Tonight:
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Cable & Wireless was London's biggest dud today as its house broker reined in forecasts for the coming year.
Despite today's results being bang in line with expectations and some cautiously upbeat comments from management, the telecoms group's shares fell 15.2p to 141.8p, after Cazenove cut its estimates for earnings in 2009-10.
A number of directors have received £32million of bonuses in the shape of new shares. Market gossips suggest Cazenove may already have started placing those shares on their behalf.
Tony Rice, chief executive of the international unit, is said to be selling all the shares he received, although it still leaves him with a big holding.
Shares in London fell, with the FTSE100 index plunging below 4400 with a fall of 113.98 points to 4354.43 in another day of thin trading in London.
The drop increased after S&P's analysts put the UK on negative outlook watch. In New York, the Dow Jones followed the Footsie's lead, falling 117.32 points to 8304.72.
Only three of London's top stocks managed to stay in the black. Tullow Oil was 35p better at 980p, drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline added ½p to 1059p and Severn Trent was 1p dearer at 1124p.
Vodafone lost 4.6p to 114.2p after suffering a double whammy in the wake of this week's results.
UBS dropped the world's biggest mobile phone operator from its European telecoms most preferred list.
It also added France Telecom and our own troubled BT Group, 1.7p easier at 86.3p to its telecom least-preferred list. Vodafone has been cut by Japanese broker Nomura from buy to reduce.
Rio Tinto lost 211p to 2653p amid reports that the Chinalco deal is being restructured.
The Chinese metals group is said to be willing to limit its Rio stake to just 15%, rather than the 18% it initially hoped to claim.
The big bus and train operators came under scrutiny from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. It has put buy ratings on Stagecoach, 3¾p better at 132½p, and FirstGroup, 6¼p down at 364¾p.
It also jacked up its price target for Stagecoach - from 130p to 190p - and FirstGroup - from 310p to 480p - and repeated its buy rating on National Express, 7p in reverse at 280p, raising its sights from 350p to 410p.
But it remains neutral on Go-Ahead, down 4p at 1277p, while lifting its target from 1050p to 1350p. Arriva, down 2½p at 459½p, is rated underperform and its target has been tweaked 20p lower at 440p.
Dwyka Resources rose 0.13p to 7p after the company confirmed it is running the slide rule over another company which it may choose to bid for.
The mutter from the gutter is that mining giant ENRC, 62p cheaper at 553p, could make a bid for Sierra Leone-focused miner African Minerals. But its shares dropped 6p to 163p as investors remained sceptical that there was much basis for the rumour.
Interdealer broker Icap lost 35½p to 368½p as Daniel Stewart advised clients to dump the stock, giving a target price of 340p. Although this year's results were in line with expectations, analysts warn of a decline in earnings in 2010 and that the stock looks overbought. Its founder, Tory treasurer Michael Spencer, clearly agrees. Yesterday, IPGL, in which Spencer and his family are majority stakeholders, sold 10% of its holding in the business, raking in close to £50 million.
Doom and gloom from S&P did for the crumbling housebuilders despite cheap ratings prompting Credit Suisse to take a peek at the shares, concluding they might be worth a punt on growing recovery prospects.
The broker says the latest figures from the housing sector are favourable, and has raised Barratt Developments, ¾p cheaper at 161¼p, from neutral to outperform along with debt-laden Taylor Wimpey, ½p down at 33½p. Persimmon, 6½p lower at 371½p, which earlier this year lost its place on the FTSE100 index, gets upgraded from underperform to neutral.
The collapse in the housing market has been disastrous for the builders, in terms of their share prices and their assets. Not only have they had to write off large parts of their land-banks but the collapse in their share price has also seen debt levels soar, forcing them to refinance to prevent breaching their banking covenants.
But not everyone is prepared to take the gamble that Credit Suisse suggests. KBC Peel Hunt remains cautious, and has cut Barratt Developments from hold to sell.
