The top share index is stuck firmly in negative territory as worries over the Eurozone crisis and possible effects on global growth continue.

The UK has its own concerns though after the government-appointed Independent Commission on Banking has said British banks should separate their retail banking and investment banking divisions, adding that they should be given more than seven years to implement such reforms. The report was welcomed by the government, which said: "It considers it to be an impressive report and an important step towards a new banking system."

Lloyds Banking Group, a rare riser today, said it was "assessing the full implications of the report and may provide a further update to the market once we have had the opportunity to review the report in detail." Shares in RBS and Barclays are lower though.

Shares in engineer Charter International jumped after it revealed that Colfax, the US manufacturing group that was earlier this month named as a mystery bidder for Charter, is considering making a 910p a share offer. Colfax - which supplies fluid-handling products including pumps, fluid handling systems and controls, and speciality valves - gatecrashed rival engineer Melrose's offer for Charter last month. Melrose upped its bid for Charter to 850p from 840p earlier this month.

Associated British Foods said adjusted operating profit for the second half of its financial year, which runs to mid-September, will be in line with expectations, with full-year adjusted earnings in line with last year's result, though last year covered a 53-week, rather than a 52-week, period.

Property firm Great Portland Estates has exchanged contracts to pay £120m to acquire a major 2.3 acre freehold site in the core of London's West End. Meanwhile, The Great Ropemaker Partnership, a 50:50 joint venture between Great Portland Estates and The BP Pension Fund has exchanged contracts to acquire 200 & 214 Gray's Inn Road, WC1, from an affiliate of Beacon Capital for £132.75m, reflecting a capital value of £455 per square feet.

Arcontech, which provides products and services for real-time financial market data processing and trading, said sales were disappointing last year, prompting a strategic rethink. "We have decided to concentrate sales resources on our CityVision products," company chairman Richard Last said.

Shares in Kazakhstan-based oil and gas exploration firm Max Petroleum have jumped after it discovered "very good" reservoir quality at its SAGW-1 exploration well in the Sagiz West prospect. The group now estimates that the area has 66m barrels in place, with an expected 20-30% of recoverable oil.

Fellow oil explorer Desire Petroleum takes a tumble after its interim results though. The Falklands-focused firm said: "We are therefore continuing to review all available financing options with an intention to rejoin the current drilling campaign when possible."

Sales at shipping services group Braemar's shipbroking arm in the half year to 31 August were lower than anticipated due to subdued freight rates, the company has announced. It added that the reduction has been partly offset by an improvement in its technical and logistics divisions, which have performed well. The shares are lacking buoyancy.

FTSE 100 - Risers
Inmarsat (ISAT) 474.10p +0.94%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 31.16p +0.39%
Kingfisher (KGF) 232.60p +0.22%
Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 2,515.00p -0.12%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,318.00p -0.49%
Wolseley (WOS) 1,543.00p -0.64%
Barclays (BARC) 142.90p -0.76%
Next (NXT) 2,329.00p -0.77%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 21.29p -0.98%
G4S (GFS) 261.20p -1.06%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,020.00p -6.05%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 614.50p -4.73%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,229.00p -4.65%
Essar Energy (ESSR) 239.40p -4.62%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,308.00p -4.39%
Aviva (AV.) 289.60p -4.33%
Glencore International (GLEN) 396.55p -4.21%
Schroders (SDR) 1,326.00p -4.19%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 976.00p -4.13%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 538.50p -4.10%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Charter International (CHTR) 857.00p +6.59%
Melrose (MRO) 293.00p +4.64%
Savills (SVS) 294.50p +1.97%
Perform Group (PER) 202.10p +1.56%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 131.10p +1.39%
Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 98.65p +1.18%
BH Macro Ltd. EUR Shares (BHME) € 19.50 +0.98%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 622.00p +0.97%
Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 212.00p +0.95%
Unite Group (UTG) 182.50p +0.83%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
International Personal Finance (IPF) 220.40p -6.17%
New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 545.00p -5.38%
Kesa Electricals (KESA) 88.50p -4.84%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 33.43p -4.78%
Carpetright (CPR) 493.50p -4.36%
St James's Place (STJ) 322.70p -4.24%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 112.40p -4.18%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 42.60p -4.16%
Salamander Energy (SMDR) 203.70p -4.10%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 350.50p -4.05%

Related share prices
Associated British Foods (ABF) share price
Barclays (BARC) share price
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) share price
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) share price
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) share price
Standard Chartered (STAN) share price
Charter International (CHTR) share price
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) share price
Braemar Shipping Services (BMS) share price
Desire Petroleum (DES) share price
Arcontech Group (ARC) share price
Melrose (MRO) share price
Max Petroleum (MXP) share price