London afternoon: Buyers buzzing

The leading index is near its best levels of the day following a strong start on Wall Street, fuelled by new Basel III bank rules and impressive Chinese factory output.London is up for the fourth session in a row and trading higher for the eleventh day out of twelve, up at a new four-month high. Stocks haven't been this high since 30 April.Banks are among the top risers after a less stringent than feared Basle III decision by the European banking body. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds are both in demand.Prudential is also going well on a weekend report that a group of Chinese investors is in the early stages of considering a takeover bid.Miners are now the best performers in line with commodity prices, which were boosted by news that Chinese industrial production jumped a better than expected 13.9% year on year in August, calming fears about the global slowdown. Xstrata, Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Antofagasta are going well.In other company news, BP believes the true cost of the Gulf of Mexico disaster could be less than the $20bn (£13bn) it has parked in an escrow account to cover claims from victims of the oil spill. Analysts at Citigroup, who met with Bob Dudley, due to take over from Tony Hayward as chief executive on October 1, report that the figure "probably exceeds calls".Tullow Oil's Owo field just got bigger, "significantly" extended by a sidetrack at the Irish firm's previously announced Owo-1 discovery, offshore Ghana. Results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluids at the well in the Deepwater Tano licence confirm that Owo is a "major" new oil field, Tullow crowed Monday.AB Foods is lower. It expects its underlying results this year to be well ahead of last time as retail business Primark continues to power ahead, while sugar profits have recovered, but it said inflation may be a concern next year for Primark.BAE Systems has confirmed an auction for a chunk of its commercial aerospace business for as much as $2bn. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo will advise on the potential disposal. Soap maker PZ Cussons said it remains cautiously optimistic for the full year despite uncertainty about the global economic outlook and difficult trading conditions in some markets. Bluetooth chip specialist CSR is using its cash pile of more than $400m (£260m) to buy back as much as $50m (£32m) of shares. Bosses said they are "very confident" in the company's investment case and ability to generate shareholder value. Centamin Egypt has cut its production estimate for the year by as much as 20% due to machinery failures, lower grade ore and a drop in recoveries. The £2bn firm, mining the Sukari gold deposit in Egypt, has lowered its 2010 guidance to between 160,000 and 170,000 ounces of gold, down from 200,000 ounces previously.