London pre-open: Early dip is forecast

9th Dec 2009 07:37

Futures prices are indicating a 14-point deficit early Wednesday as traders react to three-figure losses in the US overnight and await further news on Greece and Dubai.UK investors also have Chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-Budget speech to look forward to at lunchtime.Speculation is he'll announce the biggest squeeze in public spending for a generation, with only schools, hospitals and the police being spared average cuts of about 14% over three years, according to the FT.On the companies front, BHP Billiton has sold its Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia to Canada's First Quantum Minerals for US$340m. The London-listed company said it expects the sale of the $2bn mine, mothballed in January following a slump in the price of nickel and high cost of production, to be finalised in the first quarter of 2010. Philip Pascall, chairman and CEO of Toronto and London-listed First Quantum, said he is committed to re-starting Ravensthorpe "within a realistic timeframe".Standard Chartered is on course to hit targets this year with a strong performance in wholesale banking offsetting lower income in consumer banking, while its exposure to Dubai is not 'material'. "The group has continued to perform consistent with the guidance given in the third quarter Interim Management Statement. As at the end of November the group has delivered a strong performance with record levels of income and operating profit before tax," it said.Easyjet chief executive Andy Harrison is to stand down from the no-frills airline next June. In a statement, Easyjet said Harrison had indicated his desire to leave the company in order to seek new challenges. He joined Easyjet as chief executive on 1 December 2005 having previously been at Lex Service as chief executive.Bonuses are never far away from the news these days, and the Times reports that a handful of senior traders in a Royal Bank of Scotland joint venture are set to share a bonus pool of more than $40m (£25m) this year. Pre-tax profits fell by more than a quarter at Stagecoach in the six months to October 31 after the rail and bus group was squeezed by reduced demand from recession hit travellers and high fuel costs. Profit before taxation fell to £75.5m from £105.2m the previous year as revenues edged up to £1.08m from £1.05m. Like-for-like revenues climbed by 4.4% in the UK bus division, but in North America fell by 6.5% excluding the company's inter-city Megabus operations.Defence and aerospace group Cobham has won a A$170m (£95m) contract to provide flights in support of the US oil company Chevron's operations in Western Australia. Cobham will operate flights going from Perth and Karratha to Barrow Island to support operations such as the Gorgon project. The project extends to 2016.