Character Share News (CCT)

This morning's bright start seems a distant memory now, with shares firmly in the red as worries over the Eurozone situation take centre stage again.Today's big mover, Cairn Energy is sharply lower after reporting disappointing results from its offshore drilling campaign offshore Greenland, with one well coming up dry and another showing only minor hydrocarbons.Restaurant and pubs group Mitchells & Butlers, jumps after rejecting a takeover offer from its largest shareholder, the billionaire Joe Lewis.Spread-betting firm IG Group edged higher after revealing that revenues reached £100m in the first quarter, after saying in August that it expected sales to pass the £94m mark.Train and coach operator National Express has acquired the fifth largest provider of student transportation services in the US for $200m. Shares rose over 1.5%.Commercial vehicle hire company Northgate was in demand as it said despite tough economic conditions hitting its UK and Spanish markets, trading between May and September has been in line with the company expectations.Despite seeing record profits in the year ended June, asset manager Ashmore Group fell on the back of disappointment over the level of performance fees for funds ending (August) in the current financial year. The group also warned that while it recorded a fifth successive year of operating margin "in the 70s" (72%), "we would expect this to finally enter the '60s' in the year to come".Investors still have an appetite for Tasty, the restaurant company behind the Wildwood and Dim T chains, has seen sales grow by 43% in the six months to the 3rd of July, compared to the same period of 2010. Operating profit grew to £526,000 from £94,000 and overall profit before tax for the period was up to £444,000 from £9,000.The toys, games and giftware company, Character Group falls after saying its year end results will meet market expectations. The firm, which produces branded toys such as Peppa Pig, Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam, says it felt obliged to update investors amidst the current economic gloom. Physiomics, which makes computer models that simulate biological cell behaviour, is wanted after saying it has agreed to collaborate over development of a prostate cancer drug. The agreement with ValiPharam Limited will see Physiomics help test how the drug "VAL201" performs in combating tumour growth. FTSE 100 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 224.70p +3.93%Inmarsat (ISAT) 483.60p +2.96%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,341.00p +1.25%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 318.20p +1.18%Sage Group (SGE) 253.90p +0.51%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 2,524.00p +0.24%Prudential (PRU) 576.00p -0.09%Carnival (CCL) 1,923.00p -0.10%G4S (GFS) 263.30p -0.27%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 30.91p -0.43%FTSE 100 - FallersCairn Energy (CNE) 284.10p -10.83%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,944.00p -9.58%Schroders (SDR) 1,307.00p -5.56%Land Securities Group (LAND) 676.00p -5.12%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,293.00p -5.07%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,053.00p -4.79%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,231.00p -4.50%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 619.00p -4.03%Aggreko (AGK) 1,801.00p -3.95%GKN (GKN) 173.10p -3.89%FTSE 250 - RisersMitchells & Butlers (MAB) 240.20p +9.13%Charter International (CHTR) 859.00p +6.84%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 34.56p +6.21%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 218.00p +3.81%Melrose (MRO) 289.70p +3.46%National Express Group (NEX) 229.10p +3.06%Perform Group (PER) 205.00p +3.02%Shanks Group (SKS) 113.80p +2.43%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,064.00p +2.41%Computacenter (CCC) 399.00p +2.31%FTSE 250 - FallersAshmore Group (ASHM) 380.00p -7.38%Premier Foods (PFD) 11.35p -6.89%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 285.00p -6.80%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 539.00p -6.42%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 247.50p -6.39%St James's Place (STJ) 315.70p -6.32%International Personal Finance (IPF) 220.10p -6.30%Kofax (KFX) 290.20p -6.18%Fidelity European Values (FEV) 939.50p -5.67%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 180.40p -5.50%