- UK unemployment on the rise- Banking stocks lifted by US stress test results- Legal and General beats forecasts in 2011Stocks held on to earlier gains by lunchtime on Wednesday despite some gloomy jobs data. Financials were leading the rise, buoyed by the results of the stress tests in the US and some well-received results from Legal and General.In economic news, UK unemployment rose by 28,000 in the three months to January, reaching 2.67m. The unemployment rate was 8.4% of the economically active population, up 0.1% on the previous three months, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The proportion of people out of work has not been higher since 1995, the ONS said. Last night, the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC ) said it would maintain exceptionally low interest rates until the end of 2014 because the unemployment rate remains at high levels, economic growth in coming quarters will be moderate and there are still significant risks to economic forecasts. Meanwhile, 15 of the 19 major banks in the US passed the Fed's stress tests and would be able to maintain capital levels above the minimum requirement in a worst-case scenario.Chancellor George Osborne is reported to be launching a new 100-year, or even perpetual, gilt as part of next week's 2012 Budget, in an attempt to "lock in" the benefits of the UK's low borrowing costs and its international 'safe-haven' status. Treasury officials compared such bonds to the UK taking out a low rate fixed-term mortgage. They told the BBC that official figures showed that the low cost of long-term interest rates could save the country £20bn in debt interest over the next five years. As for the Eurozone, Fitch last night upgraded its rating for Greece out of default territory following the largest sovereign debt restructuring in history last week. INSURERS & BANKS PROVIDE A BOOSTShares in insurance group Legal and General raced ahead after its 2011 results came in ahead of consensus expectations. The group generated an IFRS operating profit of £1,056m, from £1,002 in 2010, and just ahead of estimates of £1,042m. However, Nomura said the focus of the results was on the dividend, which was raised by 35% to 6.4p, surpassing expectations of 5.93p. Banking peers Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland and insurers Resolution, Prudential and Aviva were all rising at least 3% each. Tullow Oil was in demand after pre-tax profits jumped 499% and sales rose 111% in 2011. Prime Markets labelled the group this morning as an "explosive momentum growth play, backed by the sort of impressive fundamental growth numbers normally seen in an explosive small cap growth stock." Leading the downside was medical devices and airport scanners maker Smiths Group after its interim results disappointed. Revenue rose 3% (+1% on an underlying basis), while pre-tax profits improved by 2%, but the operating margin declined slightly. The group assured that it was a "resilient performance in a difficult trading environment". Security group G4S was being pressured lower by a downgrade from Exane BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse, who both cut their respective ratings from outperform to neutral. Telecoms giant Vodafone was also lower after Exane BNP Paribas cut its rating from neutral to underperform.Also lower were the miners. With the dollar hitting an 11-month high against the yen and a one-month high against the euro, greenback-denominated commodities became more expensive, prompting a fall in the prices of gold, silver and copper. Fresnillo, Kazakhmys, Randgold Resources and Polymetal were among the worst performers of the day.Hammerson and Meggitt were also heavy fallers after both stocks went ex-dividend. FTSE 250: YULE CATTO JUMPS ON STRONG PROFITS Shares in polymer business Yule Catto jumped this morning after it announced it had doubled profits in 2011. The price was also boosted by the firm saying it had enjoyed a solid start to 2012. Building products distributor SIG rose strongly after capping a strong year with a 27% jump in profits in 2011, as it benefitted from improved trading conditions. Meanwhile, bakery and hot snacks retailer Greggs fell after reporting that 2012 got off to a slow start. While sales growth in 2011 was a bit more than the market expected after a strong finish to the year, the profit before tax figure was a tad under-baked. BCFTSE 100 - RisersLegal & General Group (LGEN) 130.40p +4.07%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 279.70p +3.94%Barclays (BARC) 248.55p +3.76%Prudential (PRU) 789.50p +3.47%Aviva (AV.) 372.00p +2.99%ICAP (IAP) 405.70p +2.97%Man Group (EMG) 143.30p +2.72%Essar Energy (ESSR) 113.60p +2.62%Standard Life (SL.) 244.60p +2.56%GKN (GKN) 221.50p +2.55%FTSE 100 - FallersSmiths Group (SMIN) 1,068.00p -3.00%G4S (GFS) 276.80p -2.36%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 963.50p -2.28%Meggitt (MGGT) 399.90p -2.01%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,799.00p -1.69%Polymetal International (POLY) 996.50p -1.34%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,020.00p -1.27%Hammerson (HMSO) 423.60p -1.26%Capita (CPI) 743.00p -1.00%Old Mutual (OML) 162.70p -0.91%FTSE 250 - RisersYule Catto & Co (YULC) 226.50p +7.86%Ocado Group (OCDO) 119.20p +7.00%SVG Capital (SVI) 297.60p +6.67%Home Retail Group (HOME) 116.00p +5.45%SIG (SHI) 121.20p +4.94%Soco International (SIA) 340.60p +3.90%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,315.00p +3.30%Henderson Group (HGG) 122.50p +2.94%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 74.10p +2.92%easyJet (EZJ) 453.80p +2.86%FTSE 250 - FallersSavills (SVS) 379.30p -3.46%Elementis (ELM) 189.80p -3.21%Bumi (BUMI) 752.50p -3.03%Greggs (GRG) 544.00p -2.51%Temple Bar Inv Trust (TMPL) 946.00p -2.47%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 77.25p -2.22%Rotork (ROR) 2,019.00p -1.94%Petropavlovsk (POG) 654.00p -1.88%Ladbrokes (LAD) 158.90p -1.79%SDL (SDL) 737.50p -1.54%
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