Date: Monday 28 Jun 2010
Markets are higher after some better news from BP in the Gulf of Mexico and on reflection of the outcome of the latest G20 summit.The massive clean-up operation in the Gulf of Mexico continues and has now cost BP $2.65bn (£1.75bn). The oil giant is stopping almost 23,000 barrels of oil from leaking into the sea while reports at the weekend said the relief well to cap the leak completely could be in place earlier than expected.
Premier Oil also has boosted the oil sector. Premier has had a successful drilling result at its 35% owned Catcher East 28/9 licence in the UK Central North Sea. The estimated find of 300m recoverable barrels is the biggest in the North Sea for years and could be worth over £7bn. Partners Encore and Nautical rocketed on the back of the news.
Standard Chartered's comment that income in the first six months is expected to be on a par with the same period of last year has knocked its share price.
But banks generally have recovered early dips on the G20 pledge for them to hold more capital. A bullish note from Noumura is helping, with named Lloyds Banking its preferred stock in the sector.
“UK banks are benefiting from a combination of declining impairments, rising margins and strengthened capital bases,” reasons Nomura analyst Robert Law, adding that the domestic banks are trading on valuations at or below book value.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey reports stable conditions in UK and US housing over the past six months but is still wary over prospects in both markets. "In the short term, with ongoing political and economic uncertainty, we continue to run the business on a cautious basis, with selective land investment and an ongoing focus on costs and cash," Taylor said.
Telecoms giant BT is to add Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 to its BT Vision subscription TV service. BT Vision customers will be able to view Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 from August 1 after the company inked a deal with British Sky Broadcasting. Pricing packages have not yet been revealed.
Defence contractor Cobham has won a microwave modules contract from US company Raytheon Missile Systems. The contract is for $17.4m and has been awarded to Cobham’s Sensor Systems business. The microwave modules are used in ground to ground or air to ground missile applications.
Social housing group Mears reiterated it is continuing to deliver strong trading across all divisions and is not experiencing any downward pressure on spend in its social housing business. Today’s announcement followed a brief statement made after the closed on Friday saying it has not experienced the same problems as Connaught.
On Friday, Connaught lowered its estimates for this year and next year because of the emergency budget. The shares have slumped again today.
Online gaming company PartyGaming has been awarded licences by the French gaming regulator, ARJEL, to run online poker and sports betting web sites for French residents. The group can offer sports betting immediately but will have to wait a short while before the French poker market is opened. The regulator is expected to give clearance for poker offerings later this month.Senior, the manufacturer of high technology components and systems, is trading in line with expectations with profits for the first half of 2010 expected to be well ahead of last year.
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