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LONDON (Alliance News) - Germany is "very sceptical" as to whether Greece and its eurozone partners will reach an agreement at a meeting set to take place in Brussels later on Monday, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said in a radio interview.

"From what I have heard about the technical talks that took place over the weekend, I am very sceptical. But we will receive a report today and then we'll see," Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk radio ahead of a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers.

Schaeuble added that he did not want Greece to leave the eurozone, and that Athens had to stick to the conditions of its bailout programme and implement planned reforms in order to become competitive.

"I feel sorry for the Greeks. They chose a government that is behaving quite irresponsibly at the moment," he said.

Monday's meeting also will be attended by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, with the talks expected to focus on how to proceed with Greece's bailout programme.

"Time and money are running out for Greece. A subtle change in tone in Athens suggests that the new Greek government has started to notice. But whether prime minister Tsipras has really grasped how close he has already pushed Greece to the abyss of wholesale financial crisis, recession and Grexit and whether he is ready to perform the inevitable U-turn to avoid that fate remains a very open question," said Holger Schmieding, senior economist at Berenberg.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the Confederation of British Industry raised its annual growth forecast for the nation to 2.7%, citing low inflation, stronger employment and falling oil prices.

"Job creation continues apace and wage growth is finally picking up," the CBI said. "Coupled with low inflation, this will give a boost to real household incomes, going some way to improving living standards."

It said lower energy prices were "feeding through to lower operating costs for companies, leaving more space for investment."

The business lobby group's previous forecast, in November, was for annual growth of 2.5%.
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Markets: London stock prices are flat to lower on what is expected to be a light day of trading with US markets closed for President's Day, and with the focus on the meeting of eurozone finance ministers to discuss Greek debt repayments.

FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 6,861.00
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 16,833.78
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.4% at 702.67
GBP-USD: down at 1.5374
EUR-USD: up at 1.1414
GOLD: up at USD1,233.51 an ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD62.01 a barrel
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Other Top Corporate News
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Hammerson reported a jump in pretax profit for 2014, boosted by gains made on the valuation of its property portfolio, as its net rental income also ticked higher over the year. The FTSE 100-listed property developer said its pretax profit for the year to the end of December was GBP703.1 million, more than double the GBP341.2 million posted a year earlier. The profit was driven higher by a big gain on the revaluation of its portfolio, which added GBP436.8 million to the pretax profit for the year, against only GBP90.3 million last year.
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Land Securities Group said it has agreed a deal to acquire the leasehold interest on the 21 Moorfields site in London's Liverpool Street for GBP16.5 million.
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AstraZeneca late Friday said a US court has ruled its patent on its Pulmicort Repsules asthma treatment invalid, but said the decision will not impact its guidance for 2015. The pharmaceutical company said the US District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled the patent protecting the product in the US is invalid. The group said the decision does not impact on the validity of its patents for the product in other countries.
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BHP Billiton has agreed a deal to sell its Pakistan gas business to a local operator for an undisclosed amount, Reuters reported. BHP is selling the unit to a unit of the Hashoo Group conglomerate and expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter, Reuters said, citing a statement from the company. BHP has been seeking to sell its 38.5% stake in the Zamzama gas field, for which it is the operator, for some time as it works to refocus its petroleum business on the US, Australia and Trinidad and Tobago.
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Rolls-Royce Holdings has become embroiled in the multibillion-dollar bribery and kickback scandal involving Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras, the Financial Times reported. Rolls-Royce, which makes gas turbines used in Petrobras's oil platforms, is alleged to have paid bribes via an agent in exchange for a USD100 million contract under a scheme believed to have been in operation for much of the past decade, the FT said, citing statements made by a former Petrobras executive.
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Barclays has failed to have dismissed New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's lawsuit alleging wrongdoing in relation to its dark pool, Reuters reported on Friday. According to the report, Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan said it was too early to dismiss the claim.
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Tesco may lay off up to 10,000 employees as part of its attempts to end a drop in profits, The Telegraph reported. The report said that about 6,000 jobs will be cut at the company's head offices and 43 stores will be closed, while the rest of the jobs are at risk from a dramatic overhaul of how the company runs its stores.
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A group of South American billionaires is understood to be considering making a GBP75 billion bid for FTSE 100-listed brewer SABMiller, the Daily Mail's This is Money reported on Saturday. 3G Capital, a secretive investment firm run by a group of Brazilian investors, is also believed to have been studying whether it could be part of a consortium to bid for SABMiller which could include Anheuser-Busch InBev, the maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois, the Mail said, citing City sources. It is believed the plan is in the early stages and no formal approach has been made to SABMiller, the sources said.
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Hunting said it does not expect to feel the full impact of lower oil prices until the second quarter of 2015, but said it is possible that some of its businesses will report growth in the year ahead, while others will be affected by the wider sector downturn. "While Hunting anticipates a good performance in the early months of the year, most of our businesses expect the full impact of the lower oil price environment to be felt from the second quarter of 2015," it said in a statement.
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Infinis Energy said it exported less power from both its landfill gas and onshore wind farm businesses in the first three quarters of its financial year, but said its landfill gas subsidiary reported a rise in third quarter revenue and earnings. For the nine months ended December 31, the company said its landfill gas business has delivered a strong output across the company's portfolio, exporting 1,391 gigawatt hours in the period, down 1.6% from the 1,413 gigawatt hours exported in the comparable period in 2013, but Infinis said this was "in line with expectations."
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Fidessa Group reported a fall in profit for 2014, exacerbated by the strength of its sterling reporting currency, but upped its annual dividend by 3% to 38.1 pence per share and kept its special dividend flat at 45.0 pence, while the group also said it expects a gradual increase in its growth rate in 2015.
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888 Holdings said it has terminated talks with William Hill about a possible takeover after it failed to come to terms with a key shareholder. 888 last week said it had received an approach from William Hill to acquire 888 for 200 pence plus a 3 pence dividend per share. But 888 said that owing to a "significant difference of opinion on value with a key stakeholder", it has been unable to reach an agreement and has terminated the talks with William Hill.
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Playtech said it has struck a deal to buy UK-based Yoyo Games for USD16.4 million in cash, plus up to USD5.25 million in earn-outs. The FTSE 250-listed gaming software company said Dundee-based Yoyo runs Game Maker: Studio, a mobile-driven cross-platform casual game development technology. The technology allows game developers to use a single programming code and publish their games across a range of platforms.
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Balfour Beatty said it has struck a deal to sell an 80% stake in the Thanet offshore transmission project for GBP40 million to funds managed by Equitix. Equitix and Balfour are co-investors in a number of infrastructure projects, including the Greater Gabbard offshore transmission project, the company said. Balfour is retaining the remaining 20% stake in the project. It said the GBP40 million purchase price for the stake in the Thanet project is consistent with its most recent valuation of the asset.
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AIM Movers
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Red Emperor Resources, up 43%. The group said it is in advanced talks with a number of projects as more opportunities become available due to the fall in the price of oil. In a statement, Red Emperor said its current cash position is in excess of AUD10 million, following the sale of its direct equity investment in Highfield Resources Ltd. Tri-Star Resources, up 27%. The company said Oman-based Strategic & Precious Metals Processing has signed a financing deal with local lender Bank Nizwa. Tri-Star owns a 40% stake in Strategic & Precious Metals Processing. The financing deal comprises a USD40 million Shariah-compliant facility which will back the Oman antimony roaster project which Strategic & Precious Metals Processing is heading. Bahamas Petroleum Co, up 18%. The oil company said analysis on three historical wells in the Bahamas demonstrates the presence of an active petroleum system within the site and said its first exploration well has been re-engineered, cutting exploration costs substantially. JQW, up 17%. The group said its revenue for 2014 will be ahead of market expectations. JQW said revenue for the year to the end of December was around CNY784 million, up from the CNY490 million reported a year earlier. Pretax profit for the year is expected to be around CNY212 million, up from CNY170 million last year. Plant Impact, up 10%. The company, which makes speciality nutrition products for crops, said it has signed a further agreement with Bayer CropScience to develop yield enhancing technologies for soy cultivation.

