YP75: Lehman bankers under fire for ignoring risk controls

In London, the FTSE 100 index edged up 0.5 per cent over the week but sterling continued to fall as weak economic data raised further questions over the state of the UK's fiscal finances. The move will put further importance on the fiscal deficit control measures set to be revealed in next week's Budget.

News of a potential merger with north-east firm Hargreaves Services lifted shares in UK Coal, Britain's largest coal miner. It's not the first time the two companies have been in talks; in 2007 Hargreaves agreed a 20m fee with UK Coal to purchase Maltby Colliery, near Rotherham.

While Hargreaves, which offers a range of mining services from sourcing to transport, refused to go into detail, it did confirm it is in the early stages or reviewing what benefits a merger might bring. UK Coal confirmed it had received a preliminary approach from a third party but ruled out reports that Manchester's Peel Holdings were considering an all cash offer.

Energy services group Cape reported a pre-tax loss of nearly 16m for 2009 but stated that the loss included an exceptional charge of 70m made as a provision for industrial disease and asbestos claims.

Adjusted pre-tax profit, therefore, amounted to just short of 61m and the group also reduced net debt by 32 per cent over the course of the year.

Outgoing chairman Sean O'Connor also confirmed that dividend payments are set to resume in the second half of 2010 following a 10-year gap.

William Morrison, the UK's fourth largest supermarket and Yorkshire's biggest company, announced better than expected profits for the full year and reaffirmed its commitment to continued expansion across

the South.

The group is continuing to poach market share from its major rivals and like-for-like sales growth over the past 12 months is well ahead of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda.

However, with new chief executive Dalton Phillips still waiting to begin work, and with a tough consumer environment likely to follow the forthcoming Budget, investors looked to secure profits and the shares fell by 3 per cent over the week.

Finally, Sanderson Group, a software business, announced more new customer wins in the first five weeks of this year than in the whole of the previous 12 months.

The company did however warn that trading conditions for the group's customer base remain challenging, and in light of the forthcoming election and continued economic uncertainty, the company remains "cautious but confident" for the year ahead.

David Cadwallader, Assistant Investment Manager at Brewin Dolphin, Leeds