BAE aims for cyber security | City & Business | Finance | Express.co.uk

Broker UBS reckoned the two business areas, recently flagged as key growth drivers by BAE’s chief executive Ian King, could account for about 70 per cent of the group’s earnings over the

next few years. “We believe these areas will be less subject to budget pressures and may even thrive in a tight budget environment”, claimed UBS, which told investors to buy with a 460p

price target. Tour operator Thomas Cook climbed 1¼p to 237p amid suggestions it was closing in on a deal to gain a foothold in the fast-growing Russian travel market by buying a stake in

Intourist, the remade version of the Soviet-era travel agency. International Power reversed 2¼p to 326¾p despite some traders maintaining hopes of a tie-up with French giant GDF Suez, which

yesterday cut its profits forecasts due to low gas prices and lower than expected demand from its industrial customers. Dealers attributed gains across the banking sector to a push from

Goldman Sachs, which helped state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group rise 1½p to 39¼p and 1p to 54p, while Barclays was 3¼p richer at 333p. Luxury brands group Burberry

was marked up 18p to 666p amid suggestions that overseas shoppers were taking advantage of the weakness of the pound. Currys electrical retailer DSG International scored a 1¼p rise to 32p on

hopes it will benefit from viewers upgrading their TVs ahead of this summer’s football World Cup. Dollar strength and fears over waning demand from China hit metals prices and miners such

as Fresnillo, down 27p to 812½p, Eurasian Natural Resources, off 21p to 1089p, and Anglo American, 30p adrift at 2590½p. The FTSE 100 Index closed 6.05 points lower at 5527.16. Insurer

Resolution’s hopes of avoiding relegation from the top flight at next week’s quarterly reshuffle faded following a ¾p decline to 70p. London Stock Exchange moved 8½p away from the trapdoor

to 696p. The pair tipped to replace them, banking group Investec and pest control firm Rentokil Initial, gained 13½p to 501½p and 2p to 134½p. Solid annual figures boosted Spirax-Sarco

Engineering 52p to 1350p, while fellow engineers Cookson Group and Melrose went up 18p to 494½p and 6¾p to 191p. Miner Petropavlovsk improved 14p to 1058p amid talk that its iron ore

business may be listed in Hong Kong.