Hello traders!

No US market to wrap up tonight, so it is just a matter of waiting until the morning news breaks.... :-)

A late item tonight that will, doubtless, have an effect....

British electrical components distributor Premier Farnell has fired CEO John Hirst and said chairman Sir Peter Gershon will assume executive responsibility pending the appointment of a successor. No comment but a quick look at the chart will show you a probable cause... ;-)

See you in the morning.

G.

Oil

Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Hang Seng ended the morning down 43.57 points at 14,134.30 with the Nikkei recently showing down 32.02 points at 11,619.53.

Oil prices were on the up again, moving close to a barrel.

Back with UK news in a moment...

Happy trading!

G.

EUROPEAN TELECOM SERVICES UPPED TO 'OVERWEIGHT' VS 'NEUTRAL' AT JP MORGAN

RHM IPO PRICE 228-285P/SHR, VALUING CO AT 875-975 MLN STG

ABN AMRO BUYS UK'S PRIORY GROUP FROM DOUGHTY HANSON FOR TOTAL 1.29 BLN EUR

Regus initiated with 'outperform', 130p target at CSFB

ENTERTAINMENT RIGHTS SECURES DEAL WITH BUENA VISTA TO AIR POSTMAN PAT IN JAPAN

Outlook

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,184.3, up 23.3
FTSE 250 7,434.5, down 11.7
DJIA closed
Nasdaq Comp closed
S&P 500 closed
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 11,616.70, down 34.85
Hang Seng midday 14,134.30, down 43.57
Gold 427.65 usd (428.15 usd)
Oil - Brent Aug 57.94 usd (57.54 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* Bidders for SOMERFIELD say they will walk away if Baugur does not quit consortium - FT
* Sir Stuart Hampson, chairman of John Lewis, attacks London's 60 pct rise in the congestion charge as unjustified, saying it will damage the capital's attractiveness for shopping - FT
* GREENE KING pays 45.6 mln stg in cash to acquire TD Ridley & Sons
* JAMES BEATTIE receives a second bid approach
* DEBENHAMS may join bid for JAMES BEATTIE - FT
* REUTERS left red-faced after its Bangalore data centre "inadvertently" releases market-moving data on the service sectors of the UK and several other major European economies, more than 24 hours early - Guardian
* Service sector growth makes interest rates cut less likely - Independent
* Furniture giant LAND OF LEATHER to float on the stock market later this month in move that wil make its boss Paul Briant 10 mln stg - Mirror
* GI diet guru Hamish Renton poached from TESCO by UNIQ - Sun

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on ITV (it is not unreasonable to expect pressure on ITV to announce a buyback or an increase in its payout ratio; soaps perform best in prime time), UK equities (as a haven for macroeconomic dilemmas, pharma's outperformance may have further to run), Enel, Deutsche Telekom
Times
DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: AVESCO (chief executive buys 25,000 shares at 100 pence) - TEMPUS: TRAVIS PERKINS (avoid), PALADIN RESOURCES (buy), KIER GROUP (keep buying)
Express
SHARE WHISPER: EMPIRE INTERACTIVE (gossips believe it has attracted the attention of several potential suitors) - WHO'S DEALING: BERKELEY SCOTT (boardroom buying)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: TRAVIS PERKINS (it is going to have to do more to convince potential investors that its move into the retail market was a wise one; until it does, the shares aren't worth buying), BRITANNIC (take profits), KIER (long-term, it still looks like it will build up more good returns)
Guardian
EASYJET (Icelandair increases holding to 11.5 pct)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: VIRGIN MOBILE (proving to be as volatile but lucrative investment), KIER (remains a buy), BRITANNIC (buy)
Mail
AURUM MINING (its coup in getting Mark Jones to join as managing director should prompt a re-rating of the stock)

LONDON (AFX) - Aviva PLC, the UK's biggest insurer, said its 2004 statutory pretax operating profits were 5 pct lower under the International Financial Reporting Standards that the group is phasing in this year.
The company said IFRS rules trimmed its statutory pretax operating profits for the year to Dec 31 2004 to 1.766 bln stg, down from 1.861 bln stg under the old UK GAAP rules.
However, pretax profits were 10 pct higher under the new accounting rules, climbing to 1.642 bln stg from 1.488 bln stg under UK GAAP standards.
The company plans to state its results for 2005 under IFRS, and is restating its 2004 figures under the new rules for purposes of comparison.
All publicly quoted companies in the European Union are required to adopt IFRS rules by the end of the 2005 financial year.

WMH

BP.