London open: FTSE 100 pauses after rally

22nd Dec 2010 08:43

Company news is thin on the ground as Christmas approaches and the leading share index is little changed following recent gains that have brought it to 2½-year highs. ARM Holdings is a notable riser, with the chipmaker's shares up 10%. Software giant Microsoft is expected to announce a new operating system that run's on ARM's technology. BSkyB is higher following news that business secretary Vince Cable has been stripped of his power to rule on News Corporation's takeover of BSkyB after telling undercover reporters he had "declared war on Rupert Murdoch". Cable kept his job on the insistence of LibDem leader Nick Clegg, but David Cameron called Cable's comments "totally unacceptable and inappropriate". British Land and Oxford Properties, the real-estate arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (Omers) pension fund, have put pen to paper and signed contracts for a 50:50 joint venture to develop a new skyscraper in the heart of the City. The company, which mothballed the project during the recession, said the 736 ft (224m) 'Cheesegrater' is already generating strong interest from insurance and financial companies, and professional and corporate business sectors. It wil cost £340m and should be finished by the middle of 2014. Underwriter Catlin has raised the amount it expects to lose due to the New Zealand earthquake in September by US$10m (£6.5m) to $45m. The company said it was making the announcement 'in view of the increased interest in this event by the investment community.' The earthquake, which was in the Christchurch area, was estimated to have damaged about two thirds of the 160,000 homes there. Construction and engineering group Costain has emerged as one of the companies that has made an approach to struggling support services group Mouchel. Costain announced today that it approached Mouchel's board on 2 December, with a view to making an offer comprising 0.5135 Costain shares for every Mouchel one, valuing Mouchel at 105.8p based on Costain's closing price yesterday. FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 434.70p +7.73%National Grid (NG.) 571.50p +1.33%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 738.00p +1.30%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,476.00p +1.03%Next (NXT) 1,982.00p +0.92%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 373.20p +0.86%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 40.51p +0.82%British Airways (BAY) 270.50p +0.78%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 268.00p +0.56%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,520.00p +0.55%FTSE 100 - FallersCairn Energy (CNE) 410.40p -1.11%Essar Energy (ESSR) 579.50p -0.94%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,795.00p -0.88%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 590.00p -0.84%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,260.00p -0.79%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,133.00p -0.79%Unilever (ULVR) 1,967.00p -0.76%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,848.00p -0.75%Prudential (PRU) 670.00p -0.74%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,600.00p -0.74%FTSE 250 - RisersPhoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 624.00p +2.30%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 629.00p +2.28%Savills (SVS) 391.90p +2.11%Sports Direct International (SPD) 156.70p +2.02%Carpetright (CPR) 804.50p +1.90%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 414.20p +1.72%Punch Taverns (PUB) 77.20p +1.65%Sportingbet (SBT) 60.15p +1.60%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 303.90p +1.47%Grainger (GRI) 99.70p +1.22%FTSE 250 - FallersMicro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 392.80p -3.28%UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) 82.00p -2.96%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 711.00p -2.27%Hansen Transmissions International NV (DI) (HSN) 59.80p -1.64%Senior (SNR) 150.20p -1.44%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 530.50p -1.30%Rank Group (RNK) 132.00p -1.27%Cranswick (CWK) 851.00p -1.22%SThree (STHR) 350.80p -1.18%Laird (LRD) 167.30p -1.18%