ANGLE, off 12% at 74.00p. The company's shares are down after it launched a discounted share placing to raise GBP7.3 million, along with a further share offer to raise another GBP1.5 million. ANGLE said it has raised GBP7.3 million via the placing of 10.3 million shares and a subscription for a further 901,000, both at 65 pence per share. Mwana Africa, down 9.1%. The company reported drops in gold and nickel production in the final quarter of 2014. Mwana said its gold production at the Freda Rebecca project in Zimbabwe dropped 14% in the three months to the end of December, its financial third quarter, to 14,298 ounces from 16,555 ounces in the second quarter.
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Top Economics And General
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Germany is "very sceptical" as to whether Greece and its eurozone partners will reach an agreement at a meeting set to take place in Brussels later on Monday, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said in a radio interview. "From what I have heard about the technical talks that took place over the weekend, I am very sceptical. But we will receive a report today and then we'll see," Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk radio ahead of a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers. Schaeuble added that he did not want Greece to leave the eurozone, and that Athens had to stick to the conditions of its bailout programme and implement planned reforms in order to become competitive.
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The average asking price for a house in the UK was up 2.1% on month in February, property tracking website Rightmove said - coming in at GBP279,004. That follows the 1.4% monthly increase in January. On a yearly basis, house prices jumped 6.6% after surging 8.2% in the previous month. Every region in the country saw an increase in house prices, fuelled by a 9.7% yearly gain in the London area.
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The euro area trade surplus increased in December as a fall in imports was faster than a decline in exports, Eurostat reported. The trade surplus increased to a seasonally adjusted EUR23.3 billion in December from EUR21.6 billion in November. Economists had forecast a surplus of EUR19 billion. Exports declined 1.1% on a monthly basis in December, reversing a 0.5% rise in the prior month. At the same time, imports were down 2.4% from November, when they decreased 0.5%.
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Japan's gross domestic product grew 2.2% on year in the fourth quarter of 2014, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary reading. The headline figure was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 3.7% following the revised 2.3% decline in the third quarter (originally -1.9%). It did, however, mark an end to the recession that started with a 7.1% tumble in Q2 - which was due in large part to a sharp decline in consumer spending following the implementation of a consumption tax hike in April. On an annualized quarterly basis, GDP added 0.6% - also shy of expectations for an increase of 0.9% following the downwardly revised 0.6% contraction in Q3 (originally -0.5%).
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Japan's industrial production increased less than the initial estimate in December, final figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8% month-over-month in December, which was revised from 1.0% increase estimated earlier in the preliminary report. In November, production fell 0.5%.
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Top officials in Russia's Defence Ministry were hit with travel bans and asset freezes as part of the European Union's latest round of sanctions over the year-long crisis in Ukraine. First Deputy Defence Minister Arkady Bakhin is now barred from travelling to the 28 countries of the EU, while any assets he may have had in the bloc have been frozen. The same goes for Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov. The EU wrote in its official journal that the two men are "involved in supporting the deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine" and in shaping Russian policies that "threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."
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Egypt carried out an airstrike against militants loyal to Islamic State who released a video showing the mass execution of 21 Egyptian Christians, the military said. The attacks targeted bases and weapons storage facilities of the extremists in Libya, according to an army statement broadcast on state television. "The strike has achieved its aims precisely," the army said, without giving details. Libyan media reported that the eastern city of Derna, a stronghold of Islamic State's Libyan supporters, had been hit.
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The gunman who killed two people in attacks at an event promoting free speech and on a Copenhagen synagogue was likely "inspired" by last month's massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, Danish police said. The identity of the 22-year-old gunman has been established but police said they would not yet name him due to the ongoing investigation. Officers shot him dead outside his apartment early Sunday in a hail of gunfire.
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Afternoon Watchlist (all times in GMT)

EU Eurogroup meeting with Greece
US President's Day holiday
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Tuesday's Key UK Corporate Events

Intercontinental Hotels Group - Full Year Results
John Wood Group - Full Year Results
Monitise - Half Year Results
Dragon Oil - Full Year Results
Hargreaves Services - Half Year Results
Brammer - Full Year Results
Pendragon - Full Year Results
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events (all times in GMT)

EU EcoFin Meeting
01:30 China House Price Index
01:45 China MNI Business Sentiment Indicator
09:00 Italy Trade Balance
09:30 UK Consumer, Retail and Producer Price indices
10:00 Germany ZEW Survey - Economic Sentiment
10:00 EU ZEW Survey - Economic Sentiment
13:30 US NY Empire State Manufacturing Index
13:55 US Redbook index
15:00 US NAHB Housing Market Index
17:00 Switzerland SNB Chairman Jordan Speech
17:45 US Philadelphia Fed's Plosser speech
21:00 US Net TIC Flows
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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