Once again it was one of the busiest traded shares with Seaq printing volume at 117 million.Sunleigh, the golf trolleys group, was another busily traded, with nearly 46 million shares; the price held at 3p.. Ivor Keys, former Professor of Music at Nottingham and Birmingham Universities, was, in the 18th-century sense of the term, a complete musician

He was also a child prodigy. Founder Martyn Arbib sold almost 1.4 million shares at 1,385p He retains 57.2 per cent.Wembley stuck at 2.5p. The agreement is worth $1.3m.Chiltern Radio dipped 3p to 305p. Inchcape, with 15.1 per cent, is prepared to accept.Sleepy Kids, the animation and merchandising group, jumped 9p to 63p.It confirmed it had signed a deal with Fox, part of the Rupert Murdoch empire, to broadcast Budgie, The Little Helicopter, the creation of the Duchess of York. Rolls-Royce, anticipating more than pounds 100m of business, held at 187p.

Rival bidders GEC and British Aerospace gave ground, GEC 4p to 306.5p and BAe 1p to 627p.BAT Industries, off 8p at 493p, was unsettled by the US Food and Drug Administration’s new assault on tobacco with a ruling nicotine was a drug that should be regulated.Carlton Communications dipped 28p to 995p with James Capel hanging out a sell sign; Pearson, up 10p to 609p, resisted rumoured sell advice from Robert Fleming.But Fleming lifted BSkyB, the satellite television station, 10p to 319p.Tomkins, up 7p at 247p, was helped by a slim Smith upgrade, from pounds 326m to pounds 335m. Schroders, which has ruled itself out of the Smith auction, gained 42p to 1,280p. Popular guess is it is more interested in carrying off Cazenove as its stockbroking bride.The expected bid action on the electricity pitch duly emerged with US group the Southern Co offering 900p a share for South Western Electricity, which appears to be seeking around pounds 10 Sweb gained 11p to 938p. The large gap between London and New York continues to baffle seasoned traders.There is considerable surprise that the London market is not stretching to new peaks given the weight of takeover money and the improving economic outlook.Smith New Court, the latest takeover candidate to admit to bid talks, gained 8p to 519p. Last month it announced profits had surged 35 per cent to pounds 246.2m and it had replaced Argyll as Britain’s third-largest supermarket chain.Although the basic business still has considerable growth potential, the market believes Mr Norman, former finance director of Kingfisher, needs the impact of an accommodating deal to keep up the momentum.Morrison, often the subject of takeover rumours, seems the obvious target and it would not contain the sort of horrors that could lurk at WH Smith.With takeover speculation continuing to be a big influence the market almost shrugged off the “no change” German interest rate decision.A strong early advance was not held and the FT-SE 100 index ended 3.4 points down at 3,447.2 although second- and third-liners displayed more resilience.The early progress reflected another New York peak and as the market closed the Dow Jones Average was setting new highs.

They have climbed 19p this week.
Under the Norman guidance Asda has climbed from 23p to 97p. Many in the stock market believe the only way he can build on his success is to push through a significant takeover that would keep the supermarket group on a roll. On Monday there were suggestions his target could be WH Smith, the troubled retailing group. But such an assault is now regarded as unrealistic and the market has turned its attention to another supermarket chain, Wm Morrison, the Bradford-based group In brisk trading, for Morrison, the shares rose 8p to 164p. Some went further and also revealed fees earned by named non-executive directors.Essex-based Monks also expects companies to start providing greater explanations about their approach to basic salaries as well as more information about the workings of incentive schemes.Since many of these were complicated, “full explanation is required if shareholders are to understand a plan’s objectives, its operation and the potential value of the incentive to plan participants”, Mr Atkins said.. Such shares are restricted and only become the executive’s property if predetermined performance conditions are met over a period of time, frequently three to five years, and if the executive still works for the firm.David Atkins, the report’s editor, said: “The increase in the disclosure of the elements of executive directors’ pay – what has become known as full disclosure – and remuneration arrangements over the past six months has been dramatic.”About half had opted for full disclosure by the time of the study, and more companies had taken that route since, he added. According to the latest study, 59 companies operated such schemes, compared with 37 last year.The report also says a third of the best-paid directors in leading companies received no increase in fixed pay – basic salary plus the taxable value of benefits in kind – in the past year.For the two-thirds of best-paid directors who did receive a rise, the median was 5.7 per cent.Total earnings – fixed pay plus the proceeds of bonus arrangements and other payments excluding pension contributions and share options granted – rose 8.4 per cent in the industrial sector and 12.4 per cent in financial and property companies.The most recently introduced of the alternative plans involve the purchase of shares by trusts.

However, an early cut in rates is still widely expected after the holiday recess.. ROGER TRAPP

Signs that companies are rushing to anticipate the recommendations of the Greenbury Committee come in the latest survey of boardroom pay published today by remuneration advisers Monks Partnership.
The study of FT-SE 100 company annual reports carried out late last month found a “dramatic increase” in disclosure of boardroom pay and a marked move towards longer-term incentives, away from traditional executive share option schemes following concerns about their efficacy.By the time of the survey, 48 companies disclosed the elements of named directors’ remuneration, compared with only two in early December 1994.The move towards longer-term incentive arrangements has been less pronounced, but is still significant. However, banks will no longer be able to count cash balances against the reserve requirements.The net effect of the changes, which come into effect on 1 August, is to reduce the reserve requirements by DM7bn. These showed inflation rising from 2.2 per cent in May to 2.4 per cent. “They are seeking to bridge the gap with other central banks,” he added.The Bundesbank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged did not come as a surprise after June’s disappointing figures for consumer prices.