London pre-open: Not too busy to fret about US debt

28th Jul 2011 07:39

There has been a hectic schedule of big company results already this morning to keep traders occupied but in the back of their minds they are still fretting about the US debt ceiling negotiations, with the Republicans and Democrats set for a show-down later on today in the House of Representatives.Anglo-Dutch integrated oil company Royal Dutch Shell reported net income on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, excluding specific items, of $6.6bn, compared to $4.2bn in the second quarter of last year. The figure was in line with market estimates. The divi has been held at 42 cents.Drugs giant AstraZeneca saw second quarter profit before tax slide 2%, or 4% on a constant exchange rates (CER) basis, to $2.86bn from $2.92bn the year before. Revenue rose 3% (but fell 2% on a CER basis) to $8.43bn from $8.18bn. Core EPS slipped 3% (CER: -5%) to $1.73 from $1.79 in the second quarter of 2010.Tate & Lyle, the food ingredients group famous for its sugar, has hailed an "encouraging start" to the year, with strong demand seen in its main two divisions, Bulk Ingredients and Speciality Food Ingredients. However, the firm said that in the April-June quarter strong co-product returns were partially offset by the "impact of currency movements on the translation of profits".--jh