COMPANIES

Shares in British banks were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after Standard Chartered received a downgrade from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Powerfuel Plc, the owner of Hatfield Colliery and Powerfuel Ltd, has gone into administration, it was announced today.

Shares in Balfour Beatty were down on the FTSE 250 in morning trading, despite the construction company saying it had secured a five year contract worth £220 million with London Underground.

Shares in Mulberry were up on the FTSE AIM 100 after the luxury fashion retailer more than tripled its profits in the half year ended 30 September.

Shares in BAE Systems were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after it emerged that the defence firm will be cutting nearly 1,400 jobs following the Coalition government's Comprehensive Spending Review, announced in October.

Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after Standard Chartered said it expected to see double digit profit growth this year in both consumer and wholesale banking.

Shares in HMV dived over 20 per cent on the FTSE All Share in morning trading after the retailer said it had nearly doubled its losses and net debt in the half year ended 23 October.

Last Christmas Britain's retailers experienced a minor phenomenon known as the "James May effect", in which Christmas shoppers appeared to be turning away from buying computer games for their relatives, and returned to the old favourites of previous decades such as Airfix and Scalextric.

Shares in Game Group were down on the FTSE All Share in morning trading after the computer games retailer reported a fall in sales in the 44 weeks to 4 December, despite new releases like "Call of Duty: Black Ops" and "FIFA 11".

Shares in Kesa Electricals were down on the FTSE 250 in morning trading despite the Comet owner reporting a rise in revenue and profit in the half year ended 31 October.

Shares in British banks were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading following yesterday's decision by the Irish parliament to support the country's austerity budget.

Shares in Stagecoach were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the transport group reported a rise in revenue and pre-tax profit in the half year ended 31 October.

Shares in Stagecoach were up on the FTSE 250 in afternoon trading ahead of the transport groups half year results expected tomorrow.

Shares in Kesa Electricals were up on the FTSE 250 in afternoon trading ahead of the retailer's half year results, due out tomorrow.

Shares in Standard Life were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the financial services company said it was buying Focus Solutions Group for £42 million.

Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading following an earlier dip brought about by continuing fears about the eurozone.

Shares in Tesco were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the supermarket giant reported a rise in sales in its third quarter ended 27 November.

Shares in Mouchel were soaring on the FTSE All Share in afternoon trading after the consulting company confirmed that it had received a takeover bids thanks to the declining value of its share price.

Shares in Centrica were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the energy group and owner of British Gas said it had acquired JK Environmental Services (UK) Limited for seven million pounds.

Shares in British banks were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as concerns about the state of the European economy continued.

Shares in JJB Sports were down on the FTSE All share in morning trading, following a statement yesterday in which the sports retailer said it expected to breach its £25 million banking facility.

Shares in Premier Foods were down slightly on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the group said that it was in "advanced" talks for the takeover of its meat-free business, including Quorn.

Shares in Greene King were up on the FTSE 250 ahead of the pub owners half year results, expected tomorrow.

Shares in Britvic tumbled on the FTSE 250 after the soft drinks group swung sharply into losses in the full year ended 26 September.

Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading, following falls in previous sessions as investors feared for the eurozone.

Shares in Kingfisher were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the group reported a rise in retail profits, despite a slight drop in sales in the third quarter ended 30 October 2010.

Shares in Kingfisher were up on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of a statement on the retailer's third quarter, due out tomorrow.

Shares in Prudential were up on the FTSE 100 after the group said it aimed to double its profits in Asia by 2013.

Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as investors took advantage of lower prices following falls in recent days caused by the eurozone crisis.