London pre-open: Miners to take centre stage

2nd Jul 2010 07:39

London-listed mining heavyweights are likely to be in focus in early dealings Friday following the Australian government's decision to replace the controversial Resources 'Super Tax' with a more moderate alternative. Footsie is expected to add around 35 points early on after lurching downwards near the close yesterday.In a joint statement, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata welcomed a new Mineral Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) that would only apply to iron ore and coal resources from 1 July 2012. The battle for ownership of Chloride looks set to come to an end after the electrical plugs and peripherals maker recommended a 375 pence per share bid by US giant Emerson. With Emerson's offer, shareholders also get to keep the 3.3 pence final dividend. Builders' merchant Travis Perkins has seen a strong rebound in trading since March. The Wickes owner now expects its first half will beat its expectations while dividends will resume again with a 5p interim. Group revenue for the six months ended 30 June was up by 4.7%, with like-for-like sales up 3.4%. Like-for-like turnover in the last two months was 10.3% ahead in Merchanting and in the last 9 weeks 1.6% ahead in Retail.InterContinental Hotels (IHG) has sold the 422 room InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta to Maryland based Pebblebrook Hotel Trust for $105m in cash. IHG will continue to manage the hotel under a long term management contract. South Atlantic-focused oil explorer Rockhopper reports that samples from its recent discovery on the Sea Lion prospect, off the Falkland Islands, have been confirmed as medium grade crude. Rockhopper took the sample from the Sea Lion 14/10-2 oil discovery well in the North Falkland Basin and tested them under reservoir conditions.