The FTSE 100 remains buoyant, with some action on the mergers & acquisitions front giving traders another distraction from ongoing global economic concerns.Engineering group Charter International has confirmed speculation that it has received a second offer following a previous one from rival Melrose. The Daily Telegraph this morning quoted City sources as saying that Charter received a 870p a share offer last week, adding that there is speculation that the approach is from a party linked to US firm Lincoln Electric. Traders will be looking out for an announcement from Melrose now.In other sectors, miners are in demand amid a perception that recent falls on worries over global economic growth may be overdone. Among the risers is South America-focused copper group Antofagasta which posted a sharp rise in profits for the six months to 30 June as prices for the red metal soared and said its ability to keep costs down leaves it well placed to come with recent commodity price volatility. Precious metals miners are under pressure though, including Mexican silver specialist Fresnillo. Not Hochschild though: the FTSE 250 Americas-focused gold and silver miner, achieved record sales and profits in the six months ended 30 June, giving it the confidence to hike its interim dividend by 50%.Security services provider G4S is another high riser today. It said it is seeing organic revenue growth accelerating in most regions and business sectors, as the global economy continues its recovery from the recession. Group turnover rose 5% on a constant exchange rates basis to £3.76bn in the first six months of 2011 from £3.58bn in the first half of last year. Profit before tax climbed to £149m from £142m in the first half of 2010.Segro is wanted despite the real estate group posting a 56.6% drop in half year pre-tax profit while rental income fell 6.1% as occupier markets recover slowly. Pre-tax profit fell to £64.6m in the six months ended 30 June 2011 from £148.9m the same a year earlier. Net rental income fell to £135.5m during the period from £144.3m before. Also in property, Persimmon, the house builder, saw underlying profits surge in the first half of 2011 on the back of gross margin gains and a more efficient capital structure. Underlying profit before tax rose 52% to £59.7m in the first half of 2011 from £39.4m last year. Pre-tax profits after goodwill impairment and exceptional items were £60.3m, compared with £101.4m for the first half of 2010, which included a net exceptional credit of £63.6m. John Wood Group, the rapidly transforming oil and gas services firm, is wanted after saying it is seeing 'good momentum' across its business, with the order book remaining strong and the bid pipeline healthy. Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) in the first half of 2011 rose 25% to $192m from $153.3m last year. Profit from continuing operations before tax and exceptional items rose 49% to $102.4m from $68.8m last year. Total revenues were up by 17% to $2.83bn from $2.41bn last year. Pawnbroker H&T is up after it said that it predicts full-year results to beat current estimates after a strong first half which was driven by a soaring gold price. "The outlook remains positive and on the basis of the current gold price we are pleased to announce our expectation for full year results to be above the top end of current market forecasts," said chief executive John Nichols.FTSE 100 - RisersG4S (GFS) 260.90p +7.10%ARM Holdings (ARM) 517.50p +5.18%Essar Energy (ESSR) 260.50p +5.08%John Wood Group (WG.) 543.50p +4.82%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 28.79p +4.46%Glencore International (GLEN) 368.95p +3.93%ITV (ITV) 56.40p +3.39%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 20.29p +3.15%Aggreko (AGK) 1,765.00p +2.86%Barclays (BARC) 149.95p +2.53%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 1,909.00p -6.38%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,805.00p -0.95%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 166.00p -0.90%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 618.50p -0.64%National Grid (NG.) 598.00p -0.42%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,207.00p -0.33%Compass Group (CPG) 536.00p -0.28%Amec (AMEC) 924.50p -0.27%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 958.00p -0.26%Whitbread (WTB) 1,452.00p -0.14%FTSE 250 - RisersCharter International (CHTR) 762.00p +22.51%Spectris (SXS) 1,378.00p +7.66%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 172.20p +6.82%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 72.80p +6.12%SEGRO (SGRO) 251.00p +5.24%Perform Group (PER) 165.00p +4.76%Britvic (BVIC) 318.20p +4.26%Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 264.50p +4.13%Bunzl (BNZL) 727.50p +3.49%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 318.30p +3.38%FTSE 250 - FallersLamprell (LAM) 278.00p -2.80%Aveva Group (AVV) 1,463.00p -2.14%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 210.60p -2.05%Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 100.00p -1.96%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 108.00p -1.64%Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 525.00p -1.59%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,551.00p -1.52%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 241.70p -1.43%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.2 -1.23%Redrow (RDW) 108.90p -1.09%
Last checked at 
