London pre-open: Another big sell-off expected in morning trading

16th May 2012 07:42

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 79 points from yesterday's close of 5,438, extending the week's losses after failed coalition talks in Greece, forcing the country to hold new elections. Oil giant Tullow said it is confident of delivering further significant growth in 2012 after what it called an excellent start to the year. Year-to-date financials are in line with expectations, the board said, adding that capital expenditure for 2012 is expected to be in the region of $2.0bn this year. As of April 30th 2012, net debt is around $0.5bn and un-utilised debt capacity is about $2.7bn.Inter-dealer broker ICAP saw both revenue and pre-tax profit slip in the year ended March 31st as a result of the tough macro-economic environment, something which has continued into the current year. Group revenue fell by 3.0% from £1,741m to £1,681m during the year, as uncertainty in the Eurozone and constraints on market liquidity resulted in a fall in revenue from its voice networks and a marginally lower performance in our electronic business. In contrast, the post trade risk and information business saw strong growth.Catering firm Compass posted results that were slightly better than expected, driven by new business wins and a high rate of contract retention. Revenue of £8.6bn in the six months to the end of March was up 8.6% on the year before. Underlying pre-tax profit was up 7.7% to £572m, while earnings per share rose 9.8% to 22.4p.