FTSE preview: Shares fall ahead of Irish deal
The FTSE 100 is expected to slip after strong gains the previous session, as investors await the next development in the Irish debt saga.
Friday feeling: Shares may halt their rally this morning.
The blue-chip index is seen falling as much as 0.2% by financial bookmakers after it ended 1.3% higher at 5,768.71 on Thursday as banks gained on hopes of a deal to ease Ireland's debt crisis.
Ireland's central bank chief said on Thursday he expected Dublin to receive tens of billions of euros in loans from European partners and the IMF to provide contingency capital for its shattered banks.
Hopes that the Irish debt situation will soon be resolved helped lift stocks on Wall Street and Asia.
The euro briefly got a marginal boost after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a full-throated defence against criticism of the bank's controversial bond-buying programme, showing no signs of backing away from implementing the plan.
The US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated the case for the Fed to act now in the text of a speech for delivery to a conference at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt later in the day. The text was released ahead of his scheduled Friday appearance.
However tempering any return to investor optimism were worries that China may adopt more stringent measures to keep inflation under check, including a drastic rise in key interest rates.
BP's Alaska unit should have its criminal probation revoked and be subject to additional penalties because the company continued negligent behaviour even after pleading guilty over its 2006 Prudhoe Bay pipeline spill, a federal probation officer said.
Royal Dutch Shell shut a 325,000 barrel-per-day crude oil pipeline running between Houma, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, after a leak was discovered on Tuesday near Vinton, Louisiana, trade sources said on Thursday.
British chip designer ARM said it wants to edge aside Imagination Technologies and take market leadership in graphics chips as well as its core chips for mobile phones and other electronic devices.
Shire, the drugmaker, believes its record in developing medicines to treat rare diseases, mostly affecting one in 100,000 people or fewer, will help it maintain a lead over bigger rivals that are targeting the sector.
The head of British IT services provider Logica hopes to reach operating profit margin of 10% within five years, he said on Thursday, when asked about profitability view going forward
Broadcaster ITV will keep considering the possibility of paying a dividend given its newly strong balance sheet, but investing in programmes is more urgent, its chief executive said on Thursday.
Balfour Beatty will acquire certain parts of Rok's new build affordable and general construction division.
There are results today from Fuller Smith & Turner and Rotork.
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