ADVFN Share News (AFN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have opened higher Monday despite a weak lead from Asia.

M&A and share placings have grabbed attention at the open.

Chiquita Brands International Inc and Fyffes PLC said they will merge to create the world's largest banana company, but the deal is sure to draw the scrutiny of antitrust regulators.

Meanwhile, Senior PLC said it has agreed to acquire UPECA Technologies of Malaysia in a GBP75.5 million deal.

Matomy Media Group announced plans to raise GBP100 million in an IPO on the London main market.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 9.50 at 6,722.17
FTSE 250: up 15.11 at 16,574.56
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 1.93 at 897.70
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Hang Seng: down 395.96 at 22,264.93
Nikkei 225: closed down 153.93 at 15,120.14
DJIA: closed up 30.83 at 16,452.72
S&P 500: closed up 1.01 at 1,878.04
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6697
EUR-USD: up at USD1.3888

GOLD: down at USD1,333.30 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD108.12 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come

09:00 Italy Industrial Output
09:30 EU Sentix Investor Confidence
11:15 US Philadelphia Fed's Plosser speech
12:15 Canada Housing Starts
15:30 US 3-Month Bill Auction
23:50 Japan Money Supply M2+CD
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The British economy is set to exceed its pre-recession peak in the second quarter, and to grow at a faster pace this year than estimated earlier, a report published by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) said. The BCC expects the economy to expand 2.8% this year, which is faster than the 2.7% growth it had predicted in December. Quarterly growth is forecast at 0.7% in the first quarter. The outlook for 2015 has been revised up to 2.5% from 2.4%. In 2016, the growth rate will remain at 2.5%.
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Chinese exports declined unexpectedly, while growth in imports accelerated in February, taking the trade balance surprisingly to a negative zone. Exports declined sharply by 18.1%, reversing the 10.6% increase in January, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Saturday. The decline was in contrast to a 7.5% rise forecast by economists. On the other hand, imports grew 10.1%, when growth was forecast to slow to 7.6% from 10%. Consequently, the trade balance showed a deficit of USD22.98 billion compared to a surplus of USD31.86 billion seen in January. Economists were expecting a surplus of USD14.5 billion.
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The Japanese economy grew at an annual rate of 0.7% in the October-December period, revised down from an initial estimate of 1%, the government said. Consumer spending - which accounts for about 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) - edged up 0.4%, revised slightly from a preliminary reading of 0.5%, the Cabinet Office said. Growth in capital spending was also revised downwards to 0.8% from the initial estimate of 1.3% expansion, the office said.
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France's industrial production fell back into contraction in January, contrary to economist's forecast for a marked increase, latest data revealed. Industrial production edged down 0.1% year-on-year in January, reversing increases of 0.3% and 1.5% logged in December and November respectively, statistical office Insee said. Economists were looking for 1.3% expansion for January.
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International investigation teams were pursuing leads on Monday as the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet with 239 people on board continued for a third day. The missing Boeing 777-200 plane left Kuala Lumpur International Airport before dawn on Saturday. It mysteriously dropped off radar about an hour into the flight, and is feared to have crashed into the South China Sea.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will discuss formation of a contact group to establish direct talks with Ukraine, British government officials confirmed Sunday. The news comes after a telephone call between the Russian leader, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, marking a continuation of Western efforts to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
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Ukraine has used an economic lever in its territorial dispute with Russia, with the new leadership in Kiev freezing the bank accounts of members of the pro-Russian government in the Crimean peninsula. The move makes it impossible for the autonomous region to conduct day-to-day business, Crimean Deputy Premier Rustam Temirgalyew said on Sunday in the regional capital Simferopol, adding that the region's leadership had already reached out to Russian banks to open new accounts.
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Austria may have to implement budget cuts as the winding down of the troubled Hypo Alpe Adria bank will add EUR17.8 billion to public debts, central bank chief Ewald Nowotny said Sunday. Nowotny announced that he and leaders of financial oversight authorities have advised the government to split a bad bank off the nationalized Hypo, in order to wind down bad loans and leasing deals that resulted from a failed expansion in Balkan countries.
