RGS.L Share News (RGS)

London's blue chips are now well down on the 21-month high seen last week after sellers dominated the morning session.ICAP is the heaviest faller. The inter-dealer broker has decided to close elements of its cash equities business after conducting a broad ranging strategic review. As a result, the group will no longer offer an integrated full service agency cash equities business, including research, in Europe and Asia.But shares in Smiths Group are higher. Smiths Interconnect, a division of the technology firm, announced the $185m all-cash purchase of Kansas City-based Interconnect Devices Inc. (IDI) from private equity firm Milestone Partners.Royal Dutch Shell is in the news after Australian coal bed methane producer Arrow Energy agreed to a raised bid worth A3.4bn (£2.06bn) bid from the UK oil giant and partner PetroChina.The pair are now offering A$4.70 a share in cash for Arrow's Australian assets plus one share in a new listed company to be called Dart Energy. Dart will contain Arrow's Asian exploration assets. The original offer was worth A$4.45 a share.Building supplies group Wolseley is still finding the going tough, although half year losses narrowed sharply and the rate of like for like revenue decline continued to slow. It lost £261m in the six months to 31 January, less than the £464m deficit reported a year ago. The loss before exceptional items shrank to £7m from £344m. Gulfsands Petroleum has agreed to acquire working interest positions in two exploration permits in Tunisia (Chorbane and Kerkouane Permits) and one exploration permit in Southern Italy from AuDAX Resources. Cable & Wireless Communications has started trading after the first stage of the demerger. Cable & Wireless Worldwide starts trading on 26 March. Shares in Irn Bru maker AG Barr are fizzing after it reported a 21% jump in full-year pre-tax profits and said current trading is ahead of the same period last year. Profit on ordinary activities before tax and exceptional items increased to £27.9m in the year ended 30 January from £23.1m last time. Turnover increased by 18.7% to £201.4m.Outsourced workplaces provider Regus saw full-year pre-tax profits plunge and said its outlook remains unclear. Pre-tax profit dropped to £86.9m in the year ended 31 December compared with £149.2m last time.Ports operator and bid target Forth Ports has agreed to meet the consortium that made a takeover offer in February, but only because they are shareholders as it again reiterated that the indicated offer of 1,340p per share was still well short of its valuation.