London pre-open: Footsie on the front foot

6th Sep 2010 07:37

London is set to start the week in confident fashion, still buoyed by Friday's better than expected US jobs data.British Airways has drawn up a list of 12 potential acquisition targets once its merger with Spanish carrier Iberia is completed, chief executive Willie Walsh said over the weekend. Walsh added he has held talks with executives of Iberia about BA's role as a consolidator in the airline industry and though no names were mentioned analysts suggest Qantas, Cathay Pacific, American, LAN and South African are all possible targets.Fenner, the industrial conveyor belt maker, expects results for the year to 31 August 2010 to be at the top end of market expectations. The trading environment for its conveyor belting operations in the mining sector remains strong, while the Advanced Engineered Products division has returned to historic margin run rates with improvements across the spectrum of operations, the company said.Media conglomerate United Business Media (UBM) is stepping up its activities in China with the acquisition of Shanghai-based UM Paper. UBM is paying an initial cash consideration of $440,000 to Samwell Group, with an equivalent amount due over the next two years depending on the performance of UM Paper.No-frills airline easyJet's load factor in August 2010 was 92.3%, up from 91.8% in August of last year. The number of passengers carried increased by 8.4% to 5.2m from 4.8m a year earlier.