London afternoon: Prices bubble over

Equity prices came off the top over the lunch-time session but remain firmly in the blue, albeit in thin trade, largely due to the strength of miners.Mining giant Rio Tinto is higher despite seeing profits falling by more than half in the six months to June 30 as it felt the impact of sharply lower commodity prices amid tough economic conditions globally.Pre-tax profits for the period totalled $4.39bn, compared with $9.82bn over the same period the previous year, as sales fell to $19.52bn from $30bn.Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of Indian miner Vedanta Resources, is to increase its offer terms for the purchase of most of the assets of Asarco LLC. The purchase price is being upped by $500m to around $2.1bn.Elsewhere in the sector Lonmin, Xstrata, Antofagasta and Anglo American all advance strongly. Tesco Personal Finance (TPF), the banking arm of supermarket top dog Tesco, is to create more than 800 jobs in Glasgow with the opening of a new customer service centre.Technology firm Autonomy is wanted after it said Autonomy Scrittura, its flagship product for automating critical trade-related processes, is now powered by Autonomy's Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL). The company claimed the integration would prove a boon to capital markets institutions, 'allowing them to meet the increasingly rigorous compliance requirements in the derivatives industry.'Bus and rail operators are in the red after the Office of Fair Trading said it would refer the local bus industry to Competition Commission after finding evidence that limited competition could be leading to higher prices for bus users.Major operators Arriva, Stagecoach, Go-Ahead, First Group and National Express control most of the bus services.Support services group Carillion said its joint venture with technology services firm Telent has signed a letter of intent with BT's Openreach for a support services contract worth in the region of £1bn.Mortgage lending hit a nine-month high last month, but is still down 36% on last year, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The news perked up housebuilders such as Barratt Developments and Taylor Woodrow and lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland.Building products group SIG posted a sharp fall in profits as weakness in the construction market persisted into the first half of 2009. Pre-tax profits in the six months to June 30 fell to £15.4m from £48.5m over the same period the previous year as revenue fell to £1.34bn from £1.44bn. Spirax-Sarco saw interim profits tumble 28% as higher impairment charges and challenging trading conditions weighed. Pre-tax profit fell to £30.2m from £41.9m on sales in the half year that rose 5% to £251.6. At constant exchange rates, sales declined 8% against a comparatively strong first half of 2008. The interim divi has been raised 5% to 10.5p.Wellstream, pipeline products maker for the oil and gas industry, saw half-year profits slide and revised its short term expectations as the timing of awards for production slows.Cinema operator Cineworld served up an increase in half year pre-tax profit and said the second half has started very well. Profit before tax increased to £11.6m for the 27 week period ended 2 July 2009 from £8.7m the year before.Brambles, the world's biggest supplier of pallets, posted a fall in profits as weakness in the global automotive industry and other sectors hit demand for its products.Marketing software provider smartFOCUS is to launch a localised version of its software in the Japanese market.Shares in Capital & Regional plummeted more than 45% after the property fund manager reported a half-year loss and announced a £69.2m capital raising. The group said it intends to raise the cash through a placing to new cornerstone investor Parkdev and an underwritten placing and open offer to ordinary shareholders.East Russia-focused exploration and development company Amur Minerals pleased shareholders with details of a reserves estimate that it has submitted for regulatory approval. The total contained metal value for its Maly Krumkon (MK) deposit is $1.8bn, the company said. This figure is based on the current spot market prices of $20,000 per tonne ($9.07 per pound) for nickel and $6,200 per tonne ($2.81 per pound) for copper.