London open: Solid start to week

Relief at the relatively benign results of the European banking system stress test has encouraged buyers into the market.Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are all strongly ahead after they sailed through the tests last week. Tony Hayward, the embattled BP chief executive, will collect a pay and pension package worth £11.8m when he falls on his sword this week, according to press reports. However, the company has issued a statement saying that no decision has yet been made on Hayward's position though it hinted heavily that the topic will be discussed at this evening's board meeting being held ahead of tomorrow's second quarter results. Elsewhere in the oil sector, Tullow Oil said it has found a significant column of excellent quality light oil when drilling the Owo-1 exploration well in the Deepwater Tano licence offshore Ghana. Results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluids have established Owo as a major new oil field requiring further appraisal, it added.Financial Times publisher Pearson reported a rise in first-half profits and upped its full-year outlook. Adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £203m in the six months period from £111m on sales of £2.34bn compared with £2.15bn previously. The board declared an interim dividend of 13p per share, a 7% increase on 2009. Reckitt Benckiser saw net revenue rise by 10% to £2,061m in the second quarter of 2010. Net income improved 23% to £380m. Chief executive officer Bart Becht said the results were in line with the group's full year targets. Guidance on full year performance has been left unchanged.Betting firm William Hill is to close down its UK telephone betting operations and switch them to Gibraltar.Digital TV set-top box maker Pace reported a 46% hike in half year pre-tax profit and announced the proposed acquisition of 2Wire for an expected $55m to beef up its US customer base. "Given the group's first half performance and good visibility for the second half, the board is in the process of revising its expectations for the 2010 financial year," it said in a company statement.The bad news keeps piling up for Connaught, the social housing group which issued a profits warning last month, with the company admitting it is in dire need of cash. The company said its "urgent requirement for additional funds to meet the current and ongoing needs of the business" has been caused, in part, by additional pressure from suppliers and sub-contractors. Tullow Oil Barclays Pearson Lloyds BP