Good morning traders!

In Asia, the Hang Seng ended the morning up 8.50 points at 14,184.54 with the Nikkei lately trading up 85.39 points at 11,499.67. Trading was a bit erratic at times with oil prices easing a little but remaining over $60 a barrel.

We should have early news from Carpetright (bad?) and HMV (steady?) this morning to get the new session under way.

Back in a mo with the latest.....

Happy trading!

G.

PREMIER FOODS CUT TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' VS 'OVERWEIGHT' AT JP MORGAN

EUROPEAN OIL & GAS SECTOR RAISED TO 'ATTRACTIVE' BY MORGAN STANLEY

HOUSE OF FRASER IN RECOMMENDED CASH BID FOR JAMES BEATTIE AT 168 P/SHARE

Amazon has now taken more than 1m pre-orders worldwide for the sixth book in the Harry Potter series.

Shares outlook http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=846221

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,043.,5 down 35.5
FTSE 250 7,266.4, down 62.4
DJIA 10,290.80, down 7.00
Nasdaq Comp 2,045.20, down 8.07
S&P 500 1,190.70, down 0.85
Tokyo: Nikkei 11,513.83, up 99.55
Hang Seng midday 14,184.54, up 8.50
Gold 439.25 usd (438.85 usd)
Oil - Brent Aug 59.30 usd (58.36 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* Millions to undergo passport interviews; new programme tied to planned ID card scheme - FT
* UK institutional shareholders need to buy billions of pounds worth of SHELL shares to increase their exposure to the oil major to reflect the heavier market weighting after its planned merger with ROYAL DUTCH - FT
* Large UK banks, including HSBC, BARCLAYS and ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND, might have to allocate additional capital of 3.7 bln stg to comply with new rules setting out how much capital banks must hold - FT
* Europe may force airlines to pay for CO2 emissions - Times
* BBC sells BBC Broadcast, its digital transmission and transmission business, to Macquarie, the Australian bank, for 16 mln stg

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on Housebuilders (this year's sector outperformance looks set to end; and, in a weaker market, stronger operators, such as PERSIMMON, are likely to drive further consolidation), Eurozone interest rates, File sharing, Russian IPOs - NORTHGATE INFORMATION SOLUTIONS (the shares do still have some upside left) - PARKDEAN HOLIDAYS (downside limited as the net asset value is reckoned to be at least 200 pence) - TAKING STOCK: Stockbrokers' shares hit by concerns of confidence
Guardian
ASHTEAD (talk it is working on an equity fundraising of at least 100 mln stg that could be announced this week) - GTL RESOURCES (rumours it has been talking to shareholders about a US acquisition) - METALS EXPLORATION (expected to announce a deal today to buy the Puray Project located 28 miles from Manila and with a 6 km seam with high grades of copper)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: PARTYGAMING (not for risk-averse investors), SERCO (could be further upside to come), PARKDEAN HOLIDAYS (worth holding)
Sun
PARTYGAMING (on no account should you buy)
Mail
WALKER GREENBANK (directors' share buying)
Times
RUMOUR OF THE DAY: GRASSHOPPER INVESTMENTS (word it is to reverse into GoIndustry, an auctioneer of industrial equipment) - TEMPUS: WILLIAM MORRISON given the dividend yield is a paltry 2.1 pct, investors would be wise to shop elsewhere for now), PERSIMMON (hold), FILTRONA (hold)
Independent
RECKITT BENCKISER (buy-back hopes) - EPIC GROUP (talk of US predator) - THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: NATIONAL EXPRESS (too high), PARKDEAN HOLIDAYS (buy), MORGAN SINDALL (hold)
Express
BRITISH AIRWAYS (fuel surcharge rises hurt BA) - SYSTEM C HEALTHCARE (traders expect a good debut) - SHARE WHISPER: HALLADALE GROUP (speculation it has negotiated a lucrative sale of two groups of properties) - WHO'S DEALING: TEESLAND (boardroom buying)