BG sparks up on bid talk

Bursts of takeover speculation are normally a sign of a bull market and while this is not an accusation which could be leveled at the market at the moment, there are a few tales around. One such is BG , with traders heariing vague talk of possible interest in the gases group from BHP Billiton . BG - which was under pressure yesterday after a downgrade from Barclays Capital - has seen its shares rise 12.5p to £11.07 on the tale, while BHP is 32.5p better at 1889.5p. BHP could probably afford such a deal but whether it wants to is another question. The mining group is still in the middle of getting regulatory approval for its iron ore joint venture with Rio Tinto, and a huge deal would certaintly divert management attention. Bid speculation surrounding BG is nothing new of course, with Royal Dutch Shell the name usually mentioned. So far nothing has emerged. Meanwhile International Power is up another 1.5p at 322.1p despite doubts about whether France's GDF Suez wants to revive talks about a link-up, as has been suggested.