Footsie opened higher on the back of a strong performance from US shares late yesterday and strong gains for Royal Bank of Scotland.

RBS is mulling a buy back of at least £10bn (€11bn) of the bank's £28bn of debt at a premium to current prices according to the FT. It is one of the best performers this morning.

Oil giant Shell has outlined a strategy which it says will increase production by 11% in three years' time. Upstream production is expected to reach 3.5m barrels by 2012, an 11% increase from current levels, Shell said. Further ahead, the company is assessing more than 35 new projects which should underpin upstream growth to 2020.

Department store Debenhams said it saw a strong performance in the six months to 27 February as it continues its strategy of lifting margins and expanding market share. Gross transaction value was 1.7% higher than in the same period the previous year, Debenhams said, adding that like-for-like sales were up by 0.3%.

International service company Serco announce the appointment of Alastair Lyons CBE as non-executive chairman. He joins the board of Serco with immediate effect as a non-executive director, and will take up the chairmanship of the company after the Annual General Meeting on 11 May 2010.

Cost cutting helped security group G4S lift underlying earnings by 10% last year, though organic sales slowed and are expected to remain subdued. Organic turnover growth was 3.7% in 2009 down from 9.5% the previous year.

Merchant bank Close Brothers reported a 50% jump in half year profits thanks to a strong performance in its Banking and Securities divisions. Operating profit before tax from continuing operations rose to £62.3m in the six month ended 31 January from £41.5m last time. Broker Numis Securities forecast that the group would announce a pre-tax profit of £54.6m.

The Competition Commission has formally cleared Sports Direct's acquisition of 31 stores from JJB Sports. The Commission decided the acquisition will not lead to a substantial lessening of competition, a ruling that confirms the last month's provisional findings.

Related share prices
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) share price
Close Brothers Group (CBG) share price
JJB Sports (JJB) share price
Serco Group (SRP) share price
G4S (GFS) share price
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) share price
Sports Direct International (SPD) share price