Blue chips put on a spurt over the lunch time session despite drugs giant Astra issuing disappointing fourth quarter figures.The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals firm saw fourth quarter earnings rise 10% but warned that its predicted 2010 revenues would be hit by the loss of exclusive rights to sell certain drugs. AstraZeneca also announced plans to chop 8,000 jobs fro its 63,000 workforce.Pay TV and Internet service provider British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) had a strong second quarter with revenues coming in marginally ahead of expectations. Turnover in the six months to the end of December 2009 was £2.87bn, up 10% from £2.6bn the year before and better than the £2.86bn some brokers were tipping.Fellow broadcaster ITV raised eyebrows in the City by appointing Royal Mail boss Adam Crozier as its new chief executive. The appointment of Crozier, who had run the Football Association prior to joining Royal Mail, ends a long, and at times farcical, search for a replacement for Michael Grade, who announced last April he wanted to stand down.Banks have rebounded after a recent sell-off following President Obama's planned back reforms. A number of senior figures slammed the proposals yesterday and noises out of Europe suggest they have not gone down well with governments here either. Barclays, Lloyds Banking and Royal Bank of Scotland are higher.It's been a busy day on the announcements front for miners. South African platinum miner Lonmin reiterated its sales and cost guidance for the year but said tonnes mined from its Marikana underground operations fell slightly in the first quarter.Kazakh industrial metals giant Kazakhmys saw copper cathode production fall by 7% in 2009 as it suspended four mines to cut costs amid a period of low prices for the red metal.After a strike ridden third quarter the final quarter of 2009 was much better for platinum producer Aquarius, with attributable production improving by around one-sixth. The group said platinum group metals dollar prices improved by 18% over the quarter.Sugar and sweetener manufacturer Tate & Lyle has turned a little sour after saying its third quarter performance was marginally below expectations due to lower sales of industrial products in the Americas. Private equity group 3i said it has started 2010 in a strong financial position and has continued to see good realisations from its portfolio.Rolls-Royce has won a share of an order from Jetstar Airways for V2500 engines to power up to 90 Airbus A320 family aircraft. The order is worth up to $1.2bn to Rolls-Royce if all options are exercised.Brokers Deutche Bank sees green shoots of recovery in Vodafone's second quarter performance but thinks these will be more apparent in the third quarter trading update and advises investors to buy the shares ahead of the recovery.The dark days appear to be behind specialist mortgage lender Paragon, with the company's portfolio of loans performing in line, but the group is not yet ready to start lending again. Redemptions in the final quarter of 2009 remained low and at similar levels to those seen in the six months to the end of September, while customer payment performance continues to be superior to market wide data, the company said.AG Barr said soft drinks sales over the final quarter came in better than company expectations and full year profit is now expected to come in ahead of market expectations.Support services group VT has continued to perform well since the end of September, with the order book remaining above £4bn.Stockbroker and fund manager Brewin Dolphin reported a 11.5% rise in first quarter income and said improved trading conditions have continued.Robert Wiseman Dairies said sales volume and turnover for the 17 week period ended 23 January are slightly ahead of management expectations. It's full steam ahead for energy efficiency company Eaga which claims its core markets are 'relatively insulated' from the depressed economic conditions.Consumer electronics group Armour expects to meet the current market expectations for the full year despite the disruption caused by the January weather.
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