SHB.L Share News (SHB)

A strong start on Wall Street has given renewed impetus to London's advance, with a strong showing by the Indian stock exchange also benefiting some India-focused stocks.Vedanta is a rare bright spot among miners, benefiting from the bounce Indian stocks received in the wake of the country's election result. India's Sensex index surged by 17% today, forcing the exchange to suspend trading. Oil company Cairn Energy also benefits from its Indian connections.Miner Antofagasta is another miner on the climb after announcing it has arranged a $1.05bn, 12-year financing facility for its Esperanza copper-gold project in Chile. Definitive agreements were signed by Minera Esperanza in which Antofagasta has a 70% stake. Marubeni Corporation owns the rest.Lloyds Banking surges after the company confirmed its open offer will go ahead with shares priced at 38.43p; there had been concerns that, in view of the sharp rise in the share price since the offer was originally proposed, the offer price of the shares would go up. In fact, the company has been even more favourable to shareholders, giving them the option of still benefiting from the open offer even if they choose not to buy any new shares. "Any proceeds raised in the rump placing in excess of the 38.43 pence open offer price will be distributed on a pro rata basis to those shareholders who did not participate in the placing and open offer," Lloyds said.Self storage group Big Yellow announced a placing of 11.6m shares to raise funds for medium term growth alongside a £71.5m full year loss. The fundraising, at an as yet undecided price, could raise about £31m at Friday's closing price of 270p a share, or about £29m at 250p. Great Portland Estates has confirmed it is considering a range of funding options to embark on a buying spree in the central London property market. Weekend reports suggested it is planning a cash call of between £120m-£150m to buy distressed property bargains at knock down prices. Great Portland is said to favour a right issue to be underwritten by advisers JP Morgan Cazenove and Credit Suisse. It could be announced with its results tomorrow, the reports suggested.Sector peer Shaftesbury is in the same boat, saying it is looking at options to fund a buying spree. Press reports over the week-end said was looking to add £150m to its war-chest.Brazil-based tug boat fleet operator Ocean Wilsons' revenues for the three months to March were US$103.6m, down 14.5% on the comparative period in 2008 (US$121.2m). Revenue decreased due to the unfavourable market conditions with volumes declining sharply in the port terminals and towage businesses, lower shipyard revenue and an adverse foreign exchange impact on Brazilian Real denominated revenues.Revenue increased at advertising firm Aegis during the first quarter against strong comparatives, but fell when acquisitions and a "significant" exchange rate benefit are excluded. Group revenue rose 6.5% in the first three months of 2009, up 4.8% at Aegis Media and 9.6% at the Synovate market research unit. Net revenue was up 10.9%.Merchant bank Close Brothers has sold Daiwa Securities its corporate finance advisory business for a net cash consideration of £67m. Close Brothers will receive gross consideration of £75m but will contribute £8m of working capital prior to completion.Support services specialist Mitie reported a 11% rise in full-year profits and said it sees opportunities for sustainable profitable growth. Pre-tax profit rose to £78.4m in the year ended 31 March from £70.6m last time as revenue increased 8.2% to £1,521.9m. The final dividend is up 15.0% to 6.9pForestry management group Fountains is at its best since early December after reporting higher profits before one-off costs and increasing the dividend by 14%. Pre-tax profit after a one-off charge dropped to £388,000 from £650,000 a year ago. Turnover rose to £21.2m from £20.7m.