Wednesday March 26, 07:54 AM
London pre-open: Footsie faces early losses
LONDON (ShareCast) - London is expected to start off lower after last night's disappointing consumer confidence and housing market data weighed on Wall Street. Traders expect Footsie (news)
to shed 24 points in early dealings. Plans by Vale to buy Swiss rival Xstrata (LSE: XTA.L - news) collapsed last night with the Brazilian miner saying it will now look for other potential takeover targets. Reports recently had suggested that concluding a deal was proving problematic, with Xstrata's board apparently turning down an offer of £40 per share consisting of cash-and-shares. Supermarket giant Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY.L - news) 's has formed a £1.2bn property joint venture with real estate firm British Land (LSE: BLND.L - news) . It (Frankfurt: A0MLX5 - news) also announced today that like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter rose 4.1%, including fuel it rose 6%. Total sales for the quarter rose 5.1% excluding fuel. Housebuilder Bellway (LSE: BWY.L - news) posted lower interim profits and is battening down the hatches for a tough second half of the year. Oil and gas exploration firm Soco International (LSE: SIA.L - news) saw profits for the year rise despite production being slightly lower. United Utilities (LSE: UU.L - news) expects to deliver full-year results in line with forecasts and said it remains on track to meet the tougher leakage target set by water regulator Ofwat for 2007/08. Tile retailer Topps Tiles (LSE: TPT.L - news) will report a small decline in underlying interim sales this year, adding the consumer market is getting "increasingly challenging". In the press, fresh doubts have surfaced about the security of BP (LSE: BP.L - news) 's business in Russia after its subsidiary TNK-BP told nearly 150 workers not to go to work after Russian authorities warned that their visas were no longer valid, according to the Independent. India's Tata Group has finally clinched control of British car marques Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) in a £1bn-plus deal that secures about 18,000 jobs, writes the Telegraph. JC Flowers is working on a fresh approach to Friends Provident (LSE: FP.L - news) , as the embattled life assurer moves closer to calling on regulators to force the US private equity group to clarify its intentions, reports the FT.
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