Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

The much-anticipated January employment report from the US Labor Department didn't disappoint, with a better-than-expected increase in non-farm payrolls sending the FTSE 100 vertical in afternoon trading to break through the 5,900 level.The world's largest economy created 243,000 new jobs last month, well above the 150,000 that were being expected. In December, the number of new jobs was 200,000. The unemployment rate fell to 8.3% from December's 8.5%, catching the market by surprise. Meanwhile, the debt saga in Greece rumbled on with mixed signals being circulated all week. Now, it seems, a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers scheduled for Monday has now been postponed, as discussions between the Greek government and private creditors prove "very difficult", according to finance minister Evangelos Venizelos.Greek daily Ekathimerini has reported that the country's Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has threatened to resign if the country's political parties do not support the new fiscal austerity measures requested by the "troika" (European Union, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund). In domestic news, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predicts that the UK may fall back into recession this year, with gross domestic product expected to fall by 0.1%.ADMIRAL, BT AMONG THE RISERS ON THE FOOTSIE Insurance group Admiral rose strongly after extending its existing UK car insurance reinsurance partnerships with Hannover Re, Mapfre Re, New Re and Swiss Re until 2014. "Reinsurance has been at the core of Admiral's successful business model since 2000 and we look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial relationships with our partners for many years to come," said Chief Executive Officer Henry Engelhardt. Telecoms giant BT saw profits jump 48% in the third quarter, as the firm announced that it now expects to achieve its EBITDA target of above £6,000m this year, rather than in 2013. Shares in Tullow Oil rose after the firm signed two new production sharing agreements (PSAs) with the government of Uganda, covering the EA-1 and Kanywataba licences in the Lake Albert Rift Basin. Tullow will now finalise arrangements with CNOOC and Total for completion of the farm-down and the related transfer of monies as soon as possible, the statement said. Banking peers Lloyds and Barclays were 5% and 4% higher, respectively, while fellow lender Royal Bank of Scotland rose a lesser 1% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock from buy to hold. Xstrata and Glencore were making gains a day after announcing that they are in talks about a merger of equals to create a giant company valued at around £52bn (in market capitalisation terms at least). FTSE 250: MISYS BACK IN PLAY Bid speculation seems to permanently surround financial software provider Misys of late and it appears that there is no smoke without fire, as the group has confirmed it is in talks with a suitor. Shares edged higher. Bumi, the Indonesian coal miner, hit a bum note with shareholders who have demanded a meeting to request a meeting to persuade their fellow shareholders to boot out co-Chairman Nathaniel Rothschild along with a number of other members of the board. Specialist bank and asset manager Investec was flat after saying that assets under management excluding a contribution from the recently-acquired Evolution Group declined in the nine months to December 31st. Electrocomponents was in the red after seeing revenue growth slow down. Revenues in the four months to January 31st rose by 4%, but were only 1% higher in January alone. Small cap computer gaming retailer GAME Group was a big mover, surging over 20% after it confirmed revised terms have been agreed with its lenders. The group also cheered investors by indicating that losses in the year to January 31st, 2012, will not be as severe as feared. BCFTSE 100 - RisersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,038.00p +7.90%Man Group (EMG) 136.70p +7.81%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,017.00p +5.94%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 34.39p +5.07%ITV (ITV) 79.35p +4.75%Glencore International (GLEN) 482.55p +4.52%Xstrata (XTA) 1,283.00p +4.27%Barclays (BARC) 237.45p +4.19%Old Mutual (OML) 157.80p +4.16%BT Group (BT.A) 214.00p +3.93%FTSE 100 - FallersPetrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,474.00p -1.40%BG Group (BG.) 1,425.00p -0.49%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,165.00p -0.43%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,400.00p -0.27%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,261.00p -0.18%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,294.50p -0.13%FTSE 250 - RisersHays (HAS) 85.75p +7.25%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 75.00p +6.38%Home Retail Group (HOME) 117.10p +6.17%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 317.50p +5.94%3i Group (III) 205.20p +5.45%Regus (RGU) 107.80p +5.38%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 14.39p +5.04%Chemring Group (CHG) 425.00p +4.99%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 995.00p +4.90%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 119.90p +4.90%FTSE 250 - FallersBumi (BUMI) 850.00p -4.49%Carpetright (CPR) 583.50p -4.34%Premier Farnell (PFL) 210.00p -3.85%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 98.05p -2.53%Shanks Group (SKS) 110.50p -2.21%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 151.70p -2.13%SDL (SDL) 656.00p -2.09%Savills (SVS) 354.40p -1.96%Rank Group (RNK) 134.90p -1.96%WH Smith (SMWH) 527.50p -1.77%