Thomas Cook , Europe's second-biggest travel firm, reported profits ahead of market expectations on Tuesday showing, like rival TUI Travel , its business had so far proved resilient to a looming recession.

The company set up to manage the government's bank holdings said it was in talks with lenders about their strategy, just as the biggest beneficiary of the government's banking bailout pledged to delay home repossessions.

London Scottish Bank said on Monday it had gone into administration after suffering a shortfall in its capital reserves.

The government bought a majority stake in one of the country's biggest banks and Germany's Commerzbank accelerated its takeover of a rival as the shake-up of European banks gathered pace with help from taxpayers and shareholders.

Kingfisher , Europe's top home improvement retailer, beat forecasts with an 8.3 percent rise in third-quarter profit, helped by cost control and currency moves, but said trading was set to get tougher.

Pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) scrapped its year-end dividend on Wednesday and warned investors not to expect a payout until 2010, as it grapples with a 2.7 billion pound debt pile.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group , whose losses on complex debt led to a 20 billion pound ($31 billion) British government rescue, agreed to sell its 65-branch retail banking network in Indiana to Old National Bancorp .

Royal Bank of Scotland's 15 billion pound share offer closed Tuesday, and with its shares languishing well below the offer price the only takers are likely to be the bank's directors.

Emerging markets bank Standard Chartered plans to raise 1.8 billion pounds from a rights issue to boost its capital base and give it flexibility to pursue acquisitions, it said on Monday.

Barclays has faced a backlash from shareholders angry that investors in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are buying complex capital instruments on more attractive terms than existing investors have been offered.

A January 15 deadline for a European Union ruling on mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc's bid for rival Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc could slip by up to three weeks after BHP missed a deadline to offer asset divestments, the Australian Financial Review paper reported on Thursday.

Ron Sandler, chairman of nationalised Northern Rock, said the lender has not been subject to government influence since passing into public ownership.

Enterprise Inns , the country's second-biggest pubs group, reported a 12.6 percent decline in full-year pretax profit on Tuesday as sales were hit by a smoking ban and deterioration in consumer spending.

Phone company to cut 6,000 more jobs despite 2Q net profit rises

South African investment bank and asset manager Investec said on Thursday it made a first-half operating profit of 241.8 million pounds, unchanged from a year ago, and that its business would remain slow.

Britain's largest property investor Land Securities has abandoned year-old preparations for a radical three-way demerger of its business, the company said on Wednesday.

The following is a round-up of key small cap movers on the London stock market on Tuesday.

InterContinental Hotels , the world's largest hotelier, warned of a sharp fall in October trading as the global economic slowdown hit the hotel industry, overshadowing a forecast-beating 14 percent rise in third-quarter profits.

Man Group aims to win more business from big Asian investors such as pension funds and insurers even as global financial turmoil spurs some existing clients to redeem holdings and seek safety in cash.

British Airways stuck to its forecast for a small operating profit this year and lifted its revenue target, despite first-half profit plunging more than 90 percent due to high fuel costs and the global financial crisis.

RSA Insurance , the biggest commercial insurer, posted an 11 percent rise in premiums for the first nine months of its financial year and reiterated a key profitability target for the full year.

Broadcaster ITV issued a gloomy forecast for the advertising market on Wednesday, saying it expected the economic slowdown to hit television and online ads, making 2009 challenging.

Royal Bank of Scotland warned it will be hit by more writedowns and rising bad debts this quarter as its incoming chief executive kick-started a strategy overhaul aiming to restart dividends in 2010.

Home lender HBOS Plc doubled its hit from toxic assets and bad loans to over 5 billion pounds on Monday and its takeover partner Lloyds TSB warned of a sharp fall in profits.