Earthport Share News (EPO)

A record price for gold, an early rally on Wall Street and strength across the financial sector has sent London to its best levels of the day.Gold has hit new highs, and that has led to sharp mark-ups in the price of gold miner Randgold and silver and gold miner Fresnillo. Elsewhere in the sector ENRC, Lonmin, Xstrata, Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys all sport chunky gains.There's also good news at Lloyds Banking Group where the part-nationalised lender has enjoyed "strong demand" for its £9bn offer to swap existing debt for contingent capital. Earlier this month, Lloyds said it was raising £21bn from a 13.5bn rights issue and £7.5bn swap of existing debt for contingent capital. Other banks, including HSBC, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have improved, while insurer Prudential and inter-dealer broker ICAP are among the best performers.Confectionery company Cadbury has hit a new high on reports that Swiss foods giant Nestle is considering entering the bid battle for the company while US processed foods company Kraft is said to be preparing to lift its bid for Cadbury if a rival bidder emerges.Elsewhere, oil explorer Soco's confidence over its Viodo prospect, offshore Congo, has been boosted after an encouraging latest test drilling. The Viodo Marine 4 vertical appraisal well tested at a combined maximum flow rate of approximately 2,600 barrels of oil per day and 7m standard cubic feet of gas per day following two drill stem tests, Soco said.Credit checking firm Experian has created a joint venture with seven of India's leading financial institutions to operate a credit information company in India. On the downside, the water companies are under pressure ahead of Ofwat's final delibration on Thursday for the next five-year regulatory review. It is expected to be tough with warnings already of rights issues and dividend cuts. Severn Trent and United Utilities are the worst hit.Today, Northumbrian Water said the outcome of Ofwat's final determination is "the key risk for the business." Half year pre-tax profits rise to £87m from £77.1m. The dividend was lifted to 4.39p from 4.29p.There was plenty of activity among second line oil stocks. Shares in Kurdistan-focused oil group Gulf Keystone gained as it reported further large discoveries on its Shaikan-1 prospect. Heritage Oil shareholders could be in for a windfall after the company terminated its merger discussions with Genel and opted instead to sell some assets to Italian oil giant Eni. The UK exploration and production company has conditionally agreed to sell its interests in blocks 1 and 3A in Uganda for $1.5bn. The first half of the current financial year has been one of consolidation for civil engineering consultant Hyder, with revenue and profits little changed from the interim stage last year. Profit before tax in the six months to the end of September was £5.67m, virtually unchanged from a year earlier, on revenue that grew to £156.26m from £151.56m a year earlier.Miner First Quantum has agreed to buy rival Zambia-focused base metal miner Kiwara in a cash and share deal worth £158m. The deal will see Kiwara shareholders receive cash and shares worth an equivalent 75p per share, a 41.5% premium to the closing price last Friday. Prior to the bid, Kiwara shares had already risen more than 250% over the past 12 months.Support services and asset management firm Mitie posted a rise in profits in the six months to September 30 and said efficiency drives in the private and public sector will create further opportunities for growth in the next year. Mitie, whose services include roofing, catering and painting, saw pre-tax profits climb to £42.3m from £37.6m over the same period the previous year on revenues that rose to £801.1m from £760.7m. The interim dividend was lifted to 3.7p from 3.3p.Global payments provider Earthport saw its share price ascend on Monday morning after it signed a franchise agreement covering Latin America and the Caribbean. Zink Financial will provide Earthport with a non-refundable franchise fee of £3.25m for the territories of Central America, South America and the Caribbean as the first year payment in a five year deal.