FTSE

Sir Philip Green is to lead a team of civil servants in a Government spending review as the 'enterprise tzar' - owner of Arcadia Group - will examine spending over the last five years.

Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading, following gains on the stock market yesterday afternoon.

Shares in De La Rue were down in morning trading on the FTSE 250 following yesterday's announcement that CEO James Hussey had resigned with immediate effect.

Shares in Dana Petroleum were down in afternoon trading on the FTSE 250 after it said it would not be supporting a £1.7 billion takeover bid from the state owned Korea National Corp (KNOC).

CML, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has downgraded its forecasts for the year by £10 bn to £140bn after finding less confidence in the second half of the year than previously thought.

Shares in Prudential were up in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after the insurance giant reported a rise in operating and underlying profit in the first half of the year.

As Liverpool's bidding war enters its second week, Kirdi and Kuang are set to fight it out after the two emerged as frontrunners.

Shares in Prudential were down on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading, ahead of the group's first half results, which are due out tomorrow.

Shares in Balfour Beatty rose in morning trading on the FTSE 250 after the housebuilder reported a rise in pre-tax profit for the half year ended 26 June.

Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England lowered forecasts for economic growth in UK after high Inflation prospects rose. The Bank now forecasts 2.5 percent next year - down from its forecast in May of 3.4 percent growth.

Shares in British banks were down in morning trading on the FTSE 100 as news from the U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday failed to reassure investors about the prospects of the economic recovery.

Shares in Thomas Cook were down in morning trading on the FTSE 250 after the travel company said it lost a higher than expected £81.9 million as a result of airspace disruption brought on by the volcanic ash cloud earlier this year.

Standard Life results due to report a forecast £293m profit for the first six months of this year after first quarter sales rose 30 pct to £4.6 billion.

Shares in British banks fell in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after economic data on retail sales, and house prices suggested the recovery is progressing slower than previously hoped for.

Intercontinental Hotels Group has delivered profits ahead of expectations after Revenue per available room - a key measure of a hotels' performance - increased globally at 3.9 pct at constant currency.

Shares in TUI Travel dived in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after the group said it took a £105 million hit as a result of air space closures prompted by a giant ash cloud being emitted from an Icelandic volcano earlier this year.

The construction sector is to face up to 35-40 pct this September/October warned construction firm, Morgan Sindall.

National Grid rises on FTSE 100 after GDF Suez / International Power acquisitionNational Grid is rising on the FTSE 100 today after the GDF Suez / International Power deal lifted both the Electricity and Gas, Water, Multiutilities sector.

The FTSE 100 is rising today after GDF's long heralded deal with International Power - creating the world's largest station manager - is almost finished and could be formally announced shortly.

Shares in BP were up in morning trading on the FTSE 100 as oil prices rose and the group said that it had effectively plugged the oil leak at the Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Shares in British banks were broadly up in morning trading on the FTSE 100 following losses incurred on Friday.

Shares in Tomkins were up in early trading on the FTSE 250 after the engineering company reported a return to profit and a halving of its debt in the first half of the year.

FTSE 100 listed insurer Old Mutual is selling off its US life assurance business for £220m in order to pay down its debts.

Shares in Logica were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the IT firm more than tripled its pre-tax profit in the first half of the year.

Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the last of the "big four" banks, RBS, reported its half year results and a return to profit this morning.

Shares in RBS were up in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after the group reported a return to profit in the first half of 2010.

Shares in RBS were down slightly on the FTSE 100 ahead of the part-nationalised bank's first half results, due out tomorrow.

Chinese businessman Kenny Huang and CIC - the country's largest sovereign wealth fund - appear not to be bidding for Liverpool FC.

Shares in Rio Tinto were up in afternoon trading on the FTSE 100 after the mining giant more than doubled its earnings and cut its net debt in the first half of the year.

Tesco are reportedly listed as a possible buyer for Egg, the online financial services provider which was put up for sale by Citigroup.