This Morning in London major shares opened slightly lower, with last night's weak performance on Wall Street encouraging some profit taking in a shortened final trading session of 2006. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA.L) opened lower amid reports that the group, together with its Japanese partners in the Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia, will be forced to swallow a third of the $10 billion cost overrun suffered by the giant liquefied natural gas facility in eastern Siberia, according to reports from Moscow. Royal Dutch Shell shares were down 5p at 1,797, while BP (BP.L) fell 1p to 570.5 in sympathy. Elsewhere, Amvescap (AVZ.L) gained 17p to 604p amid relief that it looks to have lost out in the auction for US money manager Putnam Investments. By 8:50 the FTSE-100 was down 3.60 points at 6,237.30.
Cheesy TV goes live in New Year
Cheese makers in Somerset have set up a webcam on a truckle of Cheddar so that people can log on to watch their product maturing over a year. The round-the-clock camera - which can be downloaded as a screensaver - is due to go live from 1 January 2007. West Country Farmhouse Cheddar carries the Protected Designation of Origin status ranking it alongside Champagne, Parma Ham and Cognac. "It's better than watching paint dry - just," said chairman Philip Crawford. "As you can see we really do take our cheese-making seriously. We nurture our cows so they produce lovely milk which in turn creates exquisite cheese. "Some might say this is the most boring website of 2007, but our cheese is worth waiting for," said Mr Crawford.
Thousands bid farewell to Brown
Thousands of people have gathered in the Harlem district of New York to pay tribute to American soul star James Brown, who died on Monday aged 73. Fans sang and danced to his music while his gold casket was carried through the streets on a horse-drawn carriage. His body lay in state at the Apollo theatre, a venue he loved. Among those paying their respects was black civil rights leader, Reverend Al Sharpton, who said James Brown changed the beat of music all over the world. Rev Sharpton, who managed the singer during the 1970s, said: "We didn't line these streets because he had hits, plenty of people had hits... But none got them on their own terms. "He never bent, buckled or bowed. He never diluted his music... they'd say Mr Brown you got to water it down and he'd say if you didn't want James Brown you shouldn't have booked me." Rev Sharpton also said James Brown was a great symbol for African-Americans as a social leader and innovator. "It was James Brown that with one song erased the word negro from our vocabulary forever and made us say it and say it loud, that we were black and we were proud. "He proved to us if you believe in God and you believe in yourself you can make it no matter what," Rev Sharpton said during his tribute at the Apollo theatre.
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NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York stocks experienced lacklustre trading, with the Nasdaq Composite leading the market lower amid light trading volumes. After a solid run this week, investors opted to book profits and continue adjusting portfolios before the trading year ends today. The defensive mood was exacerbated by economic reports suggesting that the economy was doing better than expected, with evidence of a possible stabilisation in the housing sector. The Dow briefly set a new record intra-day high of 12,529.88, but pared those gains and closed 9.05 points lower, at 12,501.52. The Nasdaq finished the session down 5.65 points at 2,425.57. Whilst the S&P settled 2.11 points lower at 1,424.73.
