Morgan Stanley

Potash (Potassium Carbonate) and phosphate company PotashCorp is fending off a bid from BHP today driving stocks and shares on the FTSE higher after Marius Kloppers, the chief executive of the mining company said that he would take his bid for the fertiliser maker to its shareholders.

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 Barclays bank were up on the FTSE 100 thanks to positive comments from Morgan Stanley about the banks prospects compared with that of its rivals.

Shares in British banks recovered after early losses in morning trading incurred by ongoing worries about the sovereign debt in the eurozone and by a new investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.

RBS, the Royal Bank of Scotland has lined up three bidders for Worldpay and expects to sell more businesses and branches later this year.

National Grid, the UK's electricity and gas networks operator, has announced today a new strategy in a 2 for 5 rights issue worth £3.2 bn.