Barclays Share News (BARC)

Footsie moved into the red over the lunch time session after the release of disappointing US retail sales figures. US retail sales were up 0.3% in January, according to the Commerce Department, though they'd risen 0.5% the month before and were expected to do the same this time. Excluding autos, sales increased at just 0.3% last month, half the pace predicted by economists.Mining stocks are responsible for much of Footsie's decline after an increase in the Chinese inflation rate raised the prospect of further increases in Chinese interest rates in the near future. Consumer prices rose at an annual rate 4.9% in China in January. The rise compares with a 4.6% increase in December, which was still ahead of the Chinese government's target of 4%.Xstrata, Anglo American, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and ENRC occupy seven of the ten bottom slots on the list of Footsie constituents.At the other end of the scale sit the banks after results from Barclays came in ahead of expectations. The bank has cut its staff bonuses by 7% even though profits jumped by 32% as bad charges tumbled everywhere except Spain. Pre-tax profits in 2010 rose to £6.1bn, up from £4.59bn, and well ahead of forecasts of about £5.5bn. Bonuses were down 12% at Barclays Capital where profits rose 2% to £4.78bn excluding the effect of own credit. Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland are up in sympathy.Results from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) were less well received, even though the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner grew profit by 24% in 2010. The firm predicts a $3m hit this year from the recent unrest in Egypt. Pre-tax profit before exceptional items jumped to $382m from $309m in 2009 on revenue up 6% at $1.63bn. Real estate investment trust British Land saw a solid increase in underlying pre-tax profit and net asset value (NAV) per share in its third quarter. Underlying profit before tax in the three months to 31 December 2010 was up 10% from a year earlier at £64m. Broker Panmure Gordon had forecast a figure of £65.7m. The group's portfolio at the end of the year was valued at £9.3bn, up 2.3% over the quarter and 13.1% higher than a year earlier. Supermarket chain Morrisons has made its long awaited first step into the online retailing world with the purchase of web-based retailer Kiddicare. It's paying £70m for the company and, more importantly, the rights to its technology platform, which could form the basis of Morrisons own online offering.In the FTSE 250, legacy software specialist Micro Focus has slumped. The company has instigated a major cost cutting programme after revenues in the third quarter came in well short of expectations. The software firm will take a restructuring hit of between $14m and $18m in the final quarter of this year after the "disappointing" three months. Imagination Technologies is posting big gains though. The designer of technologies for graphics chips has signed a licensing agreement with European device manufacturer STMicroelectronics. Pizza delivery firm Domino's Pizza is nursing losses after it posted a 27% increase in profit before tax to £38m. Statutory profit fell to £35.2m from £41m. Like-for-like sales grew 11.9%, up from 8.4% the year before. For once, the high flying favourite of couch potatoes failed to surprise to the upside, and the share price has been sliced today.Heavily indebted foods group Premier Foods took a break from selling off parts of its business to announce it fell into the red in 2010, though there was some good news on the debt reduction front. Loss before tax was £98m, compared with a £42m profit the year before, but the dive into the red was caused by a £125m goodwill impairment charge taken on its Brookes Avana chilled ready meals business. Net debt fell £103m over the course of the year to £1,261m. The company has recently offloaded its Canning and Meat-Free assets, as a result of which pro-forma net debt will be below £900m, the company said. Profits slumped by 49% at Yellow Pages publisher Yell during the last nine months of 2010 and earnings for the year are now expected to be slightly below market forecasts. Economic pressures and the shift to digital media were blamed for a slide in profit before tax to £38.6m in the period to 31 December from £75.1m in 2009. Revenue dropped 12% at £1.35bn. Peppa Pig franchise owner Entertainment One said it had another strong quarter with revenue and underlying EBITDA in the period continuing to track well ahead of the previous year. For the nine months to 31 December reported revenue was up 22% compared to the comparative period (14% at constant currency) boosted by good progress in the Film and Television businesses.Computacenter has bought Paris-based IT reseller Top Info SAS for £17.6m (€21m).