Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

- Losses pared after US data.- Miners track metals prices lower.- European leaders weighing up ECB role in Greek aid.London's blue chip index finished in the red on Thursday but well off its intraday lows after US economic data came in stronger than expected in the afternoon. Nonetheless, concerns over Greece weighed on sentiment heavily for the better part of the day.Having said that, towards the close of trading reports appeared to the effect that Governments in Europe are thinking about reducing the interest rate on emergency loans extended to Greece and considering using the European Central Bank to help out with the new financing gap seen in the next bailout programme, according to Bloomberg. The website, citing two unnamed people close to the matter, said that finance ministers found that Greece's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio would fall to 129% by 2020, but would miss the target of 120%.Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said last night that Eurogroup leaders would make "all the necessary decisions" regarding a bailout on February 20th. Meanwhile, Greece's finance minister Evangelos Venizelos has accused Europe's leaders of "playing with fire" in delaying the next tranche of aid. "In the euro area, there are plenty who don't want us anymore. There are some playing with fire, domestically and abroad," he said. His German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, has been reported as saying that he did not want to "pour money into a bottomless pit". Helping the mood late on was economic data Stateside. Weekly initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 348,000, well below the 365,000 consensus estimate. This is the lowest level since March 2008. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index improved to 10.2 in February, compared with 7.3 last month, slightly ahead of the 10.0 reading forecasted by economists.The European Central Bank (ECB) has said that its survey of professional forecasters shows that they have slashed their forecasts for economic growth in 2012 and 2013. Real Eurozone gross domestic product is expected to contract by 0.1% this year and grow by 1.1% next year, compared with previous predictions of 0.8% and 1.6% growth, respectively. MINERS PROVIDE A DRAG AS METALS PRICE FALLWith the crisis in the Eurozone continuing to dampen the outlook for the global economy and strong US economic data sparking a rise in the dollar, a fall was seen in the value of greenback-denominated metals such as copper, gold and silver. Evraz, Polymetal, Randgold Resources, Anglo American, Antofagasta and Fresnillo led the fall late on.Essar Energy took a hit after announcing that its Indian oil subsidiary has today filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India to review the $1.235bn repayment of deferred sales tax, while BAE Systems, the defence contractor, fell after seeing headline sales decline by 14% in the 12 months ended December 31st. Banks ended the day mixed after Moody's said that it is reviewing the ratings of no less than 114 financial institutions across Europe and 17 global entities as the sovereign debt crisis continues to take its toll. The credit ratings agency aptly points out that the "adverse and prolonged" impact of the euro area crisis makes the operating environment "very difficult" for European banks. Despite an earlier fall, Barclays and Lloyds finished in the blue, while HSBC and RBS unable to shake off their losses.Information solutions provider Reed Elsevier was a high riser after seeing underlying revenues increase 2% in 2011, while food retailers Sainsbury, Morrison and Tesco gained as developments in Europe's crisis prompted investors to shift away from (relatively) 'riskier' assets such as mining stocks. TALVIVAARA AND AFRICAN BARRICK DROP ON THE FTSE 250Debt-laden Finnish miner Talvivaara Mining plunged over 14% after announcing the price at which it has placed a huge chunk of shares: 280p per share. Shares in the miner took a bashing after the company revealed plans to increase its shares in issue by around one-tenth through a share placing. The 280p a share placing price is nearly 50p below the mid-market closing price of Talvivaara on the day before the placing was announced. Talvivaara's shares fell as low as 282.8p at one point.Furthermore, shareholders were rocked by the news that Chief Executive Officer Pekka Perä is to become Executive Chairman, in contravention of what is regarded as best practice in City circles. Mining peer African Barrick Gold also took a tumble - with falling gold prices partly to blame -which came despite the Tanzania focused gold producer tripling its dividend for 2011 on the back of a 30% increase in earnings and strong cash generation. The share price fall could be linked to a decrease in production and attributable gold sales, which both declined dramatically in the final quarter. BCFTSE 100 - RisersReed Elsevier (REL) 549.50p +2.90%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 296.00p +2.03%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,492.00p +1.76%Wolseley (WOS) 2,355.00p +1.42%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 34.38p +1.34%Barclays (BARC) 244.90p +1.34%Capita (CPI) 652.50p +1.24%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 295.70p +1.16%National Grid (NG.) 647.00p +1.09%Glencore International (GLEN) 426.60p +1.09%FTSE 100 - FallersEvraz (EVR) 420.80p -3.55%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,075.00p -3.33%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,980.00p -2.45%BAE Systems (BA.) 325.20p -2.34%Essar Energy (ESSR) 123.60p -1.83%Amec (AMEC) 1,078.00p -1.82%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,303.00p -1.81%Anglo American (AAL) 2,644.00p -1.71%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,733.00p -1.65%Man Group (EMG) 132.00p -1.64%FTSE 250 - RisersMisys (MSY) 314.00p +2.95%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 779.50p +2.70%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 45.27p +2.42%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 58.50p +1.74%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 715.00p +1.71%BH Global Ltd. GBP Shares (BHGG) 1,189.00p +1.62%Exillon Energy (EXI) 246.70p +1.52%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.9 +1.36%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 56.25p +1.35%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,649.00p +1.35%FTSE 250 - FallersTalvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 281.90p -14.45%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 448.00p -13.60%Afren (AFR) 125.30p -5.43%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 185.50p -3.64%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 492.60p -3.60%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 305.00p -3.51%Cranswick (CWK) 803.50p -3.48%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 696.00p -3.33%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 35.50p -3.19%Ocado Group (OCDO) 96.35p -3.12%