Good morning all from a nice sunny North Wales. Nice to see the Banks recover a bit this morning.

STOCKWATCH Lloyds TSB in demand as Merrill Lynch warms to stock

LONDON (AFX) - Shares in Lloyds TSB Group PLC were higher in late morning trade amid positive comments from Merrill Lynch, dealers said.
In a note to clients, the US broker noted that although Lloyds TSB has been a serial underperformer and is generally unloved by the market due to earnings fears and capital concerns, it is hard to see much downside without a backdrop of a market rout.
Merrill said it thinks the current valuation of Lloyds TSB makes the stock interesting from a yield perspective, particularly in an environment which makes overall market progress sluggish.
Overall, the US broker added that although it is retaining its 'neutral' recommendation on the stock, it is comforted by recent market trends which suggest the downgrade cycle of the recent past may be over.
By 11.20 am Lloyds TSB shares were up 7-3/4 pence to 430-1/2.

London shares - midday features

FTSE 100 risers
Reuters 396-3/4 up 7-1/2
Merrill sees Instinet take-out value at 6.50-7.30 usd a share
Lloyds TSB 430-1/4 up 7-1/2
Merrill positive
HSBC 903-1/2 up 13
US dollar rebounds; UBS 'buy
Barclays 550 up 7
Rebound; JP Morgan ups target to 550 pence
Rio Tinto 1,560 up 20
Investec raises commodity price estimates
Old Mutual 130-3/4 up 2-1/4
Insurers rally
Anglo American 1,287 up 14
Investec raises commodity price forecasts
SABMiller 889 up 10-1/2
Rand stronger; sector consolidation talk

FTSE 100 fallers
Rentokil 150-3/4 down 3-3/4
Citigroup negative ahead of trading update tomorrow; rates 'sell'
Dixons 146-3/4 down 2-1/2
Lehman cuts to 'underweight
Rexam 458-3/4 down 2-1/2
Deutsche cuts to 'hold' from 'buy'
Severn Trent 892-1/2 down 1
Good H1 figs offset by accounting worries

FTSE 250 risers
Investec 1,512 up 45
Strong rand
Invensys 17-3/4 up 3/4
Vague bid speculation
Novar 162-3/4 up 2-1/4
Seeks white knight
EMI 248-1/2 up 4-3/4
Citigroup upgrades to 'buy'
Big Food Group 88-3/4 up 1-1/4
Bid hopes
easyJet 185 up 1
Recent results; ongoing bid hopes
Paladin Resources 181-3/4 up 1-3/4
Joint venture gets UK govt approval for Brechin Field development

FTSE 250 fallers
Premier Oil 574-1/4 down 31-1/2
Mauritania drill results disappoint
Kidde 151 down 5
Fear UTC will pull bid
SSL International 288-1/2 down 9
Fears Boots may cancel sex toy deal
Jardine Lloyd Thomson 357-1/2 down 8-1/2
Negative broker comment after profit warning last week
Mitie Group 154 down 3-1/4
Margins slip; cut to 'hold' at Investec
Mitchells & Butlers 298-1/2 down 2-1/2
Downgraded to 'hold' from 'buy' at Citigroup Smith Barney
Electrocomponents 295 down 3
Started with 'underperform', 260p target at CSFB
Arla Foods 55-3/4 down 3/4
Interim results tomorrow
Woolworths 44-1/4 down 3/4
Concern over Christmas trading
GWR 224-1/2 down 3-1/2
Weak sector sentiment
De La Rue 330-3/4 down 6-1/2
Results due Friday
Lastminute.com 99-1/2 down 1-1/2
Negative weekend press comment
Carphone Warehouse 163-3/4 down 2-1/4
Worry over Christmas trading
Tullow Oil 147-1/2 down 2-3/4
Bangladesh gas find fails to inspire

Other risers
Central African Mining 6.00 up 1.50
'Sell the shares when they get to 13 pence' - Sunday Telegraph
GeneMedix 13-1/4 up 2
Wins US patent for monomeric analogues of human insulin
Caspian Holdings 225 up 37-1/2
Co identifies 7 new wells in Zhengeldy fields
ZincOx Resources 72-1/2 up 8-1/2
Positive study on Aliaga zinc oxide recycling project
Formjet 4.50 up 0.38
Chairman and CEO Lyndon Chapman buys 100,000 shares
Charteris 31 up 2-1/2
Co says made good start to new FY, confident of meeting expectations
Tecteon 3.37 up 0.25
Co delivers business telephony product to telecom equipment manufacturer
ARC International 33 up 2-1/4
Inks deals with Broadcom and TTPCom
Archipelago Resources 29-1/2 up 2
Co seeks debt finance, placing for Toka Tindung gold project
African Eagle Resources 29-1/4 up 1-3/4
Upbeat licence news
Dawson Holdings 166-1/2 up 8
FY results please
Belhaven 428-1/2 up 7-1/2
Record interims

Other fallers
CMS WebView 2.00 down 1.37
Starts business strategic review
Pan Andean 17 down 8
Reduced gas reserves estimate
UK Coal 140 down 28-1/2 pence
Provisions warning; William de Broe cuts to 'sell'
London & Boston Investments 5.37 down 0.63
Capital reduction plans announced last Friday
World TV 1.25 down 0.12
Co says underperformed in 3 mths to Sept but EBITDA positive in Oct
Courts Suspended at 1-1/4
Shares suspended as lenders reject waivers for covenant breaches
Caledonian Resources 6.00 down 0.50
Raises 1.35 mln stg via placing of 23 mln shares at 4.5 pence each
Hardman Resources 79 down 6-1/2
Disappointing drilling report
ASOS 76-1/2 down 5-1/2
Interims fail to impress

Greystone, Have sent you email.

This week's great Thoughters article by -Gold Dog- is now published above.

Sincere apologies to the pooch and to you all for the delay which appears to have been caused by my over-zealous application of e-mail filters. :-(

It is a really good read that I'm sure you will enjoy.

G.

Thanks Greystone. There is a pint of your fav tipple on the bar in the Tea rooms for you when ever you want it.
:-)

On a roll. The spread is too big and the nms too small (500, with MMs usually quoting 1000), but the stock is nice.

Nice one goldie,keep the faith,





































and try and hold on to the money,,dd.

long WTB 803.75 s/l on

covered LAND +9 BLND +16.25 SOF +5.75

long more WTB 801.75 s/l on

GD - Good thoughts piece, open and honest - Well written Poochy!!
:>)

long S&P 73.8 s/l on

Poochy - Really enjoyed your writing but it struck too many familiar chords (including Wiggins)!! xx