FTSE

Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after Barclays issued a third quarter statement with "conflicting messages".

Shares in Associated British Foods were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading, despite the group reporting a "record year", with both revenue and pre-tax profit rising by double digit figures.

Shares in Marks & Spencer were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading despite the group reporting a rise in sales and pre-tax profit in the half year period ended 2 October.

Shares in Vodafone were up on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of the telecom giant's half year results due out tomorrow.

Shares in Marks & Spencer were up on the FTSE 100 ahead of the group's half year results, expected tomorrow.

Shares in Barclays were down on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of the bank's third quarter interim statement, expected tomorrow.

Trading of shares Rok has been suspended on the FTSE All Share after the building company announced this morning that it would be going into administration.

Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading following good jobs data from the US last Friday.

Shares in G4S were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the security company said that overall revenues grew 5.6 per cent in the first nine months of the year.

Shares in Smith & Nephew were up on the FTSE 100 after the medical technology company reported a rise in revenue and trading profit in its third quarter period.

Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 after RBS and HSBC issued their third quarter statements today.

Shares in Invensys were up on the FTSE 100 after the engineering and IT company reported a rise in revenue in the half year period ended 30 September 2010.

Shares in Man Group were up on the FTSE 100 after the investment group reported better than expected pre-tax profit for the half year period ended 30 September 2010.

Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading following news that the U.S. Federal Reserve will be embarking on another stimulus in a bid to strengthen economic recovery.

Shares in Unilever were down on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading, ahead of the consumer goods company's third quarter results, expected tomorrow.

Shares in Lloyds Banking Group were up on the FTSE 100 ahead of the group's third quarter results, expected tomorrow.

Shares in AstraZeneca were down on the FTSE 100 ahead of the pharmaceutical giant's third quarter results, due out tomorrow.

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell were down on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of the oil giant's third quarter results due out tomorrow.

Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the Wall Street Journal suggested that the US Federal Reserve is likely to begin another round of Treasury bond purchases.

Shares in Cineworld were up on the FTSE All Share in afternoon trading after the group said it had seen strong revenue growth in the 42 week period ended 21 October.

Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after Swiss banking giant UBS reported a third quarter loss in its investment banking arm.

Shares in Brit Insurance were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the group confirmed that it would be accepting a takeover offer by Achilles, a newly created company owned by a private equity consortium.

The Confederation of British Industry has said that Britain faces increasing competition as a destination for business investment and has already fallen behind India and China in its attractiveness to investors.

Shares in BP were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the energy giant said it would be selling its interests in four mature producing deepwater oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

It always amazed me, even in the days of black-and-white television, that almost as soon as the Budget was announced, the BBC would be interviewing a poor soul who was about to suffer Dickensian poverty in its wake. Less usual after the present Government's Spending Review announced to Parliament by Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne on Wednesday, 20 October 2010, was the media being quite so spoilt for victim choice.

Shares in British banks were mixed on the FTSE 100 in morning trading, with part nationalised banks Lloyds Banking Group and RBS falling.

Shares in Pearson group were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading despite the publishing company raising its full year profit guidance.

Shares in British Airways were up on the FTSE 100 following reports that the airline has offered to reinstate travel perks for its cabin crew, suggesting that a resolution may be in sight for the long running industrial dispute between the two.

Shares in Legal & General were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as the insurance company published its third quarter figures two weeks ahead of scheduled, after inadvertently sending figures to analysts yesterday afternoon.

Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading ahead of news from the G20 meeting, currently being held in South Korea.