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BP regained some of Thursday's heavy losses which came after it was found negligent in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Terrace Hill firm in ex-RAF site deal: Urban&Civic has been appointed as the Manager for a 6,500-home development on the site of a former Royal Air Force barracks.

Eland boosted by restart of Nigeria crude production: Shares in Eland Oil & Gas have risen 5% after the company announced it has restarted production in Nigeria, where it has been hampered by thefts of crude oil.

Betfair suffers major investor revolt after relaxing targets for its former management team to collect share bonuses: Betfair suffered a major investor revolt after relaxing targets for its former management team to collect share bonuses.

Strong performances from both bus and rail drive full year profits higher at transport firm Go-Ahead Group: Transport group Go-Ahead has enjoyed a 44% rise in full year profits as both its rail and bus divisions performed ‘significantly’ better than expected.

Ashtead up on strong start: Tool and construction equipment rental group Ashtead weathered an investor revolt on Executive pay at its AGM as it said first quarter profits had increased on the back of a resilient U.S. construction market. Geoff Drabble, Chief Executive, defended the pay packages based on the share price performance during the past five years, adding that the company has continued to have a healthy dialogue with shareholders throughout the past three years. Ashtead said it plans to spend 25% more than previously expected on new kit such as diggers, cherry pickers and drills. Management increased capital expenditure guidance to £875 million, up from the previous target of £700 million. Ashtead has been taking advantage of the U.S. trading by investing heavily in its fleet of equipment. So while profits have soared, debt levels are rising. The company had a £63 million operating cash outflow during the first three months and net debt increased to £1.3 billion at the end of July, up from to £1.19 billion at the same stage last year. Putting that into perspective, net assets on the balance sheet were £878 million. When a company generates as much cash as Ashtead it has the choice of going for growth or returning it to shareholders. In the current year Ashtead is expected to spend £875 million on new equipment to drive revenue and profit growth and return around £70 million by way of dividends. Putting that into perspective, net assets on the balance sheet were £878 million. When a company generates as much cash as Ashtead it has the choice of going for growth or returning it to shareholders. In the current year Ashtead is expected to spend £875 million on new equipment to drive revenue and profit growth and return around £70 million by way of dividends. Ashtead at £10.22+35½p Questor Says ‘Hold’.

Gold Standard: Until 2006 Standard Life was a staid mutual insurer. A stock market listing gave the group go-faster stripes. The change is reflected in the lucrative £2.2 billion disposal of a Canadian insurance business to Manulife, further tilting the group towards the fast-growing savings trade. Standard Life shares jumped 8% to a record high, adding £740 million to the capitalisation and taking the stock to a healthy premium over Prudential. It helps that investors will get £1.75 billion of disposal proceeds. Expansionary Manulife is filling in gaps on a map. Mr Nish must believe he has fewer of those, or he would be keeping more of the cash to invest. The company’s recent acquisition of fund Manager Ignis cost a modest £390 million. There is a paradox in businesses sitting on cash, or returning it, when the FTSE 100 is at a 14-year high. Standard Life claims the disposal will not dilute earnings per share, though this requires the sleight of hand of a stock consolidation.

North Sea fracking ‘will earn £300 billion for Scotland’: Fracking in the North Sea could generate £300 billion in tax revenues, according to a report backed by Alex Salmond.

Shell's "Ben van Beurden said he won't set production-growth targets for the Anglo-Dutch company and would consider reducing Shell's exposure to oil-products. He said he is focused instead on ensuring Shell keeps generating enough cash to keep its dividend growing." (WSJ)

Smart Metering Services profits jump: Shares in companies that install smart gas and electricity meters for industry look like a solid bet as they provide steady revenue and dividend income. Aim-listed Smart Metering Services is one such company, and shares edged up almost 4% on first half results. Government targets that require a new generation of smart meters to be installed are driving rapid growth. These meters provide constant data on gas and electricity use and potentially allow industrial customers to moderate their energy use, saving thousands of pounds. The company is currently in expansion mode to take advantage of the Government’s legislation on smart meters. Investment in new smart meters was 50% higher at £15 million in the first half. The company also spent about £10 million acquiring UPL, a company that focuses on electricity smart meters. Smart Metering Services is highly cash generative with cash from operations of £12.2 million made in the first half up more than 80% from the same stage last year. However, once the investment in new meters and acquisitions is subtracted, net debt increased to £48.6 million from £33.3 million six months earlier. Market consensus is for full year pretax profits of £13.7 million giving earnings per share of 12.8p. The shares are trading on 29 times forecast earnings, falling to 22 times next year. Questor thinks these smart meter companies should take about five years to pay down their debts before turning into cash machines. The shares are looking a bit expensive at the moment but well worth keeping an eye on for any dips. Smart Metering Services at 393¾p+13¾p Questor Says “Hold”.

Benighted Booker: Metro is carrying its cash out of Booker, and the wholesaler’s share price is taking the news badly, writes Alison Smith. So, unsurprisingly, Metro sold after the lock-up period ended in July, raising £196 million in the process. More surprisingly, Booker shares shed more than 6% of their value on Wednesday. This drop owes something to the accentuated movements typical of a relatively thinly traded stock. The end of any hope – faint though it surely should have been – that the stake might be a springboard to buy the whole group can’t have helped either. Metro’s move may also have crystallised further uncertainty about Booker’s prospects, despite Charles Wilson’s impressive work in broadening its range in non-food wholesale and in discount convenience stores. For Booker operates in the shadow of the supermarkets. If they embark on a full-scale price war the impact on the wholesaler is unclear, but unlikely to be positive.

