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London open: FTSE gets week off to a flat start

Your Money
Written By:
Your Money
Posted:
Updated:
28/10/2013

The FTSE 100 is trading flat this morning as investors digest overnight gains in Asia, reports that Chancellor George Osborne will not go through with the RBS ‘good/bad’ break-up, and a positive housing price report.

A decent performance was seen across Asian markets overnight, with stocks recovering after last week’s falls, seen most prominently in Japan and China. It was announced yesterday that Japan will continue with its current pace of asset purchases as the country strives to end deflation. The Bank of Japan’s Deputy Governor, Kikuo Iwata, reiterated the central bank’s pledge to continue to buy bonds until it achieves its 2% inflation target.

Sky News has reported that Osborne is planning to avoid a ‘good/bad’ break-up of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and will alternatively put forward a recommendation of an internal ‘bad bank’, side-stepping a shareholder vote. A meeting to discuss the proposal is believed to have been set up for later this week.

A housing price report from Hometrack revealed that the average value of houses across England and Wales climbed 0.5% in October, on par with the rise seen the previous month. Hitting its highest level since November 2007, annual price inflation rose to 3.1%.

Begbies Traynor has reported a decline in levels of ‘critical’ financial distress amongst UK businesses. The group’s Red Flag Alert research, which looks at UK corporate financial health, saw a 2% fall in the number of businesses experiencing this level of financial trouble, which follows a 9% decline in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the number of females entering managing director roles has doubled over the past 12 months, meaning women now occupy 12% of such roles, according to Astbury Marsden, the financial services recruitment group.

Investors are digesting the news that FTSE 100 security giant G4S has rejected a £1,550m offer from Charterhouse Capital Partners for its cash solutions business, saying that that the proposal “fundamentally undervalues the business and its prospects” and on the basis of its “strategic importance” to the company as a whole.

“The cash solutions business is integral to G4S’ operations and strategic plans. It is unique in its scale and diversity, with unrivalled emerging markets exposure and strong characteristics,” the group stated.

Temporary power group Aggreko climbed into the top spot after it said it expected full year profits to be in line with market expectations despite the absence of a one-off lift from the London Olympics.

Also on the rise was Randgold Resources after boss Mark Bristow said the miner is exploring further opportunities in Cote d’Ivoire. Randgold owns and operates Côte d’Ivoire’s largest gold mine at Tongon, which has achieved more than 600,000 ounces of gold since it started production at the end of 2010.

InterContinental Hotels Group disappointed investors with the news that its revenue per available room (RevPAR) for its US and Americas brands in the nine months ended September 30th grew 4.5%, driven predominantly by a 2.9% increase in rates.

On the second tier, international infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has been awarded two UK coastal defence contracts totalling £73m for Blackpool Council and Wyre Council. The £20m Anchorsholme Scheme for Blackpool Council and the £53m Rossall Scheme for Wyre Council will replace over 2.9km of the original 1930’s seawalls as part of the promenade renewal and beach management projects, Balfour revealed.

Source: ShareCast