PVCS.L Share News (PVCS)

Water utility company Severn Trent was the only FTSE 100 constituent to advance during the morning session, as all of the others ended the morning underwater.If the move by Germany's financial regulator to impose an immediate ban on "naked short selling" of corporate debt last night was intended to settle markets, the move has backfired spectacularly, with most of the major European stock markets down by two or even three percentage points.Mining companies are bearing the brunt in London with Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta all nursing falls of 5% or more.While its fellow utility company Severn Trent is enjoying the support of risk averse investors Scottish & Southern Energy is fading. The energy company increased full-year underlying profit by 3%, in line with expectations, and added a quarter of a million new energy customers during the period. The UK's second-biggest electricity producer reported adjusted profit before tax rose to £1.29bn in the year ended March 2010 from £1.25bn last time.In the financial sector profit before exceptional items fell 5% at interdealer broker ICAP in the year to 31 March, down to £333m from £350m in 2009. Revenue rose 1% to £1.6bn.A "dramatic turnaround" in the UK commercial property market saw Land Securities swing strongly back into the black. In the year to March, the value of Land Securities' investment properties increased by £863m or 10.3% with basic net asset value up 17% to 750p. Shares in plant hire specialist Speedy Hire fell as it reported a full year adjusted pre-tax loss and said while it was encouraged by stable levels of recent trading, there remained many difficult months ahead.Pub owner Mitchells & Butlers posted a sharp recovery in underlying profits to £73m from £47m in the half year to March, as it fleshed out its plans to move away from drink-led outlets to food-based ones. Sales in the half-year to end April rose from £1.02bn to £1.04bn. Operating profits rose by 12% to £156m.Insurer Lancashire Holdings edges higher after ratings agency Standard & Poor's assigned an "A-" counter-party credit rating and financial strength rating on the insurer's subsidiaries Lancashire Insurance Company Limited and Lancashire Insurance Company (UK) Limited. Pearson has agreed the takeover of training group Melorio for a total consideration of 225p per share in cash or £99.3m in total. Melorio announced it was in bid talks yesterday and the price is a 31% premium to the day before that announcement. Artificial joint maker Corin has revealed trading for the first four months of the year was in line with expectations, with constant currency sales up 6%.The outlook is sunnier for PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS), the company that makes the silicon wafers used in solar power systems, as demand for its products improve. The company said shipment volumes for the first half of 2010 are expected to be in the range of 155-160 megawatts (mw), an upgrade on the guidance of 145-155mw given at the end of March and a significant improvement on the 139mw shipped in the second half of 2009. Revenues for the six months to the end of June are expected to be above management's previous expectations. Shares in Parity slumped after the IT services group announced the departure of its chief executive Alwyn Welch. He will be replaced by Phil Davies, who founded the company and was chief executive of the company from its creation in 1994 until 1999.Private equity group BlueGem Capital has made a recommended offer to buy luxury department store operator Liberty for about £32m. The offer is equivalent to 141.8p a share. Liberty plans to pay a 44.2p special dividend to shareholders if the offer is declared unconditional. Shares in security and surveillance company Petards fell sharply after it said it was implementing a capital reorganisation due to the share price being below the nominal value of existing ordinary shares.FTSE 100 - RisersSevern Trent (SVT) 1,169.00p +0.09%FTSE 100 - FallersHome Retail Group (HOME) 254.40p -7.32%Xstrata (XTA) 941.50p -6.74%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,002.00p -6.13%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,148.00p -5.90%Antofagasta (ANTO) 851.00p -5.55%Barclays (BARC) 289.65p -5.30%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,014.00p -4.52%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 328.60p -4.50%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,846.50p -4.45%Lonmin (LMI) 1,668.00p -4.30%