7:15AM Europe slips on inflation fears and Tomkins issue.
European markets were lower by mid-day on Thursday. London’s FTSE 100 slipped 1% to 5,871.3, while Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax shed 0.5% to 5,781.56 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.8% to 5,074.76. Tomkins, British engineering company, issued a profit warning about the state of the U.S. residential and automotive equipment markets only a month after its first-half results. The company plunged 13%.

Construction products supplier Wolseley lost 2.5% and Lafarge dropped 1.7%. Michelin declined 1.3%, while DaimlerChrysler fell 0.8%. A few companies advanced on strong earnings reports. Ahold rose 4% after the supermarket operator surpassed expectations with a 70% profit in its second quarter profit. Carrefour gained 1.2% after the retailer and the operator of supermarkets in France, Italy and Spain reported an 11% profit climb. InBev rose 2.5% after the brewer of Brahma and Stella Artois reported a 12% rise in its second-quarter profit.