales down 6.5% on a YOY basis.Pharmaceuticals firm Shire has withdrawn its Biologics Licence Application for its enzyme replacement product REPLAGAL with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recent interactions with the FDA have led the Shire to believe that the agency will require additional controlled trials for approval of the product.Power systems developer Rolls-Royce has announced another big contract win, this time to design and equip four deep-water platform supply vessels for Hyundai. The contract is worth more than £45m to Rolls-Royce and includes options for a further two of the vessels, which are designed to supply equipment and services to deep-water oil and gas platforms. FTSE 100 - RisersHammerson (HMSO) 424.50p +1.05%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,021.00p +1.02%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,513.00p +0.95%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,293.00p +0.94%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 676.50p +0.82%G4S (GFS) 280.10p +0.76%Essar Energy (ESSR) 113.20p +0.71%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 950.00p +0.69%IMI (IMI) 1,015.00p +0.69%Capita (CPI) 750.00p +0.60%FTSE 100 - FallersBP (BP.) 493.05p -1.20%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,596.00p -1.18%Tesco (TSCO) 321.70p -0.97%Land Securities Group (LAND) 724.50p -0.96%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,258.50p -0.96%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 26.32p -0.90%Prudential (PRU) 778.00p -0.89%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 171.10p -0.87%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,209.00p -0.85%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 374.50p -0.85%FTSE 250 - RisersSpirit Pub Company (SPRT) 62.00p +2.90%Logica (LOG) 99.30p +2.74%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 252.90p +1.77%Rank Group (RNK) 134.50p +1.43%AZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 303.00p +1.41%Homeserve (HSV) 239.60p +1.40%FTSE 250 - FallersNorthgate (NTG) 220.00p -7.64%Savills (SVS) 374.50p -4.66%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 745.50p -3.68%Carpetright (CPR) 633.00p -2.76%Premier Farnell (PFL) 222.60p -2.71%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 158.30p -1.68%Ocado Group (OCDO) 116.10p -1.61%jh