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Could London Stock Exchange be about to swap one emirate investor for another?
A rumour spreading in the City today was that Abu Dhabi is looking to buy the 21% holding which Dubai Borse snapped up two years ago.
The talk pushed LSE's shares up 26p to 778½p. Fears that the Borse might be forced to sell the stake if Dubai's problems grow have weighed heavily on the exchange's shares in the last three trading days.
Shares in London rose sharply, more than recovering all of yesterday's losses. The heavyweight banks and miners put in a strong showing on hopes that Dubai's debt woes would be ringfenced.
The FTSE 100 climbed 87.91 points to 5278.59, with only five companies in the top flight staying in negative territory.
Housebuilders received a double boost from Nationwide's figures and a bullish note from JPMorgan Cazenove which said today that the current recovery is no false dawn.
The Queen's stockbroker believes that transactions are at an "unsustainably" low level and notes that mortgage supply has increased every month.
Cazenove's analysts point out that demography alone - a rising population and the breakdown of traditional family structures in the UK - means we will need more homes.
They reckon recent underperformance of shares reflects a severe case of "spring selling season anxiety" which looks overdone.
They advise clients to snap up shares lingering at knock-down prices. Cazenove's top picks are Berkeley Group, 25½p dearer at 894½p, Persimmon, 25½p stronger at 438¾p, Redrow, 1p higher at 136p, and Taylor Wimpey, up ½p at 36p.
Even youth unemployment reaching record levels isn't enough to stop Kevin the teenager from going shopping.
JDSports Fashion, which sells trainers, hoodies and caps to downwardly-mobile adolescents, today said that trading has picked up slightly at both its sports and fashion stores since its last update in September. Shares in the company behind JD, Size, Bank and Scotts surged 17¼p to 513p.
The drug companies will look a lot healthier next year, according to big-hitting broker UBS, which today published its 2010 equity strategy.
Shares in the pharmaceuticals sector have suffered in recent months from uncertainty around US healthcare reforms and as investors ditched defensive stocks for more cyclical punts. UBS reckons this has left them looking cheap.
Its top pick is AstraZeneca, which is trading at historic lows and has an improved pipeline of drugs which, under perfect conditions, could double earnings forecasts for five years' time. Its shares jumped 27½p to 2744½p.
UBS is less keen on retailers, believing that consumer spending will remain muted. Analysts at the Swiss bank believe low-cost stores remain the best option.
Eurasian Natural Resources was one of the biggest winners among top stocks, rising 38p to 900p as Bank of America Merrill Lynch added the miner to its conviction buy list.
Merrill believes it will benefit from the power shortage in South Africa and, consequently slowed production among its rivals.
Justin King at J Sainsbury and Sir Terry Leahy at Tesco may be unable to deliver the goods at the supermarket titans' next trading updates, according to Barclays Capital.
Analysts warn that there could be little to excite investors in Sainsbury's third-quarter trading statement on 7 January or in Tesco's next week.
Analysts also believe it is unlikely any suitors will come courting Sainsbury's. But while the broker remains underweight in Sainsbury, it raised its price target for the shares from 300p to 320p. Today they rose 2p to 324p.
The broker is also uninspired by what Tesco has to offer, downgrading the shares to neutral. They dipped ½p to 422½p.
But BarCap remains a buyer of WmMorrison, despite its boss Marc Bolland crossing the aisle to rival Marks & Spencer.
Analysts believe that Morrisons' Christmas trading statement could be full of festive cheer if its sales promotions have pulled in the shoppers.
They also reckon that Morrisons shares, up 2½ at 278p, may jump if the City is a fan of its new chief executive.
Hammerson found a fan in Morgan Stanley today, which is advising clients to snap up shares in Brent Cross shopping centre's owner.
The heavy-hitting broker believes that the market "under-appreciates" its prospects in the UK, which will come into focus again if rents in London recover next year.
Morgan Stanley has set a 435p price target for the shares, which gained 13p to 414p.
