London pre-open: Fed comments cast a shadow

Downbeat comments by the Federal Reserve about the US economy are having an effect on this side of the pond, with traders in no mood to chase prices higher.The Fed said the US economy is improving but consumer spending has remained under pressure due to the tough jobs market and tight credit conditions. Traders expect the FTSE 100 to open down 20 points at 5,119.Pub group Mitchells & Butlers expects earnings for the current year to be slightly above current market estimates thanks to its improved sales performance. The group saw same outlet like-for-like sales growth of 2.6% in the 10 weeks to 19 September. In the 51 weeks, like-for-like sales growth was 1.6% and total retail sales were up by 3.4%.Defence group BAE Systems is to take full control of BVT Surface Fleet Limited, its joint venture with fellow defence firm VT Group. VT has exercised its option to sell its 45% holding in the company to BAE Systems for around £346m in cash.Losses soared at the discount sports retailer JJB Sports in the half year to July 26 during a tough period which saw the firm narrowly avoid going into administration. Pre-tax losses during the period widened to £42.9m from £13.9m as revenues slumped to £178.6m from £310.4m.The London Stock Exchange said the average daily value traded on its SETS electronic trading system declined by 43% in the five month ended August. The exchange operator, which snapped up Sri Lankan trading platform software group MillenniumIT for $30m last week, saw SETS average daily value traded drop to £4.6bn, while trading volume at Borsa Italiana was up 4% on last year at 262,000 trades per day.Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of Indian miner Vedanta Resources, said a chimney under construction at its BALCO site in Korba, India, has collapsed. Full scale relief and rescue operations are underway, with the involvement of the company and the government resources. Work activities in the immediate area have been temporarily suspended, but otherwise operations remain unaffected.Advertising firm M&C Saatchi saw revenues fall in the first half of 2009, but managed to stay profitable despite extremely difficult conditions for the sector. Pre-tax profits during the period fell to £5.4m from £8m over the same period the previous year as total revenues declined to £49.8m from £51.8m. Mitchells & Butlers BAE Systems M&C Saatchi