London open: OfGem report prompts National Grid surge

Buoyed by a strong performance last night on Wall Street and the recovery this morning of Tokyo, London has started the day on the front foot.Miners are pushing the blue-chip index higher, with Xstrata, African Barrick and BHP Billiton to the fore. It is power and gas grid operator National Grid that is the best performer, however, after OfGem published details of its new price review regime which it said will provide strong incentives and penalties to encourage smarter, more sustainable networks, delivering improved customer service.The price controls for Britain's gas and electricity transmission and gas distribution networks will run for eight years from 2013 until 2021.To encourage greater innovation, Ofgem will set up a £400m fund for the transmission and gas distribution companies. Bookmaker William Hill has been granted an extension to the injunction preventing Playtech from selling its stake in William Hill Online. In court yesterday, it was agreed the injunction will stay in place until a further court hearing which is expected to occur in May or shortly thereafter.London and south-east housebuilder Berkeley continues to benefit from the region's position as a pocket of strength in an otherwise gloomy housing market. "Berkeley anticipates reporting earnings at the high end of its expectations for the year ended 30 April 2011 and the investment in work in progress will enable a further growth in earnings in 2011/12 if overall market conditions permit," it said.Fund manager Jupiter, which relisted in June, enjoyed a profit burst in 2010. Profit before tax came in at £42.4m compared with £7.2m in 2009. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 37% o £124.6m.Having lowered expectations in January with a profits warning building services group T. Clarke managed to beat those downgraded expectations. Revenue in 2010 rose to £179.0m versus £175.5m in 2009 and against market expectations of £169.0m. Profit before tax slipped to £5.7m from £7.3m the year before. The market had pencilled in a figure of £5.63m.AssetCo's major shareholders are rallying round the cash-strapped outsourced fire services provider, ready to chip in with money to boost working capital.The company has had to rattle the begging bowl again because creditors have been demanding earlier repayment than usual since news emerged that the company is set to raise new funds through a placing. The demands have placed a considerable strain on AssetCo's working capital.Manganese Bronze, the company behind London's iconic black cabs, narrowed losses in 2010 and still thinks it can return to profit this year. The firm announced a deficit of £6.3m for the year just gone - "a year of transition" - down by a million from 2009, though revenue fell 5% to £69.6m as total new vehicle sales dropped by 154 to 1,879. Restructuring cost £3.5m.FTSE 100 - RisersNational Grid (NG.) 566.50p +2.53%Xstrata (XTA) 1,401.00p +1.67%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,425.00p +1.64%BP (BP.) 463.90p +1.38%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,627.00p +1.31%Unilever (ULVR) 1,827.00p +1.27%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,315.00p +1.23%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 275.40p +1.21%Amec (AMEC) 1,124.00p +1.17%3i Group (III) 298.50p +1.12%FTSE 100 - FallersEssar Energy (ESSR) 471.70p -0.92%Vodafone Group (VOD) 169.90p -0.90%Carnival (CCL) 2,481.00p -0.68%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 333.60p -0.45%BT Group (BT.A) 177.60p -0.39%Next (NXT) 1,947.00p -0.26%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,584.00p -0.25%Barclays (BARC) 283.00p -0.19%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,249.00p -0.16%Whitbread (WTB) 1,619.00p -0.12%FTSE 250 - RisersBerkeley Group Holdings (BKG) 1,036.00p +3.19%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 546.50p +2.92%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 37.75p +2.83%Redrow (RDW) 123.60p +2.83%FTSE 250 - FallersDaejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,644.00p -3.82%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 308.00p -3.24%JPMorgan Indian Inv Trust (JII) 406.60p -1.72%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 87.05p -1.36%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 923.00p -1.07%