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Most followed: Imperial Tobacco, Burberry, Leni Gas & Oil, Rockhopper Exploration

Published: 06:20 11 Jul 2014 EDT

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The papers are all over the big tobacco merger story this morning.

It has been known for some time that cigarette firms Reynolds and Lorillard have been plotting a merger, and as two of the three biggest tobacco outfits in the USA, any merger is sure to raise concerns about a potential monopoly.

To circumvent these concerns the two companies seem likely to divest certain assets, and London-listed IMPs (LON:IMT) has seen the chance to snap up any assets they choose to discard.

Yesterday's results from Burberry (LON:BRBY) are also the subject of plenty of chatter, especially as commenting on the figures gives pundits the chance to also state their position on today's big vote at the retailer's annual general meeting on new boss Christopher Bailey's pay package.

Reporters seem unable to agree on whether Bailey's package is £20mln or in excess of £27mln, but the key issue for shareholders is: is it too much?

It is unlikely that the majority of votes will be against the remuneration package but enough dissenters might register their dismay for the Burberry board to sit up and taken notice.

Bailey is unlikely to ever have need of payday lender Wonga and now the Church of England has finally decided it does not need it either, having cut its ties with the controversial company.

"The Church Commissioners for England are pleased to announce that their indirect investment exposure to Wonga in their venture capital portfolio has been removed. The Church Commissioners no longer have any financial or any other interest in Wonga," a statement from CofE revealed.

"The terms ensure that the Church Commissioners have not made any profit from their investment exposure to Wonga," it added.

ITV News's Consumer Editor Chris Choi seems less than impressed, noting it has taken a year to offload the shares since the controversial investment was first exposed.

Proving there ain't no pleasing some people, Leni Gas (LON:LGO) shares have turned lower after an initially favourable response to the latest update on the Goudron field, in Trinidad.

It has now spudded the fourth new well on the field and also revealed it has received approval to install a new 2,000 barrels sales storage tank at Goudron, which in addition to the existing tanks will provide export capacity of about 2,750 barrels per day.

On the trading screens, Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) is seeing the most trades, closely followed by IMPs, but IMPs bests Rio in terms of the aggregate value of the shares changing hands.

On the message boards, the usual motley crew of speculative resource companies are keeping the work-shy occupied.

The absence of news does not seem to quell the enthusiasm of posters on the bulletin boards, but a bit of new info is always welcome, so there is much discussion about the latest announcement from Falklands-focused firm Rockhopper (LON:RKH).

As investors look forward to a fresh phase of Falkland drilling there is encouragement that the Sea Lion development is progress.

Premier, the operator of the field, has now hired natural resource engineering specialist AMEC (LON:AMEC) for the FEED – front end engineering design – on the Tension Leg Platform (or TLP) which will be utilised in the development.

Rockhopper chief executive Sam Moody described the awarded as a “highly significant milestone”.

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