This Morning in London blue chips posted modest early gains in opening deals, extending yesterday's advances as end-year window-dressing continued on the final full day's session of 2007 bolstered by record highs from the Dow overnight and in Hong Kong today, dealers said. There were few real features early on in London, with bid speculation once again the only driver. ICI (ICI.L) was the top riser, adding 8.5p at 453 after The Times spotlighted the possibility of a bid from Dutch firm Akzo Nobel. Severn Trent (SVT.L) also moved higher on M&A chatter, adding 12p to stand at 1,481 with the Daily Express 'Share whisper' column suggesting the firm could be a possible bid target for venture capitalists 3i Group (III.L). However, by 09:05, the FTSE-100 had dropped off 3.7 points to 6241.50.
Hospital care fear over Thursdays
Thursday is the worst day of the week to go into hospital for medical treatment, a study suggests. The Institute for Public Policy Research found people admitted on Thursday spent 6.3 days in hospital - a day longer than a Sunday admission. The think tank said delays were being caused by the reduction in staffing made at weekends. Doctors said services could be designed more efficiently and more staff employed to create a 24/7 service. The IPPR looked at hospital activity as recorded by the Healthcare Commission in 2006. It excluded people brought in for emergency trauma treatment and those in hospital long-term. IPPR associate director Richard Brooks said: "There is real scope for improved efficiency in our hospitals. "Patients who are admitted at the end of the week are likely to be kept in hospital significantly longer than those admitted at the beginning for the week. "This is not due to medical need, but because many hospitals operate a reduced service at the weekend, creating delays in treatment and discharge." The report said it was better for patients to spend less time in hospital as it reduced the risk of infections such as MRSA, saved money and meant patients were away from home for less time. Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants committee, said the findings illustrated the need for a better design of services. "This illustrates what we have been saying for some time - hospitals need to be 24/7, not nine to five Monday to Friday. "This will obviously have cost implications with more staffing, but it is not just about that. "Hospitals need to work out when their peak activity is and staff accordingly."
'Casino' tops Bonds at box office
Casino Royale has become the most successful James Bond film at the box office, generating $454m (£232m) in cinemas worldwide so far. The film, which saw Daniel Craig make his debut as 007, surpassed the former record of $431m (£220m) set by Die Another Day in 2002, Screen Daily said. Based on Ian Fleming's first Bond book, it has been screened in 64 countries. Meanwhile fantasy adventure Eragon dominated cinemas outside North America over the weekend. It opened as the number one film in France and Belgium and held the top spot in Germany and Spain. It has now taken an estimated $63.9m (£32.6m) globally.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
None today
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last night in New York stocks rose across the board and small-cap issues led a strong year-end rally. The broad averages are poised for their best annual performance since 2003. Analysts have suggested that “window dressing” might deliver additional gains before the year end, as investors purchase strongly performing stocks to embellish their portfolios. Reaching a 52-week high was Citigroup, and its gain of 2.3 percent to $56.41 was part of a 13.8 percent rise this month. At the close, the Dow rallied 102.94 points to 12,510.57, marking its 22nd record close since early October. The Nasdaq rose 17.71 points to 2,431.22. Whilst the S&P was 9.94 points stronger at 1,426.84.