Margin for doubt undermines Hargreaves Sharesdown: It is the fate of ageing iconoclasts to start resembling the people they have challenged. Hargreaves Lansdown, the outstanding U.K. financial services start-up of the past 30 years, says it will begin publishing “buy” and “sell” notes on big British companies. Just like the brokers who opined on the full year results of the investment supermarket this morning. The net operating margin of the Bristol-based group therefore trod water at a still-steep 71.3%. This, despite a 29% increase in assets to £46.9 billion, as “orphan” clients no longer served by the struggling advisory sector took up DIY investment. Plenty more of these will come across to Hargreaves. However, compound annual growth in earnings of about 65% a year looks set to moderate. Rivals may struggle to compete down Hargreaves’ highly visible margins. The FCA, which is increasingly militant on investment costs, may find interventionist means to reduce them, though.

Standard Life is to dispose of its Canadian business for £2.2bn in a deal that will fund a bumper cash payout to shareholders worth almost a fifth of the FTSE 100 pensions group’s market value. The Scottish financial services company disclosed on Wednesday it would sell its operation in Canada – its largest division outside the UK – to Manulife. (Financial Times)

Sept 3 (Reuters) - Canada's WSP Global Inc said it would buy Balfour Beatty Plc's U.S. professional services division, Parsons Brinckerhoff, for an enterprise value of about $1.24 billion, to increase its footprint in the U.S. transportation segment. The deal will also help WSP expand in the United Kingdom and give it a stronger presence in key growth regions such as Asia and Australia, the company said. The deal is being financed through a combination of a $502 million bought deal public offering, $400 million in private placement and new credit facilities, WSP Global said. In a bought deal, underwriters commit to purchase the entire offering from a client and then resell it. WSP Global has entered into an agreement with CIBC and Raymond James, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, to finance part of the deal. The deal includes an additional consideration for cash retained by Parsons Brinckerhoff of up to $110 million, WSP said. WSP expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter and result in cost savings of about $25 million a year over two years. Barclays and CIBC are acting as financial advisers to WSP. Stikeman Elliott LLP is the company's legal adviser. Hogan Lovells LLP is providing legal advice to WSP with respect to U.S. law. WSP's shares closed at C$36.95 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. (Reporting by Sneha Banerjee in Bangalore; Editing by Simon Jennings)

Final results from Hargreaves Lansdown showed assets under administration were less than consensus expectations but the company was optimistic about its ability to deal with new regulatory changes. The FTSE 100 financial services group lifted total assets under administration up 29% at £46.9bn, versus forecasts of at least £48m, but delivered earnings per share of 34.5p, up 9% and in line with consensus estimates.

Hammerson sells Mayfair HQ for £54 million: Hammerson has sold off its last remaining office building as part of a strategy set out two years ago to focus solely on retail property in the U.K. and France.

Direct Line set to join FTSE 100 as Barratt slides down the list: Insurer Direct Line looks set to join the coveted FTSE 100 listing this week alongside newcomer Dixons Carphone, as the FTSE committee conducts its quarterly review.

BAE Systems lifted by global tension: The case for investors holding BAE Systems as a good long-term defensive investment with income potential was underpinned by a supportive analyst note that sent the shares up almost 3%. Bank of America Merrill Lynch issued a double upgrade on BAE, lifting its recommendation from underperform to buy. At 456p, BAE shares are trading near the top of their long-term price range. During the past two decades the stock has twice climbed to just above 500p – in 1999 and once again in 2007 – and fell as low as 100p during 2003. Looking back over the past 20 years, the most obvious level of support for the shares has been around the 300p level, or down about 33%. During these moments of market weakness the company has remained a solid dividend payer. The shares currently offer a 4.6% prospective yield, while the 20.4p annual dividend is covered 1.8 times by forecast earnings per share of 37.2p. The dividend growth is meagre, with the market expecting a 2% rise this year and next. That said, 4.6% income is much better than anything on offer in certain other sectors, such as banking. However, BAE’s balance sheet doesn’t look that secure as debt levels are rising sharply – and paying dividends out of debt is unsustainable in the long term. BAE’s shares are currently trading on 12 times forecast earnings, falling to 11.5 times next year. The company looks like a good long-term bet, as its problems look like they are priced in. The shares trade at a discount of about 10% to U.S. peers and about 14% to U.K. rivals. But, while BAE Systems remains a solid hold, the shares are no better than that, with the current trading price near the top of the long-term range. BAE Systems at 456p+10.9p Questor Says “Hold”.

Shell puts pressure on Obama to end 40-year oil export ban: The Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell has urged Barack Obama to lift America’s 40-year ban on oil exports.

Brazil rival raises tensions in Fyffes deal: Fyffes and Chiquita, the banana distributors seeking to keep their proposed merger on course, have hit out at the Brazilian interlopers whose all-cash rival offer threatens to derail their attempt to create a global distribution group with combined sales of $4.5 billion.