London pre-open: China's GDP target slash hit FTSE

5th Mar 2012 07:26

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 23 points from Friday's close of 5,911 as investors take heed of China's decision to cut its GDP target, slashing economic growth goals from eight percent to 7.5 percent this calander year. Last year China's economy, which is the second largest in the world, leapt 9.2 percent. Supermarket giant Tesco has announced that it is to create 20,000 new jobs in the UK over the next two years through a significant investment in customer service, redeveloping existing stores and opening new ones. The firm will invest immediately in additional staff hours and training to "boost the customer experience". This includes fresh produce, fresh meat, bakery and counter services which the company says its customers value the most.Product testing group Intertek's 2011 results passed with flying colours, with both revenue and profits ahead of market expectations. The firm saw revenue growth of 27% to £1,749m in 2011 from £1,374m in 2010. In constant currency terms, revenue grew 8.3% on an organic base from 2010. The market had been expecting revenue of £1,696m. BP has finally reached a settlement to resolve the majority of claims stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010. The settlement, expected to be paid from the $20bn trust which was set up following the disaster, has been reached with the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC) and will be in the region of $7.8bn. This includes $2.3bn to resolve economic loss claims related to the Gulf of Mexico seafood industry.