Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

Stocks have come in for heavy selling in early dealings after the US Federal Reserve yesterday painted a gloomy picture of the growth prospects for the world's largest economy."Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in August indicates that economic growth remains slow," the minutes from the Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee read. "Recent indicators point to continuing weakness in overall labour market conditions, and the unemployment rate remains elevated," the report continued,Miners in particular are in the firing line, with Kazakhmys leading the sector lower in the FTSE 100. In such time, the boring but dependable returns of utility companies look appealing, and to underline the point United Utilities confirmed it is on track to deliver its out-performance targets. First half revenue came in higher than last year, though operating expenses are also on the up. The group said it intends to accelerate some £100m of previously agreed pension deficit payments, providing a higher investment return for the group than could have been achieved through short term deposits. The shares are still lower today though.TUI Travel is another company that is on course to meet full year expectations. Summer 2011 has traded well since the package tour firm's last update, with bookings up in most source markets. Winter 2011/12 trading to date is satisfactory overall, but the group has planned for a slow recovery to trading in Egypt and Tunisia. The shares are lower.But no-frills airline easyJet bucks the trend after it said the increase in total revenue per seat at constant currency for the second half of the year is expected to be towards the upper end of its expectations at around 6%, which means full year growth will be around 3%. Full year profit before tac is now expected to be between £240m and £250m.Tim Breedon, Group Chief Executive of Legal & General has advised them of his intention to retire from the company at the end of 2012. The insurance giant will announce a successor in due course.FTSE 100 - RisersAutonomy Corporation (AU.) 2,525.00p -0.04%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 241.20p -0.94%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,314.50p -1.17%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 583.50p -1.19%Vodafone Group (VOD) 161.25p -1.26%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 332.30p -1.31%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,072.00p -1.47%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,809.00p -1.63%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 270.00p -1.64%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 671.50p -1.68%FTSE 100 - FallersKazakhmys (KAZ) 901.50p -6.68%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,193.50p -5.77%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,053.00p -5.48%Xstrata (XTA) 890.50p -5.25%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 599.00p -5.07%Lonmin (LMI) 1,104.00p -4.83%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,843.00p -4.75%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,805.00p -4.42%Prudential (PRU) 572.00p -4.19%Glencore International (GLEN) 418.10p -4.16%FTSE 250 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 327.30p +4.90%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 850.00p +2.35%BH Global Ltd. GBP Shares (BHGG) 1,190.00p +0.68%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 204.00p +0.49%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 125.90p +0.40%BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 1,981.00p +0.25%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 74.10p +0.14%International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 113.30p +0.09%Perform Group (PER) 210.00p 0.00%Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) 462.00p 0.00%FTSE 250 - FallersImagination Technologies Group (IMG) 400.30p -10.23%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 39.80p -9.32%St James's Place (STJ) 291.00p -7.06%Mondi (MNDI) 483.60p -6.46%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 210.50p -5.61%TUI Travel (TT.) 146.30p -5.55%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 39.41p -5.31%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 230.40p -5.30%International Personal Finance (IPF) 201.30p -5.23%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 338.50p -5.05%