AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,861.2, up 59.5
FTSE 250 6,786.9, up 58.0
DJIA 10,256.90, up 5.20
Nasdaq Comp 1,933.07, up 4.42
S&P 500 1,161.15, down 1.00
Tokyo: Nikkei closed
Hang Seng midday 13,946.44, up 52.46
Gold 427.90 usd (436.45 usd)
Oil - Brent June 50.52 usd (51.09 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* Blair rejects NI rise for NHS; Labour leader says 2002 increase 'takes care of catch-up'; strategists say situation in 80 marginal constituencies is volatile - FT
* Energy investment too small to meet growth in demand, warns Claude Mandil, head of the International Energy Agency - FT
* A bitter dispute between UNILEVER and shareholders set to escalate after a move to halt the Anglo-Dutch consumer group's plan to de-list its preference shares - FT
* Arcelor, the world's second biggest steelmaker, rules out price in next five months, adding to signs of an industry downturn - FT
* DAIRY CREST in advanced talks to buy the UK's largest regional dairy business from the Midlands Co-operative Society
* VANTIS to acquire rival NUMERICA for 16 mln stg
* CMC, the spread-betting and foreign exchange group, considering a stock market flotation of more than 500 mln stg by the end of the year - FT
* SHELL plans to pump 340 mln stg into Libya for gas exports - Times

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on UK mid-caps (only the foolhardy would seek to up the anti at this stage in the mid-cap rally), Deutsche Boerse, UBS (premium rating deserved and the stock should prove resilient in the tougher markets that seem to lie ahead), BMW - TAKING STOCK - FOOD PRODUCERS: An appetite for consolidation (p.26)
Mail
NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION (bears reckon it is now in grave danger of breaching its banking covenants) - JUDGES CAPITAL (worth a closer look following news of the 3.7 mln stg reverse takeover of Fire Testing Technology)
Sun
FRIENDS PROVIDENT (hold)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: PEARSON (hold), NORTHGATE INFORMATION SOLUTIONS (still a buy), ALLIANCE & LEICESTER (sell)
Guardian
NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION (fears it is considering a 20 mln stg rights issue) - HITCHENS, HARRISON & CO (set to start trading at 50 pence this morning and tipped to achieve a premium on the first day)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: FRIENDS PROVIDENT (buy), IG GROUP (worth a small wager), NORTHGATE INFORMATION SOLUTIONS (a risky buy)
Express
Market expert Trevor Webster adds HALFORDS to his 2005 portfolio - SHARE WHISPER: IQ HOLDINGS (said to be close to acquisitions that would boost turnover ten-fold to 2 mln stg) - WHO'S DEALING: CIVILIAN CONTENT (chairman buys 350,000 shares)
Times
RUMOUR OF THE DAY: PETREL RESOURCES (talk it may succeed in winning the contract to develop the Subba & Luhais oilfield in Iraq) - DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: QUADNETICS GROUP (chief executive sells stock worth 515,600 stg) - TEMPUS: BRITISH AIRWAYS (hold), ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT (buy), WICHFORD (buy)

Good morning all.

Morning all.

Good morning all