FTSE100 firmly higher at midday, with M&S in fashion

EUR Minimum Bid Rate 0.50% 0.50% 0.50%

USD ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 176K 175K 198K

USD Unemployment Claims 323K 332K 331K

USD Revised Nonfarm Productivity q/q 2.3% 1.6% 0.9%

USD Revised Unit Labor Costs q/q 0.0% 0.9% 1.4%

USD ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 58.6 55.2 56.0

USD Factory Orders m/m -2.4% -3.4% 1.6%

Exclusive: Defecting Assad ally reaches Istanbul - sources

(Reuters) - Bashar al-Assad's former defence minister has reached Istanbul after a defection that betrays cracks in the president's support among his own Alawite sect, opposition and diplomatic sources said on Thursday.

Dismissing a cursory Syrian state television denial of the first Reuters report that General Ali Habib had been spirited across the Turkish frontier this week, opposition figures said Habib was likely to keep a low profile after evading house arrest and reaching Turkey with the aid of Western agents.

FTSE100 ends a positive session with solid gains