TAL.L Share News (TAL)

London had a difficult morning despite a more upbeat assessment of the economy's prospects from the CBI.The employers' organisation reckons the UK could be out of recession by the end of the year, but any better sentiment was almost immediately squashed by the IMF saying the opposite. It believes there could more bad news to come even though it too expects a recovery to start at the beginning of 2010.Platinum miner Lonmin leads the fallers after it shut down its Number One furnace. The group's initial estimate is that a full repair of the vessel is likely to take around 30 days. Other miners are also under pressure led by Rio Tinto, Vedanta, Antofagasta and.ENRC.Among oil stocks Tullow is the major faller, with Royal Dutch Shell not far behind. The recent rally by the dollar has upset the resources sector say traders.Lloyds is the best performer, but only three other blue-chip companies are currently in positive territory at the moment, one of which is AstraZeneca after Citigroup upgraded the stock to 'buy'. Pub owner Punch Taverns is to raise approximately £350m through a placing and open offer and intends to make a tender offer to purchase any or all of its outstanding convertible bonds. The group also said today that trading results to date reflect the challenging market conditions being faced by the sector. Rival pub groups Marston's and Greene King are weak in sympathy. Reports at the weekend that Lloyds Banking will lose an estimated £450m on Admiral Taverns, the pub giant, have also upset the pub groups.Support services group Serco has renewed and expanded its contract for air traffic services at Dubai International Airport. The new contract is valued at £245m over a longer period of ten years.Addax Petroleum has soared on a weekend story it will receive a £4.8bn bid from Sinopec, the Chinese state oil group, trumping an approach from the Korean National Oil Corporation. Wine warehouse chain Majestic Wine reported a 55.8% drop in full-year profits but said it has made a more encouraging start to the new financial year. TV programme maker Ten Alps achieved growth in profits and margins in line with market expectations for the year despite the tough conditions. Housebuilder and contractor Galliford Try has been awarded a £54m contract called Campus 21 by West Kent College to redevelop the college's Tonbridge campus. The redevelopment will include the construction of a new performance arts building, a main reception area, a community hub and learning areas.Educational computing specialist RM said it has been selected as ICT supplier for the Salford and Wigan Building Schools for the Future programme with the first stage expected to be worth up to £26m over the next five years.Household goods and engineering group Metalrax tumbled after it warned results in the current year could fall below current market expectations.