London looks set for a quiet half-day of trading ahead of the Christmas break, with the Footsie remaining hesitant about bursting through the 6,000 barrier. City traders expect the blue-chip index to open up a couple of points from last night's close of 5,996.Trading at JJB Sports has remained tough, with the recent poor weather conditions adding to woes. On a like-for-like (excluding VAT) basis, revenue for the period 2 August 2010 to 19 December was 1.6% higher than for the same period last year. Total group revenue for the same period was up 1.0% year-on-year. The group has announced short term financing plans and changes at the top. It has the support of major shareholders for a placing and open offer of shares at 5p each to raise £31.5m. As reported in the press, restructuring specialist Mike McTighe, currently the chairman of Pace, Volex and WYG, will take over as chairman from John Clare, who has been in the chair for less than a year.Lloyd's insurer Chaucer now expects to lose $20m (£13m) as a result of the New Zealand earthquake, up sharply from initial estimates.Avocet Mining has signed a binding agreement for the conditional sale of its South East Asian assets to J&Partners, a private Cayman Islands company, for $200m cash.