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The global amount of outstanding debts has risen to 100 trillion dollars as of mid-2013, owing to large-scale issuing of bonds by governments and businesses in the wake of the financial crisis, the Bank of International Settlements said Sunday. In 2007, the debt totalled 70 trillion dollars. Most of the increase came from government programmes to boost economic growth and to rescue banks, said BIS.
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A final agreement on Iran's disputed nuclear programme is possible within "months," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday during a landmark visit to Tehran by the EU's foreign policy chief. "If the other side has the same motivation, the nuclear issue can be solved within the next four months," Zarif said in a press conference with Catherine Ashton.
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North Korean state media reported Sunday that nearly all registered voters had cast their ballots to elect members of the Supreme People's Assembly for the first time since Kim Jong Un took leadership of the authoritarian regime after his father's death two years ago. The Assembly is nominally the highest legislative power, but in practice only meets once or twice a year to rubber-stamp policies drawn up by the Workers' Party.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: UBS REMOVES ELECTROCOMPONENTS FROM 'MOST PREFERRED LIST' - 'BUY'
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TRADERS: UBS ADDS G4S TO 'MOST PREFERRED LIST' - 'NEUTRAL'
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TRADERS: NUMIS CUTS TAYLOR WIMPEY TO 'HOLD' ('ADD')
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TRADERS: BARCLAYS RAISES PRICE TARGET GLAXOSMITHKLINE TO 1780 (1575) PENCE
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TRADERS: BARCLAYS RAISES SHIRE PRICE TARGET TO 3600 (3275) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC launched the GBP629 million open offer to increase its stake in its Indian unit to 75%, from 50.7%, a deal it had announced back in September. In a statement, the company said it will offer INR3,100 a share for up to 20.6 million shares in GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd, or a maximum 24.3% stake. It said the offer is a premium of about 26% to the Indian unit's share price on December 13. Under Indian listing rules, a listed company needs to have a minimum free float of 25% and Glaxo wants to maintain a separate listing for the unit.
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Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever PLC acquired Sunday a majority stake in Chinese water purification company Qinyuan Group Co. Ltd. in order to complement its Pureit water purification business. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the company.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Senior PLC said it has agreed to acquire UPECA Technologies Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian-based manufacturer of high-precision engineered components serving the aerospace and energy sectors, in a GBP75.5 million deal that the FTSE 250 manufacturer expects to boost earnings with immediate effect. In a statement, Senior said the GBP75.5 million deal is made up of the GBP58.2 million in cash it will pay for the company and GBP17.3 million of net debt it will take on. The deal will be funded using cash and existing borrowing facilities.
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Chiquita Brands International Inc and Fyffes PLC Monday said they have reached a deal whereby Chiquita will acquire Fyffes to create the world's largest banana company, but the deal is sure to draw the scrutiny of antitrust regulators. In a statement, the companies said they have an agreed all-stock deal which will result in Chiquita shareholders owning 50.7% and Fyffes holders owning 49.3% of ChiquitaFyffes.
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Helical Bar Buys Multi-Let Central Manchester Office For GBP34M
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Flybe Open Offer Got 87.9% Acceptance, Placees Allocated Rest Of Shares
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Futura Medical Raises GBP12M In Share Placing
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Clarkson FY Pretax Profit GBP22.0M Vs GBP22.9M; Revenue GBP198.0M Vs GBP176.2M; FY Dividend Of 56 Pence Vs 51 Pence
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Armour Group To Sell Automotive Division For GBP10.9M
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Nostra Terra Says 9th Horizontal Well In Chisholm Has Exceeded Board Expectations
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Costain Group Receives GBP150M Crossrail North East Spur Contract
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Goals Soccer Centres To Place Up To 9.9% Of Issued Shares Capital; 2013 Pretax Profit GBP9.6M, Vs GBP9.5M In 2012 Before Items; Revenue GBP33.7M, Vs GBP33.0M In 2012; Total Dividend 1.85p, Unchanged
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ADVFN H1 Operating Loss GBP342,000 Vs GBP416,000 Loss; Revenues From Continuing Ops GBP4.5M Vs GBP4.0M
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Personal Group Acquires Lets Connect IT Solutions For Up To GBP12M
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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