London close: Footsie closes at low on US bank fears
Footsie closed at a low for the day as a rally on Wall St proved short-lived amid concerns that another US investment bank could follow Bear Stearns down.
Lehman Brothers shares fell by more 20% on talk it faces a sub-prime write-off of $1.6bn with Goldman Sachs also under pressure on talk of big sub-prime write-offs as the panic spread.
Financial shares on both sides of the Atlantic got hammered. Inter-dealer broker ICAP was the worst performer on contagion worries but Man, Barclays and HBOS also suffered heavy falls.
Competition fears hit Yellow Pages group Yell, while plumbing supplies firm Wolseley chose the wrong day to reveal a big fall in half year profits, reflecting the deteriorating US housing market and weak consumer confidence due to global credit restrictions.
British Energy posted sterling gains, though, after it admitted that it is in talks with interested parties that could lead to a business combination or an offer for the nuclear operator. Weekend reports suggested the government is keen to sell its 35% stake.
Oil explorer Shell said total net reserves at the end of 2007 were 11.9bn barrels of oil equivalent, unchanged from year ago levels. It added that its portfolio has long-term growth potential of 2-3% per year.
Cairn India, a division of oil explorer Cairn Energy, has arranged a private placement of around $625m following an agreement with Petronas and Orient Global Tamarind Fund Pte Limited.
Russia-focused oil producer Imperial Energy announced a significant new increase in Russian Registered Reserves.
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Port operator and property group Forth Ports saw profits slide for the year due to lower contribution from the property section but said trading for the first two months is 'well ahead' of last year.
David Gilbertson has resigned as chief executive of business publisher Informa to go and run Emap, which is being bought by Apax Partners and Guardian Media Group
Shipping service firm Clarkson has posted a big increase in full year profit, with organic growth driven primarily by dry cargo, futures broking and sale and purchase businesses. Profit before tax and exceptional items for the 12 months ended 31 December 2007 jumped 43% to £31.6m and by 15% to £25.6m after exceptionals.
Renewable energy firm Novera Energy admitted that it has been approached by Infinis Acquisitions, a company backed by Terra Firma, as it continues negotiations with 3I Infrastructure.
Property firm Mapeley slumped into losses for the year due to the revaluation movements from its property portfolios and added that it still remains in negotiations with a potential suitor. Pre-tax losses for the year to December came in at £129m versus the profit of £42.8m last year due to non-cash revaluation losses of £148.6m.
Premier Research said it noted the recent movement in its share price and advises that it is in the final stages of agreeing an offer at 100p per share.
Shore Capital cut its annual dividend as less IPO activity meant profits slowed sharply in the second half of 2007, with the boutique investment bank unsure when there will be a revival.
Oil and gas group Aminex surged after it announced a successful gas discovery from the drilling of Kiliwani North -1, offshore Tanzania.
