Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Stocks were up at the day's best levels by lunchtime following a subdued start, with insurance outfit Admiral leading the charge. Miners on the other hand, are providing a drag, pulling back from their strong showing yesterday on the back of heightened M&A speculation in the sector.Markets were given a lift after service sector purchasing managers' indices (PMIs) in the UK and the Eurozone showed improvements on last month: the Markit/CIPS UK services PMI rose from 54 to 56 in January, ahead of a 53 forecast; while Markit's Eurozone services PMI increased from 48.8 to 50.4, just shy of expectations but still reaching a five-month high. Investors now await the January employment report due out later today in the US.As Greece continues talks with private creditors in an attempt to reach a deal on the debt swap, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is busy making moves to increase its emergency funds in order to head off any possible crisis. The IMF itself calculates that about $1 trillion will be needed to stave off the Eurozone debt crisis. IMF Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki Shinohara said half that amount should come from the IMF, while Europe would provide the other half. The old world already plans to implement the €500bn European Stability Mechanism (ESM) rescue fund that should replace the current European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) next July.Meanwhile, EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn repeated predictions made by other European officials that a deal would be reached "by the end of the week". 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%. "We forecast a return to technical recession in the first half of this year, as households continue to retrench, credit conditions remain tight, and businesses are reluctant to invest given uncertainty about both domestic and foreign demand," NIESR said. 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 among the risers, while fellow lender Royal Bank of Scotland fell after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock from buy to hold. Miners were pulling back after yesterday's strong rise with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta among the worst performers. Xstrata and Glencore however, 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. The market reaction was rather muted though.Specialist bank and asset manager Investec fell 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 30% 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) 1,025.00p +6.55%Man Group (EMG) 131.10p +3.39%BT Group (BT.A) 212.10p +3.01%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,372.00p +2.77%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,302.00p +2.60%Smiths Group (SMIN) 981.50p +2.24%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 33.40p +2.05%Compass Group (CPG) 617.00p +1.90%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 699.00p +1.90%Capita (CPI) 631.50p +1.85%FTSE 100 - FallersRio Tinto (RIO) 3,893.00p -2.20%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,155.50p -1.80%Evraz (EVR) 447.60p -1.73%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,470.00p -1.67%ICAP (IAP) 375.60p -1.49%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,174.00p -1.43%Essar Energy (ESSR) 130.20p -1.36%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,991.00p -1.34%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,306.00p -1.28%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,158.00p -1.03%FTSE 250 - RisersOphir Energy (OPHR) 313.80p +4.70%Henderson Group (HGG) 119.50p +3.73%Home Retail Group (HOME) 113.80p +3.17%TR Property Inv Trust Sigma Shares (TRYS) 65.40p +2.51%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 117.10p +2.45%Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 1,535.00p +2.40%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 474.40p +2.37%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 767.50p +2.33%TUI Travel (TT.) 203.20p +2.26%Ladbrokes (LAD) 147.70p +2.07%FTSE 250 - FallersPremier Farnell (PFL) 208.60p -4.49%AZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 300.60p -4.33%Electrocomponents (ECM) 224.90p -3.93%Fenner (FENR) 447.60p -3.91%ITE Group (ITE) 223.70p -2.74%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 330.80p -2.56%Carpetright (CPR) 596.00p -2.30%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.33 -1.82%Diploma (DPLM) 394.30p -1.77%SDL (SDL) 658.50p -1.72%