Johnston Press PLC Share News (JPR)

The Footsie is hovering around its high for the year of 5300, after better than expected UK unemployment figures. Sentiment was little affected by Bank of England governor Mervyn King saying he thinks inflation will rise above the 2% target set by the government as the impact of quantitative easing and stimulus measures sets in.Miners are responsible for much of the blue-chip index's advance as metal prices pick up following news that Chinese industrial output rose to a 19-month high in October. BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto and Vedanta are the best performers among extractors of industrial metals. Gold miner Randgold claws back yesterday's losses after positive press on yesterday's results. Silver and gold miner Fresnillo rises in sympathy.Sainsbury's has 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 is going 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 has fallen 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 is 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.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.Life assurance group Standard Chartered is wanted 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 is the best performer in the sector, however.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 has slumped 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.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.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.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'.FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 899.50p +6.77%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 86.30p +6.08%Randgold Resources (RRS) 4,853.00p +6.03%Schroders (SDR) 1,236.00p +5.64%Schroders NV (SDRC) 1,003.00p +5.63%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,314.00p +4.95%FTSE 100 - FallersReed Elsevier (REL) 458.20p -5.43%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,058.00p -2.04%Resolution (RSL) 95.35p -1.70%Cobham (COB) 228.80p -1.04%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 542.00p -1.00%BP (BP.) 588.70p -0.79%