Gilts

Gilts made strong gains in the wake of the Bank of England’s 150 basis point rate cut, outperforming German debt. The December long gilt future was up more than a full point at 113.93 after hitting a one-month high of 114.06. Rising gilt prices pushed the ten-year yield down more than 13 basis points to 4.192 per cent.

Rumour of the day

JJB Sports gained 2½p to 37¾p on talk that JD Sports and its controlling shareholder, Pentland, the owner of sportswear brands Lacoste and Speedo, were closing in on a deal to buy JJB’s Original Shoe Company and Qube chains. JJB said last month that it had received expressions of interest. A deal would safeguard Pentland’s order book.

Deal of the day

David Mott, nonexecutive director of Shire, bought 5,000 American depositary shares at $37.46 each, representing 15,000 UK shares. The pharmaceutical company’s UK shares rose 39p to 826½p. They have rallied in the past two days after settlement of a dispute with former shareholders of Transkaryotic Therapies, which it acquired three years ago.

Bet of the day

Since May Vodafone’s share price, down 1.2p to 106.7p, has cascaded from 170p as worries grow about a slowdown in Spain, Turkey and India. Interim results on Tuesday will be the first time that Vittorio Colao, the new chief executive, will be able to set out his strategy. Cantor Index offers a December contract related spread of 109.3p-109.8p.

Tiddler to watch

Plethora Solutions soared 8½p to 24p after the healthcare group announced positive phase III trials results for its treatment for premature ejaculation. Finncap estimates the European and US markets for the product could be worth over $1 billion and notes the group also has cash milestone payments to come from a US deal.

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