AFX UK at a glance share guide - Bank Holiday Tuesday

LONDON (AFX) - MARKETS
Nikkei 225 closed 15,969.40 down 138.27
Hang Seng closed for public holiday

BANK HOLIDAY TUESDAY BREAKING NEWS
* FTSE 100 index on course or its best performance in six years - FT
* Eliot Spitzer quizzes worlds leading music groups on digital downloads - FT
* Deal-hungry French insurer AXA on look-out for big one - FT
* MISYS may be in for a stormy year with potential bruising and costly legal
wrangle between its Sesame division and around 70 IFAs - Daily Mail
* Pre-Christmas mini-revival fails to stop ITV showing decline in 2005
audience figures - Times
* PROVIDENT FINANCIAL appoints new head of home credit operation - FT
* NTL takeover of VIRGIN MOBILE hangs in the balance as minority shareholders
could veto Sir Richard Bransons separate deal to create Virgin TV - Guardian
* YOUNG & CO. considering quitting brewing and outsourcing its ale
production - Times
* CITIGROUP is to boot its stake in Chinas Pudong Development Bank to just
19.9 pct from 4.6 pct - Daily Telegraph
* PEPSICO ousts COCA-COLA from top spot as worlds biggest fizzy drinks group
by market capitalisation - Guardian
* FUJI PHOTO to buy Manchester-based ink dyes supplier Avecia Inkjet for 150
mln stg - Daily Telegraph
* JCB pins hopes on new green diesel engines - FT
* Former accountant Patrick McKenna to be worth 400 mln stg when he floats
Ingenious Media later this year - Times
* Opening early on Boxing Day pays dividends according to UK stores - FT
* Threat to PFI plans because of funding costs at Barts Hospital - FT
* Top firms pension gap grows to 75 bln stg, according to figures from the
accountancy firm Deloitte - Daily Mail
* UK Treasury facing potential 800 mln stg bill to protect pensions of
thousands of worker in the nuclear industry - Daily Telegraph
* Austria to use EU presidency to fight VAT fraud - FT

BANK HOLIDAY TUESDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
Lex Column: China (Perennial worries of over-investment aside, China faces
several challenges including concern over currency appreciation and worries
over the countrys social fabric. Chinas growing pain are unlikely to abate
soon); Chinese Equities (The qualified foreign institutional investor
programme has handed out 5.5 bln usd of quota and is due to hand out a further
4.5 bln. The challenge will be to spend it wisely. Chinas dog days are not
over yet); India (Investors can be pretty sure that Indian companies will
invest for growth. When it comes to capital markets, the new China has a head-
start on the old one)

AFX UK at a glance share guide - Wednesday

LONDON (AFX) - MARKETS
Leading shares are tipped to open the session lower mirroring falls on Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst one-day points decline for two months.
Spread bettors IG Index expect the FTSE 100 index to open 13 points lower at 5,582.

DJIA closed down 105.50 at 10,777.77,
Nasdaq Comp 2,226.89 down 22.53
S&P 500 1,256.55, down 12.1
Tokyo: Nikkei 225 closes up 225.21 at 16,194.61
Hang Seng midday 15,205.23, up 22.70
Gold 510.15-510.65 USD (510.55 usd)
Oil - Brent Feb 57.85 usd a barrel down 31 cents from its US close of 58.16

WEDNESDAY BREAKING NEWS
* Bonds spur fear of US slowdown - FT
* John Lewis reports 12 pct rise in xmas sales - FT
* Quinetiq gets green light for 1 bln stg float - FT
* InBev chief goes in board shake-up - Telegraph
* EDF adds 2 mln stg to underwater power project - Guardian
* Modest recovery in house prices forecast - Guardian
* DaimlerChrysler to sell MTU to Swedish EQT today - Times
* Struggling retailers at risk as rent collectors come calling - Times

WEDNESDAY PRESS COMMENT - FT LEX Column
Comments on power of speculators in Chinese copper markets following recent scandals. Leads into coincidence of the likelihood of pivotal 12 months for the metals markets. -- Says that leading indicators suggest industrial demand will hold up reasonably well but supply is starting to catch up.
-- Forecasting global oil supply and demand is like nailing jelly to the wall. Says global demand in 2005 grew less than half the rate of 2004 but says looking ahead global demand is likely to pick up according to OPEC and IEA assumptions.

hello

what is happening with the prices on stockwatch - nothing moving

kat

Yes - I've got no streaming prices - haven't done all morning.

Whats going on MoneyAm? Or are you still ZZzzzzzz

The problem lay with the service provider who now advise that a fix has been made. It generally takes a little while for the prices to catch up.....

Midday Market Summary

Good afternoon all - lazy morning, forgot there was a world out there......

End-of-day Market Summary