City wild with talk a suitor is stalking the man from Del Monte

There are claims that Del Monte Foods has found itself on the shopping list of private equity, with Pets at Home owner KKR being mooted as the potential bidder. However, the big mouths in the Square Mile claimed today that a second suitor might emerge for the tinned vegetables and pet food giant.

The gossips — sometimes known to get a little over-excited about these things — were initially talking up the prospects of a bid at $18.50 a pop from KKR. However, the mere speculation of a possible bidding war had them upping their price. "Now I reckon it could go for far more than that," said one talkative chap.

In New York last night, Del Monte's shares closed up almost 3% at $15.38.

"No smoke without fire," another trader added. "The shares were strong into the close on high volumes — I'd feel very uncomfortable if I was short." As ever with these takeover yarns though, a strong wealth warning applies.

Shares in London bounced back from yesterday's lacklustre performance as solid results from market heavyweights Barclays and Vodafone improved the mood. The FTSE 100 was trading at its highest level in two years, up 44.01 points at 5893.97.

Small-cap stocks were providing some excitement too.

Last week, chatter in the Square Mile and Canary Wharf was that Cameroon-focused oil explorer Bowleven would have impressive news for investors today. It did not disappoint.

The Edinburgh-based company — a retail punters' favourite as they desperately scrabble around to find the "next Tullow Oil" — said that it had found two potentially significant hydrocarbon discoveries at its Sapele-1 exploration well. And it wasn't just the find that delighted shareholders but news that Bowleven was in the black thanks to a gain on currency. Its shares hit more than a two-year high, surging a stonking 41½p to 241p. Canaccord Genuity is a buyer of the shares but has a price target of 208p which Bowleven has already exceeded.

Back among the big boys, InterContinental Hotels took the FTSE 100's wooden spoon as investors were left disappointed that estimates were not upgraded. Shares in the owner of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza chains fell 66p to 1136p.

On a happier note, Randgold Resources topped the Footsie winners' list as gold hit yet another record high and as the precious metal miner posted third-quarter profits which were more than double what they were a year earlier. West Africa-focused Randgold is planning to ramp up production in the fourth quarter.

Randgold surged 260p to 6250p. Its rivals were also on the rise — African Barrick Gold was 17p stronger at 555½p, Petropavlovsk was 64p up at 1012p and Fresnillo advanced 43p to 1453p. The rest of the metals sector was marked higher too with Xstrata up 39½p to 1404½p and Rio Tinto 115p better at 4446p.

Shares portfolio: G4S in line for government work