Better than expected unemployment figures and some relatively upbeat comments from Bank of England governor Mervyn King propelled Footsie to a new intra-day high for 2009 in the morning session, but stocks came off the top in the afternoon session.The UK unemployment rate, as measured by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) methodology, rose to 7.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the July to September period, from 7.7% in the preceding three month period. Economists had been expecting a claimant count unemployment rate of 8.0%.Meryn King, in the Bank of England's inflation report, said that sharp reductions in interest rates to close to zero and quantitative easing 'will help stimulate spending, smooth the necessary rebalancing of the economy, and keep inflation close to the target.' Gold miner Randgold clawed back yesterday's losses after positive press on its results. Silver and gold miner Fresnillo rose in sympathy.Life assurance group Standard Life was firmer after Morgan Stanley upped its rating on the stock from 'underweight' to 'equal weight'. It remains moderately bearish on Prudential, though it has increased its price target for the stock from 553p to 645p. Legal & General was the best performer in the sector, however.Sainsbury posted a healthy rise in profits in the 28 weeks to October 3, but repeated a warning that lower food price inflation will affect growth in the second half. Pre-tax profits rose to £342m from £258m, ahead of expectations, while like-for-like sales excluding fuel climbed 5.7%, up from 3.9% a year ago.Power generator International Power did well on news it expects earnings to be "broadly" in line with last year, as a better than expected performance in Europe and Australia offsets weakness in the US.In contrast, electricity provider Scottish & Southern Energy fell back despite posting a 36% increase in half-year adjusted pre-tax profit to £410.5m as revenue fell 12.5% to £8.04bn.Reed Elsevier was the biggest casualty among blue-chips however after the abrupt departure of chief executive, Ian Smith, by mutual consent, after less than a year in the job. He is to be succeeded by Elsevier head honcho Erik Engstrom. The resignation overshadowed the Anglo-Dutch publishing group's trading update, though that may be no bad thing as the publisher said its key professional information businesses have not escaped the downturn, while advertising and promotion markets have been badly hit.Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin deliveries of more than 7m doses of its swine flu vaccine. It will begin exporting the FluLaval vaccine, which it manufactures in Canada, to the US next month. Oil and gas group Tullow Oil is trading in line with expectations and has maintained production guidance for the year of 58,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.Among the mid-caps, Micro Focus's two recent acquisitions, Borland and Compuware, have performed much better than expected and the legacy software specialist has upped its forecasts for both interim sales and underlying profits. After a "strong close to the first half" the group now expects to report total revenues of approximately $195m, up from $135.6m, while underlying profits will also be above expectations.Bus and train group National Express shifted into reverse though, as it confirmed plans to raise £360m from a fully underwritten rights issue at 105p a share in an effort to slash its debt burden. Shareholders will get the chance to buy 7 new share for every 3 shares held at the rights price, a 69% discount to last night's closing price.Bus group Stagecoach has been ordered to divest its Preston Bus business after the Competition Commission decided this was the best way to safeguard local passenger interests.Recruitment group Hays reports early signs of "stability" in the United Kingdom and broader signs of stability in Asia Pacific, but no indications of recovery in either market, while Europe continues to decline, albeit more slowly than before.Johnston Press, which publishes local and regional newspapers including the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, said trends in the advertising market were continuing to improve following a sharp downturn. In the last 10 weeks ad revenues fell 19.1%, meaning that the first 18 weeks of the second half of the year saw a total advertising decline of 22.1%. This compares with a fall of 32.7% in the first half.Aviation and distribution group John Menzies said it expects full-year results to now be "well above" current market expectations, despite continued tough trading conditions.Cobra Bio-Manufacturing is in discussions which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company. Profits slumped at Fenner last year, but the shares climbed after the mining conveyor belt maker noted 'early but clear signs of underlying improvements in markets and an end of customer destocking in recent months'.Randall & Quilter Investments, which owns insurance companies in run-off, has been hit by a court judgement that means that it has to pay 25% of the reinsurance claim for the Exxon Valdez oil spillage and 13.5% of a claim by Kuwait Airways dating back to the first Gulf War in 1990.FTSE 100 - RisersRandgold Resources (RRS) 4,858.00p +6.14%Fresnillo (FRES) 892.00p +5.88%SEGRO (SGRO) 364.70p +5.83%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 85.85p +5.53%FTSE 100 - FallersReed Elsevier (REL) 465.00p -4.02%Cobham (COB) 226.90p -1.86%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 38.37p -1.69%BP (BP.) 583.60p -1.65%