Gilts

Gilts jumped, pushing benchmark yields to their lowest in more than four months, after weak US jobs figures deepened worries about the global economy, sparking a sell-off of equities. The December gilt future was 77 ticks higher at 112.87, in line with bunds, as all government bond markets benefited from the turmoil.

Rumour of the day

Shares in Cadbury rose 14p to 636p on speculation in the Square Mile that the confectionery company has appointed one of its global advisers, UBS, to sell its Australian drinks business, with analysts valuing the unit at about £600 million. The unit, which accounts for about 6 per cent of group sales, is under review.

Deal of the day

Neil Thomas, the finance director of smartFOCUS, has bought 62,689 shares in the software group at 7.875p, taking his stake to 0.1 per cent. The group’s shares plummeted more than 28 per cent, or 3¼p, to 8¼p after it slipped to a first-half loss and said that revenues and profits would be hit by a change in its software licensing model.

Bet of the day

India’s festival period has increased gold demand, with jewellers in the region buying more physical supplies of the precious metal. However, with the value of the US dollar expected to continue rising, will demand be sufficient to support the price? Gold hit a peak of $819.30 an ounce. WorldSpreads offers a gold rolling spot of $808.70 to $809.20.

Tiddler to watch

Shares in Churchill Mining, the AIM-listed coalminer, soared 7½p, or nearly 13 per cent, to 66½p after the group announced a huge resource upgrade at its East Kutai coal project in Indonesia to 1.4 billion tonnes, from 20 per cent of its target area. The company has the largest resource figure of all the AIM coal stocks.

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