Gilts

Gilt futures slid yesterday, tracking global bond markets, which were hit by firmer than expected US data and profit-taking on a recent rally that was driven by the view that interest rates would remain at 0.5 per cent for longer and a benign inflation forecast from the Bank of England. December gilt futures settled 17 ticks down at 117.40.

Rumour of the day

Shares in Intertek rose 5p to £12.95 and have had a good run of late. Word is that a few investors who missed out on buying into Cadbury, up 12p at 775p, before Kraft made a bid have taken an interest in the FTSE 100 testing and inspection group, which has long been seen as a takeover target for SGS and Bureau Veritas, its European rivals.

Deal of the day

Mariana Resources rose ¼p to 15p after it signed a joint venture with Hochschild Mining, down 3¾p at 298¾p, to develop three adjoining prospective gold-silver tenements in Argentina. Joe Lunn, an analyst at Finncap, said the deal added further credibility to Mariana’s recently demonstrated ability to make economical gold and silver finds.

Bet of the day

Gold retreated from a record high of $1,122.85, which was reached early yesterday, as the dollar recovered after lower than expected US weekly jobless claims boosted hopes that the American economy was on the road to recovery. Has the gold rally run out of steam? ShortsandLongs.com has a Daily December Gold Contract trading at $1109.10-$1109.60.

Tiddler to watch

Shares in NeutraHealth were unchanged at 5p yesterday but the private-label vitamins and supplements supplier could be one to watch in the next year or so. Cenkos has upgraded its sales forecasts for this year to £34 million and next year to £37.5 million after increasingly strong demand from supermarkets and larger retailers.

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