CLL.L Share News (CLL)

After threatening to hit a new intra-day high the FTSE 100 index saw its advance checked in the final hour of trading as profit takers moved in ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later today.Airline British Airways made a late surge to the top of the Footsie leaderboard as it announced an agreement with union negotiators, albeit not the one the airline's customers were hoping for. While the Unite union remains in dispute with the airline's management over restructuring plans it was happy to sign up to an agreement, along with fellow unions Balpa and the GMB, to scale back pension entitlements.The unions have agreed a scheme whereby employees can increase their pension contributions in order to maintain benefits at existing levels. If approved by the pension's scheme's trustees it means that British Airways' annual contribution to the scheme can be pegged at the current level of £330m per annum.Also flying high was Tullow Oil after French oil giant Total said it is interested in Tullow's blocks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, though no talks between the two companies are currently in progress.Elsewhere in the oil sector Shell outlined a strategy which it says will increase production by 11% in three years' time. Upstream production is expected to reach 3.5m barrels by 2012, an 11% increase from current levels, Shell said. Further ahead, the company is assessing more than 35 new projects which should underpin upstream growth to 2020.In banking, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was wanted on reports that it is mulling a buy back of at least £10bn (€11bn) of the bank's £28bn of debt at a premium to current prices. Sector peer Barclays outstripped RBS's gain after Morgan Stanley lifted its price target for the bank to 440p from 370p. Department store Debenhams said it saw a strong performance in the six months to 27 February as it continues its strategy of lifting margins and expanding market share. Gross transaction value was 1.7% higher than in the same period the previous year, Debenhams said, adding that like-for-like sales were up by 0.3%.Cost cutting helped security group G4S lift underlying earnings by 10% last year, though organic sales slowed and are expected to remain subdued. Organic turnover growth was 3.7% in 2009 down from 9.5% the previous year.Merchant bank Close Brothers reported a 50% jump in half year profits thanks to a strong performance in its Banking and Securities divisions. Operating profit before tax from continuing operations rose to £62.3m in the six month ended 31 January from £41.5m last time. Broker Numis Securities forecast that the group would announce a pre-tax profit of £54.6m.The Competition Commission has formally cleared Sports Direct's acquisition of 31 stores from JJB Sports. The Commission decided the acquisition will not lead to a substantial lessening of competition, a ruling that confirms the last month's provisional findings. Underwriter Hiscox said it expects a combined net loss of around £100m from the recent Chilean earthquake and windstorm Xynthia which struck France.Mezzanine finance specialist Intermediate Capital has appointed Christophe Evain as is new chief executive replace Tom Attwood, who will remain on the board and focus on fund investors. The switch is part of a change in emphasis with a greater focus on fund management.Wellstream, which designs and manufactures flexible risers and flowlines for the oil and gas industry, reported lower than expected profits in a tough year that saw activity in the oil and gas sector tail off. Pre-tax profit fell to £42.8m in the year ended December compared with £77.5m last time, with pre-tax profit excluding restructuring costs dropping to £47.8m. Business software supplier Workplace Systems has warned that it is unlikely to meet current year market forecasts due to delayed finalisation of orders in the second half.Private jet firm Air Partner said half year pre-tax profit fell 77% after tough trading conditions both within the group and the wider aviation sector.Marine services group James Fisher saw a rise in revenues and profits in 2009 as its specialist technical division helped it shrug off the effects of the global economic downturn. Investors proved hard to please, however, and the shares sank despite a rise in pre-tax profits to £24.7m from £23.6m in 2008 as revenues climbed to £249.6m from £233.6m. Shares in marketing services group Cello surged as it said trading since the start of 2010 has been good. Headline pre-tax profit for 2009 fell to £5.1m from £7.3m the year before. Photo booth operator Photo-Me thinks profits for the full year will exceed expectations after benefiting from improvements in management in the second half. News of a successful drilling result in Chile sent oil and gas group Geopark's share price to a new 52-week high.FTSE 100 - RisersBritish Airways (BAY) 246.00p +4.50%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 82.35p +3.26%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,166.00p +2.91%Barclays (BARC) 357.45p +2.54%Randgold Resources (RRS) 5,000.00p +2.50%ICAP (IAP) 386.20p +2.17%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,021.00p +2.00%Cairn Energy (CNE) 380.50p +1.93%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,283.00p +1.83%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 578.00p +1.76%FTSE 100 - FallersG4S (GFS) 269.20p -3.37%Prudential (PRU) 530.00p -1.40%Compass Group (CPG) 496.90p -1.02%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,240.00p -0.88%Vodafone Group (VOD) 149.30p -0.86%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 1,202.00p -0.83%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,504.00p -0.76%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,239.00p -0.72%United Utilities Group (UU.) 554.50p -0.54%National Grid (NG.) 650.50p -0.54%