BPB UPGRADED TO 'BUY' FROM 'HOLD' BY DEUTSCHE BANK

FIBERNET REPEATS THAT RATE OF IMPROVEMENT TO SLOW IN H2

MICROGEN SAYS Q1 PROFITABILITY 'MATERIALLY AHEAD' OF CO EXPECTATIONS

MARKS & SPENCER Q4 LIKE-FOR-LIKE FOOD SALES DOWN 3.0 PCT

TESCO SAYS UK SALES GREW 11.9 PCT TO 29.5 BLN STG, UP 9 PCT LIKE FOR LIKE

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,973.2, down 10.4
FTSE 250 7,241.9, down 23.2
DJIA 10,448.60, down 12.70
Nasdaq Comp 1,992.12, down 7.23
S&P 500 1,181.20, unchanged
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 11,670.30, down 75.34
Hang Seng midday 13,669.27 up 9.34
Gold 428.62 usd (426.20 usd)
Oil - Brent May 53.21 usd (52.89 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* MG Rover directors offer 49 mln stg; move is aimed at giving administrators time to revive Chinese rescue deal; car maker losing as much as 25 mln stg a month; workers sent home on full pay - FT
* A joint oil venture between BP and Russia's TNK hit by a 1 bln usd tax bill, in a sign that president Vladimir Putin may fail to restrain bureaucrats and tax inspectors emboldened by their pursuit of Yukos - FT
* Lazard takes a step closer to its IPO as it discloses an estimated price of 25 usd-27 usd each for the 30.5 mln shares it will sell investors, allowing it to raise about 800 mln usd (424 mln stg) - FT
* WOLVERHAMPTON & DUDLEY BREWERIES in takeover talks with JENNINGS; W&D says it plans to make a cash offer of 430 pence a share - FT
* BARCLAYS to pay 66.5 mln stg for a majority stake in Fiat's Iveco vehicle finance business
* List of potential suitors for ALLIED DOMECQ gets one shorter as Bacardi rules itself out of the bidding - Mail

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on May's election, Steel, Lazard, Verizon/MCI - VENTURE PRODUCTION (if it can give the market evidence that it will meet its targets this year, there may be a a further rally in the shares)
Times
RUMOUR OF THE DAY: ST IVES (talk that today's full-year figures will show it is still losing business from EMAP to rival Polestar) - DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: UCM GROUP (former chief executive sells stock for 356,250 stg) - TEMPUS: ALLIED DOMECQ (lock in profits on at least a part of your holdings by selling in the market now), VENTURE PRODUCTION (buy), PIPEX (risky, but its shares are worth buying)
Guardian
HOMESTYLE (talk of cash call) - INNOVATION GROUP (rumours of contract wins) - SINGER & FRIEDLANDER (market professionals believe there could be another party interested in making an offer) - MATALAN (rumours of good trading)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: REXAM (keep on sipping from Rexam's can), M&C SAATCHI (risky buy), VENTURE PRODUCTION (for investors happy to take a risk, they are a buy)
Express
MATALAN (takeover talk) - SHARE WHISPER: SECTORGUARD (speculation it is close to making another acquisition) - WHO'S DEALING: UCM GROUP (director sells 475,000 shares at 75 pence)
Mail
CLARITY COMMERCE SOLUTIONS (looks interesting after a three-year deal with Pathe and Gaumont cinemas owner Europalaces)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: PIPEX COMMUNICATIONS (buy), M&C SAATCHI (buy), ITIS HOLDINGS (worth holding) - CENTRICA (merger rumours)

Good morning all. Good news for Tesco shareholders today.

For which i am not one,morning all.

Morning from a very lovely spring day in Brighton.

Happy to be holding long in NLR

I expect TSCO to drift early on but recover later. May be time for a quick short... ;-)

Morning all

I'm obviously missing something - why is MKS up? Was the market expecting the results to be worse or was there more?

little woman - I think it was their confidence about the future that swung it. Doesn't really do it for me tho....

Billam today said chairman Victor Beamish and CEO, Angus Forrest, have each acquired 50,000 shares in the company at 28.5p.


Closed TSCO short for a few... now long... ;-)

Interesting late announcements from Character Group and QXL Ricardo could cause some ripples in the morning......

See you then. :-)

G.