Markets

It has been a memorable week for the FTSE. Despite only a modest rise on Wednesday it still closed on a record two-year high which reinforces the extent of the market recovery.

But of course there needs to be a bit of perspective here as the FTSE 100 is no longer a reflection of the UK economy – most of the largest companies are multi-nationals that actually report in dollar figures.

It would seem the UK hedge fund industry has won a temporary reprieve with Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling managing to stall plans for tighter regulations on European hedge funds.

Spain, which is the holder of the European Union presidency, abandoned the issue in response to UK opposition. France and Germany however appear committed to an EU clampdown on hedge funds but then not surprisingly these countries would be far less affected since 80% of Europe's hedge fund industry is UK based.

Software provider Playech, niche defence company Chemring and media stock Mecom Group were the notable companies reporting today.

Playtech the designer and licensor of software for the online, mobile and land-based gaming industry, saw its gross income rise 23% to €137.3m (2008: €111.5 million), reflecting first time income from associate, William Hill Online.

Kraft Foods will be questioned over whether it intentionally misled Cadbury workers over plans to keep open the chocolate manufacturer's UK factory in Keynsham.

Kraft's vice-president Marc Firestone will face the House of Commons' Business Committee and will need to qualify the US food company's decision to continue with the closure of Cadbury's Keynsham factory despite pledging to keep it open during the sensitive takeover negotiations.

The FTSE rose slightly on opening today. In what was a fairly quiet morning for reports, financial company Close Brothers showed a fall in profits in its half year results to the end of January 2010.

Adjusted operating profit for the period was £62.5m (2009: £64.9 million), which represented a 4% reduction year on year.