Hello traders!

Well, after the recent quiet days, I wonder if the BoE interest rate decision will do anything to increase the noise today. The pundits all seem to think no change.......which would make it great fun if the MPC went for a rise... ;-) Or will there be a Greenspanner in the works later instead....?

In the US tonight, stocks fell after the Bush administration revised its inflation forecast for 2005 higher. (Surprise, surprise!)

The Dow closed down 6.21 points at 10,476.86, off a high of 10,543. The Nasdaq Composite fell 6.98 points to 2,060.18 and the S&P500 lost 2.59 points at 1,194.67.

See you in the morning with the breaking news.....

G.

Good morning traders!

A mixed picture in Asia this morning. The Hang Seng ended the morning up 8.10 points at 13,906.65 while the Nikkei was recently down 111.65 points at 11,169.38.

In London, Halfords Group, the car parts and cycle retailer that floated last June, is expected to report a more than doubling of pretax profit when it posts full year results today.

Back soon with breaking news....

Happy trading!

G.

Intercontinental Paris hotel sale collapses

MITIE GROUP CUT TO 'NEUTRAL' VS 'BUY' AT UBS

FILTRONA INITIATED 'NEUTRAL' AT UBS; PRICE TARGET 250P

DELTRON SEES FY PROFITS BELOW MARKET EXPECTATIONS

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,003.7 down 21.5
FTSE 250 7,227.3 down 16.0
DJIA 10,476.90 down 6.20
Nasdaq Comp 2,060.18 down 6.98
S&P 50 1,194.65 down 2.60
Tokyo: Nikkei 11,160.88 down 120.15
Hang Seng midday 13,906.65 up 8.10
Gold 425.95 usd (425.25 usd)
Oil - Brent Jul 52.11 usd (53.13 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* BRITANNIC GROUP to announce merger with RESOLUTION LIFE, the manager of closed insurance funds, in a deal that will create a new business with a market value of up to 2.6 bln stg - Independent
* Fifth warning from MORRISON, Safeway purchase still hitting finances of supermarket group; alert issued after pressure from regulators - FT
* World oil prices likely to remain at more than 40 usd a barrel until new supplies come onstream in three to four years, says BP chief executive Lord Browne - FT
* Boeing appears to have scored an unwitting victory in the fight to delay a rival jet as EADS, parent company of Airbus, reveals its mid-sized A350 will not be launched next week but probably by the end of September - FT
* The 220 mln stg sale of the Paris Hotel InterContinental collapses after the withdrawal by the two Dubai companies that were set to buy it; collapse is first hiccup in INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP's ambitious 2.2 bln stg asset disposal programme - FT
* Cobra's float plan could attract bidders; SABMILLER understood to be looking at the business - FT
* HSBC agrees a 350 mln stg deal to buy the private label credit card book of US luxury goods retailer Neiman Marcus
* AMLIN makes bid approach for Lloyd's rival CHAUCER - FT
* URBIUM rejects offer from REGENT INNS
* US cuts tobacco reparations demand by 120 bln usd - Guardian
* UK COAL takeover talks fail - Guardian
* Former chief executive of YATES GROUP has quietly built a minority stake in INVENTIVE LEISURE, sparking speculation that the vodka bar operator could become the next target in the rapidly consolidating high street pub market - Times
* REGAL PETROLEUM share rout forces VANCO ENERGY, the US oil and gas company, to shelve float plans - Times
* SAGE boss, Michael Jackson, blasted over PARTYGAMING; investors sceptical that Jackson can devote enough time to Sage - Mail

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on WILLIAM MORRISON SUPERMARKETS, Private equity bids, Remy Cointreau, Vivendi/IAC - Plenty of hot air and hype in the absence of hard commercial data; while the majors failed to find oil off the Falklands, a group of small companies now thinks it can (FALKLAND OIL & GAS, BORDERS & SOUTHERN, DESIRE PETROLEUM) - NORTHUMBRIAN WATER (still worth buying) - WINCANTON (one for the long haul)
Express
BAT (Richemont stake sale talk) - SHARE WHISPER: BTG (traders reckon approval from regulators is imminent for trials in the US of its varicose-vein treatment Varisolve) - WHO'S DEALING: SERVICEPOWER TECHNOLOGIES (chief executive picks up 100,000 shares at 26 pence)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: HAMMERSON (lock in profits), NORTHUMBRIAN WATER (buy), WINCANTON (hold) - IMPERA (will unveil a new contract win today)
Guardian
PROTEOME SCIENCES (talk that plans are afoot to seek a stock market listing for its US associate Intronn)
Times
RUMOUR OF THE DAY: TOREX RETAIL (talk that it is the unnamed predator behind an approach for rival XN CHECKOUT) - DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: SERVICEPOWER TECHNOLOGIES (two directors purchase stock for 52,000 stg) - TEMPUS: ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (buy), JOHNSTON PRESS (hold), NORTHUMBRIAN WATER (buy)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (buy for income), NORTHUMBRIAN WATER (no longer cheap; however, if it's income you're after, then take another look), PROTHERICS (still one for the brave)
The Shares Magazine
Plays of the Week: buy HOMESERVE at 945 pence and FOSECO at 108; Updates: buy HAMWORTHY, FINDEL and RETAIL DECISIONS; Favourite Five Small Shares: CIVICA, CARDPOINT, GLISTEN, CHEMRING, RPS GROUP

Shares Magazine -

Plays of the Week: buy HOMESERVE at 945 pence and FOSECO at 108; Updates: buy HAMWORTHY, FINDEL and RETAIL DECISIONS; Favourite Five Small Shares: CIVICA, CARDPOINT, GLISTEN, CHEMRING, RPS GROUP

Good morning all,

Late again this morning.