Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

Share prices levelled out over the lunch time session, but investors remain in good heart as fears over European sovereign debt contagion recede in the wake of a show of support for eurozone bond issues from Japan.It has been a good day for banks, with Societe Generale issuing a bullish note on the sector and the UK government throwing in the towel in its fight against the culture of excessive bonuses.As a trade-off for no additional taxes on the expected £7bn of UK bonuses this year, the banks are in talks to raise their business lending by 10%, or £20bn, to £200bn. Shares in Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS are all sharply higher, helped by SocGen upgrading the European banking sector to "overweight". Citigroup has pitched in as well, with positive comments on HSBC, which it has upgraded to "buy" from "hold".In company updates, Marks and Spencer, slightly lower today, saw group sales rise 4% in the final quarter of 2010. The response to the figures from the investment analyst community was generally favourable but the cautious outlook on 2011 trading has put off some investors. "We continue to expect the trading conditions ahead to be more challenging as consumers' disposable incomes come under pressure from increased VAT rates and the impact of public spending cuts," the company warned.US shopping mall giant Simon Property has dropped its indicative bid for Capital Shopping Centres, another faller today, but will still vote against the 'deeply unattractive' acquisition of Manchester's Trafford Centre. Simon had proposed a bid of 425p per share for the shopping centre group, but this was conditional on being given access to the books. After the CSC board repeatedly refused this, Simon says it had no option but to withdraw. The Takeover Panel had given it a deadline of until 12 January to make an offer.Elsewhere in property British Land is to purchase Marble Arch House in London's West End. The company is paying the present owners, The Portman Estate, £18m for the development site, which currently consists of two mixed use five story buildings on the corner of Seymour Street and the Edgware Road.Chip-maker Arm Holdings, which has announced two new partners at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is going well again after a bout of profit taking after its ground-breaking deal with Microsoft last week. In contrast, medical devices firm Smith & Nephew is today's target for profit takers, after its share price spiked yesterday on reports of a bid approach from US health products giant Johnson & Johnson.Bluetooth chip specialist CSR storms higher after saying it has agreed to pay $67.5m to settle with US firm Broadcom in the patent infringement case brought against its subsidiary SiRF. Terms of the settlement will see CSR pay an initial sum of $5m plus $12.5m for the next five years. CSR expects ongoing legal fees will be reduced by at least $10m per annum as a result of the settlement. Bedding and home furnishings retailer Dunelm had a tough time during the run up to Christmas, with its out of town retail locations hit by snow, while rising costs and consumer demand remain a concern. LFL sales for the 26 weeks to 1 January slipped 1.2% as a 4.2% tumble in the second quarter cancelled growth of 2.1% in the first three months of the financial year. It's also cautious about the UK consumer environment and in its expectations for second half trading.Having raised market expectations back in November, Howden Joinery did so again today after it put in a strong finish to 2010. In the period from 4 October to 25 December, total sales of Howden Joinery UK depots were over 6% higher than in the corresponding period in 2009, if the benefit of an additional day's trading in the 2010 pre-Christmas week is excluded. Topping off a good session for builders merchants, Wolseley has had its price target upped to 3000p by Citigroup, while Deutsche Bank has also raised its target price. Travis Perkins rises in sympathy.Support services and construction group Interserve said it is trading in line with expectations after a strong second half and announced it had won a series of contracts worth around £500m. IT services provider Computacenter said pre-tax profit for 2010 is expected to be towards the top end of the range of market expectations as demand continues to pick up.Hard pressed Gulf of Mexico-focused oil company Leed Petroleum saw net attributable production tumble in the final quarter of 2010.Luxury car competition company Best of the Best said trading in the six months to the end of October was in line with market expectations.Research and development consultant Sagentia expects revenue for 2010 will be in excess of £20m and profit before tax in excess of £2.0m, well ahead of market expectations. Current market consensus for 2010 is for pre-tax profit of £1.71m on revenue of £18m.Document management specialist IDOX posted lower revenues in the year to 31 October, but said that tight cost controls and efficiency gains helped it to a rise in profits.