London pre-open: Heading higher

16th Nov 2009 07:49

Wall Street's strong display on Friday looks like sending London higher in early deals.The Dow Jones shrugged off some disappointing data to close up more than 70 points. Futures prices indicate the FTSE 100 will start about 39 points higher Monday.Miner Anglo American has strengthened its management team again, with the appointment of former Barrick Gold vice chairman Jack Thompson as a non-executive director. The 59-year-old was vice chairman at Barrick, the world's largest pure gold mining company, from 2001 to 2005, and also worked for Newmont Mining. He joins RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton, appointed as a non-exec at Anglo last week.South African platinum miner Lonmin fell into losses in the year to September 30 as prices for the precious metal slumped in line with the global economic downturn. The firm reported a pre-tax loss of $272m for the period, compared with a profit of $779m a year ago, as revenue fell to $1,062m from $2,231m. It will not pay a final dividend.Rolls-Royce's Trent 700 engines will power 20 Air China Airbus A330 planes in a deal worth $1.5bn to the UK firm. The engine maker will deliver the engine from 2011, almost doubling Air China's Rolls-Royce powered A330 fleet to 43. United Utilities has agreed the disposal of its 15% investment in Northern Gas Networks Holdings to its other owners for a cash consideration of £85.75m. Completion of the transaction is expected by the end of 2009.The other owners are Cheung Kong Infrastructure ; Beta Central Profits, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hongkong Electric; and SAS Trustee Corporation.Earlier this month, United sold its near 12% stake in the Manila Water Company for $73m cash.Leading housebuilder Persimmon has started to buy sizeable parcels of land again as sales have recovered to the point where it is fully sold this year, while orders for 2010 are up 50%.Since August 2009, trading activity levels have continued ahead of last year and the buiilder expects to legally complete 9,000 homes in 2009. It remains concerned about the potential impact of any significant increase in unemployment, but overall trading has improved.