London pre-open: Slight drop predicted for FTSE opening

6th Mar 2012 07:39

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down five points from yesterday's close of 5,875, as concerns over China's economy linger on and positive US data fails to boost investor sentiment. Worth noting, today's Financial Times Deutschland is running an article entitled"Troika is preparing for involuntary Greek restructuring." Also of interest, market talk that the IMF sees Portugal's debt-load as being sustainable. Meggitt, the engineering company focused on the aerospace, defence and energy markets, saw strong growth across all of its markets in 2011. Revenue in 2011 rose by a quarter to £1,455.3m from £1,162.0m in 2010, and roughly in line with market expectations of £1,458.7m. The company said it continues to expect organic revenue growth of 6 to 7% on average over the next five years.Fresnillo, the world's largest primary silver producer and second largest gold producer in Mexico, saw sales rise by more than a half in 2011, helped by a surge in metals prices and an increase in production. Revenue in the 12 months ended December 31st increased by 55.6% from $1,409.6m to $2,192.7m. Adjusted revenue, which excludes treatment and refining charges, increased by 56.6% to $2,307.4m.Acquisition-hungry caterer Compass is at it again, buying another company, this time in Japan. It has gobbled up NKS Kabushiki Kaisha and associated companies a provider of food services, primarily to the healthcare sector, in Japan. The business is based in Tokyo, operating around 200 units with over 1,200 staff.