Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Pharmaceutical group Shire was making gains after Reuters reported that it has hired investment bank Citi as an advisor as it braces itself for takeover bids. The company's Irish tax base and its mid-sized market value of £22bn makes it a prime acquisition target, analysts told the news agency.Whitbread shares jumped after the group delivered a strong result for the first quarter, which saw it book a 6.9% rise in like-for-like sales and total sales by 14.2% in the 13 weeks to May 29th. The news prompted Investec to raise its target price from 2,000p to 4,100p and upgraded it from 'sell' to 'hold'.Morrison Supermarkets rose after it confirmed plans to slash 2,600 jobs as part of plans to reorganise and simplify its management structure. Having trialled the new structure on a small scale, the retail chain has decided to roll out the plan across the group. Chief Executive Dalton Philips said it was "the right time" to modernise the mangement of its stores. Oil stock Tullow continued to rise amid the ongoing turmoil and violence spreading south in Iraq. Lloyds Banking Group climbed after Exane shifted its target price from 115p to 120p, retaining an outperform rating. Insurer RSA is rumoured to be looking to sell its Asian operations in an auction that could fetch up to $500m and draw a wide range of suitors. Meanwhile, Ashtead engaged in a round of profit taking after the industrial rental group posted record profit for the year to April 30th, helping earnings beat expectations comfortably. Kingfisher dropped after Oriel downgraded it from 'hold' to 'sell' with a target price of 350p, while CRH was downgraded to neutral by Exane. Miners were hit by weaker sentiment as investors digested developments in Iraq. FTSE 100 - RisersShire Plc (SHP) 3,666.00p +3.68%Whitbread (WTB) 4,262.00p +2.26%Tullow Oil (TLW) 874.50p +2.10%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 191.90p +1.91%G4S (GFS) 259.90p +1.40%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 322.10p +1.39%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 490.20p +1.30%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 77.64p +1.28%Old Mutual (OML) 195.80p +1.24%ARM Holdings (ARM) 895.50p +1.19%FTSE 100 - FallersAshtead Group (AHT) 838.50p -5.47%Royal Mail (RMG) 478.90p -2.01%Friends Life Group Limited (FLG) 315.90p -1.83%Kingfisher (KGF) 363.80p -1.65%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,835.50p -1.58%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,250.00p -1.42%Fresnillo (FRES) 810.50p -1.40%Anglo American (AAL) 1,407.50p -1.02%St James's Place (STJ) 760.50p -0.98%CRH (CRH) 1,622.00p -0.98%NR