Buoyant mood among capital's small firms

The Ministry of Defence today signed a £998 million contract for QinetiQ to test its helicopters, weapons and vehicles for five years.

The Ministry of Defence yesterday loosened its ties to its former inventions arm Qinetiq, which it spun off in a controversial privatisation a decade ago, in a move that means the Government will no longer have the right to veto its deals or projects.

Investors' attention switches to the water utilities this week, with a number of groups in the sector releasing their full-year figures amid fears the severe weather experienced over the winter will result in fines being imposed for missed leakage targets.

A solar-powered pilotless plane which was built in the UK has been recognised as having smashed the world record for the longest time spent in the air by an unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV), after staying aloft for two weeks.

There was lift-off yesterday for Qinetiq after the defence company won a lucrative contract with Nasa, but it could not maintain altitude as the markets failed to hang on to their early gains.

The boss of the boffins?

There was a double dose of good news for British Airways yesterday, which was soaring on the blue-chip index thanks to a positive read-across from across the Channel and an important legal victory.

Glaxosmithkline was revitalised yesterday, as the risk to one of its main drugs from a generic competitor receded.

Wolseley continued its remarkable recent run yesterday, after bullish comments from Credit Suisse predicted an increase in homeowners and businesses "improving, not moving".

The top tier was listless yesterday until it was hit late in the session as China surprised the market by raising its interest rates, the first such change by the government in three years.