ALLIED DOMECQ DOWNGRADED TO 'IN-LINE' FROM 'OUTPERFORM' AT GOLDMAN SACHS

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

ICI UPGRADED TO 'OVERWEIGHT' FROM 'EQUAL-WEIGHT' BY LEHMAN BROTHERS

ICI upgraded to 'overweight' by Morgan Stanley, new target 310p

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,896.7, down 17.3
FTSE 250 7,136.0, down 44.6
DJIA 10,421.10, up 16.80
Nasdaq Comp 1,991.07, up 6.26
S&P 500 1,176.10, up 3.20
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 11,774.31 up 106.77
Hang Seng closed
Gold 426.25 usd (425.65 usd)
Oil - Brent May 56.23 usd (56.51 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* May 5 poll gain for Tories; survey shows Conservatives have lead among those sure to vote; Blair to name election date today; PM's rating ahead of Howard's - FT
* High oil prices will spark airline losses of 5.5 bln usd this year, warns IATA chief - FT
* ChevronTexaco buys Unocal for 18 bln usd
* Commercial production starts at the UK's first large biodiesel plant at Motherwell, Scotland, making "green" fuel from animal fat and used cooking oil - FT
* Morgan Stanley's share price rises sharply on reports that the board has agreed to divest its Discover credit card business amid mounting criticism of Philip Purcell, the bank's chairman and chief executive - FT
* Classic Media and Thomas H Lee emerge as possible rival bidders for HIT ENTERTAINMENT following an agreed bid by Apax
* Iron ore miner BHP BILLITON locked in a pricing stand-off with Japanese and Chinese steel mills - FT
* Chinese step on brakes in Rover talks; troubled carmaker's hopes of life-saving deal with Shanghai company ride on 100 mln stg loan from the government - Telegraph

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on ChevronTexaco's acquisition of Unocal, Eurozone growth, BP (isn't cheap, but the scale and diversity of BP's asset portfolio and its track record on acquisitions and share buybacks justify a premium), Telecom Italia
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: SEVERN TRENT (buy), DAT GROUP (buy), BURREN ENERGY (buy) - EXEL (boosted by talk of Deutsche Post approach)
Guardian
CYBIT (likely to make positive noises about the market)
Mail
INVU (expect full-year figures to make pleasant reading)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: WOLVERHAMPTON & DUDLEY BREWERIES (worth a look), COSTAIN (buy), ALEXON (avoid)
Times
DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: SMITH & NEPHEW (deputy chairman picks up 100,000 stg of shares) - TEMPUS: CREST NICHOLSON (buy), DAIRY CREST (worth buying), ALEXON (avoid)
Express
SHARE WHISPER: MJ GLEESON (rumours of stakebuilding; gossips believe this could be the prelude to a possible bid) - WHO'S DEALINGS: SMITH & NEPHEW (deputy chairman picks up 20,000 shares at 499 pence)

GOod Morning all

Morning all.