Even after yesterday’s share price jump, the company is valued at little more than £100m.Sci Entertainment ticked 1.5p higher to 124p as brokers were heard reassuring clients that the company is on track with its latest computer games releases Something of a buzz surrounded Gladstone, steady at 18p. According to whispers from one corner of the City, the software group recently received a bid approach, possibly from the sector giant Isoft, but knocked back the offer Things certainly seem to be looking up for the company. Back in May it boasted of a strong start to the second half of its year.And finally, for those eagerly awaiting next week’s float of M&C Saatchi, initial indications in the City suggest that the issue will be priced at between 143p and 164p. Analysts were so surprised by the rumour that they largely dismissed it, noting that British Energy would need to raise billions of pounds to cover its existing liabilities. The debt-laden electricity supplier is in the process of restructuring its balance sheet via a debt for equity swap, which will wipe-out a large chunk of shareholder value. GI Partners moved a step closer to securing control of Yates, the bars group, after Lansdowne Partners, the hedge fund, sold its holding of 2 million shares to the buyout firm, which last month tabled a 140p a share bid. Yates closed unchanged at 140.5pVague rumours that British Energy may be looking to raise fresh cash from the stock market pushed its shares 1.5p higher to 15.5p.

Although Cairn has more than tripled since the start of the year, directors have spent about £1m on buying shares in recent weeks. Under its most optimistic scenario, ABN believes Cairn could be worth in excess of 2,900p a share.Armour Group, chaired by Bob Morton, the serial entrepreneur, jumped 9p to 79.5p after yet another bullish trading statement from the in-car entertainment specialist. Profits will comfortably beat market expectations of £2.7m for the year, Armour said. Dealers reported heavy buying of Aviva, up 2p to 571p, Britannic Group, down 1.25p to 368p, and Friends Provident, off 1p to 145.75p, just before the close of trading.Profit-taking left Regal Petroleum 19.5p lower at 411.5p. Nevertheless, the explorer boasted that it had been awarded production licences for gas fields in the Ukraine. The most recent gossip surrounding the stock has been of a positive update before the end of the summer from Regal’s operations in Greece.

Bulls of the stock are also excited about the prospects for the company’s Romanian gas assets, a statement about which is also expected soon from the company.Elsewhere in the sector, Cairn Energy was unchanged at 1,410p despite a massive price target upgrade from ABN Amro The Dutch broker raised its target by 45 per cent to 1,700p. “Recent director share-buying, a sharp rise in exploration drilling and possible licence awards convince us that Cairn still represents a compelling investment case,” ABN said. A foreign banking giant is seen as the only possible bidder for Abbey as a UK player would almost certainly be blocked by competition authorities.And, investors should act fast to exit Abbey shares, according to CSFB. “It will take only modest negative news from here to push the Abbey price down,” the broker warned.Meanwhile, a weak start to trading on Wall Street left London shares down on the day The FTSE 100 lost 39.4 points to 4,424.7. Rumours of imminent corporate action in the insurance sector did the rounds of the Square Mile late during the day. It was very sceptical that a Continental player would be interested in acquiring a UK-focused mortgage bank, given the precarious state of Britain’s housing market at present. Despite all the speculation of late, the bank has not made a statement to the Stock Exchange on the issue and the broker believes it would have been forced to do so if it really was in negotiations.CSFB also cautioned that a foreign buyer is unlikely to emerge for Abbey any time soon.