London afternoon: Buoyant Wall St. lifts London

Shares added to the morning's gains over the lunchtime session, as investors correctly predicted a firm opening on Wall Street.The sale of Royal Bank of Scotland's Pakistan unit has fallen through after the deal failed to get the necessary regulatory approvals and complete before the 31 December deadline. Government-owned RBS agreed in August to sell its 99.4% stake in the business to Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) for $87m.That has not stopped the part-nationalised lender's shares notching up the biggest gain among blue-chips, with traders rushing to buy after Exane BNP Paribas suggested that 'fundamental (rather than purely speculative) investor interest' will return in 2010. The French bank has cranked up its rating from 'neutral' to 'outperform'.Broker tips also give a boost to DIY retailers Home Retail and Kingfisher. Societe Generale reckons sales trends at Home Retail's Homebase chain are on an upward curve, while Credit Suisse has turned more bullish on a number of non-food retailers, with Kingfisher among them,Cairn Energy is wanted on news the oil explorer has secured a second drilling rig to assist its exploration programme in the Disko West area offshore Greenland in the second half of 2010. The rig, the Stena Don, will work alongside the Stena Forth, and help increase Cairn's operational flexibility and capability in its exploration activities.Security company G4S has bought Nuclear Security Services Corporation (NSSC) from founder Inge Collins for $22m (£14m).On the downside, property groups are out of favour with Hammerson hit after it sold an office block in Paris at below book value. Land Securities, British Land and Liberty International decline in sympathy.Insurers are also out of favour, with Standard Life, Legal & General, Aviva and RSA the worst hit.Among second-liners mortgage lender Paragon gets a boost from the latest mortgage lending figures from the Bank of England, but the news has done nothing for housebuilders Bellway, Persimmon and Bovis, all of which fall, as does estate agent Savills. UBS has developed an appetite for The Restaurant Group, owner of the Frankie & Bennie's and Chiquito brands. The Swiss bank has raised its rating for the stock from neutral to buy and upped its price target from 205p to 218p,Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has been accused of being 'puerile' and 'childish' over its payment policy by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). John Fingleton, the business watchdog's chief executive, criticised the carrier for adding fees when customers use a specific type of bank card to pay online. He said Ryanair operates within 'the narrow letter of the law.'Blue-collar recruitment and training specialist Staffline said earnings for the full year will be in line with upwardly revised market expectations. The group announced in November that it anticipates earnings to be ahead of forecasts.Medical technology group Lifeline Scientific expects results for calendar year 2009 to be ahead of forecasts after strong trading during the second half of the year.Aim-listed Radicle Projects, set up to buy Australian agribusinesses, said pre-tax losses widened sharply in 2009.Diagnostics testing kit firm Immunodiagnostic Systems (IDH) hopes to benefit from a new 5-year distribution agreement signed by Technogenetics to which IDH supplies its products.