Astrazeneca Share News (AZN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have opened flat in London Friday, ahead of inflation data due from the EU and US, as well as UK unemployment figures. Investors also are keeping an eye on Greece, after the IMF ruled out allowing Greece to delay scheduled debt repayments.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority said early Friday there has been no material change in circumstances or any special reason for it reverse its ruling to force Ryanair Holdings to sell down its stake in Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus Group. Ryanair shares are down 0.9% at the open, while Aer Lingus shares are off 0.7%. Shares in IAG, which is bidding for Aer Lingus, are off 0.1%.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: flat at 7,063.28
FTSE 250: up 0.1% at 17,742.80
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 749.28
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Hang Seng: down 0.5% at 27,622.81
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.2% at 19,652.88
DJIA: closed marginally lower at 18,105.77
S&P 500: closed down 0.1% at 2,104.99
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GBP: up at USD1.4961
EUR: up at USD1.0774

GOLD: up at USD1,202.32 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD63.67 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

09:00 EU Current Account
09:30 UK ILO Unemployment Rate and Average Earnings
10:00 EU Consumer Price Index
13:00 Italy Quarterly economic bulletin
13:30 US Consumer Price Index
13:30 Canada Consumer Price Index
13:30 Canada Retail Sales
15:00 US CB Leading Indicator
15:00 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Preliminary
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The International Monetary Fund ruled out allowing Greece to delay scheduled debt repayments, while the European Commission voiced dissatisfaction over talks with Athens to solve Greek financial woes. IMF chief Christine Lagarde said that a delay in Greek payments would constitute "additional financing" to Athens. A delay would be "clearly not a course of action that would...be recommendable" to the IMF's board, she said. "We have never had an advanced economy ask for payment delays," Lagarde said.
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Japan's consumer confidence improved for the fourth straight month in March, surpassing expectations, survey data from the Cabinet Office showed. The consumer confidence index rose to 41.7 in March from 40.9 in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to increase to 41.3. The latest reading was the highest since December 2013, when it marked the same 41.7.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin defended his decision to resurrect a deal to sell missiles to Iran, saying it increases security in light of the conflict in Yemen. "Under the present conditions in the region, especially regarding events in Yemen, such arms supplies are a deterrent," he said during his annual television call-in show about the deal to sell S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran. Saudi Arabia and eight fellow Sunni Arab countries are waging an air campaign in Yemen after advances by the mainly Shiite Houthi rebel movement forced President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi to flee the country. The Saudis have accused Shiite Iran of aiding the Houthis. Both Tehran and the Houthis have denied the accusation.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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DAVY INITIATES ROYAL MAIL WITH 'UNDERPERFORM' - TARGET 380 PENCE
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BARCLAYS CUTS ROTORK TO 'EQUAL WEIGHT' ('OVERWEIGHT')
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CITIGROUP RAISES DEBENHAMS TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 95 (75) PENCE
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BARCLAYS CUTS DOMINO PRINTING TO 'EQUAL WEIGHT' ('OVERWEIGHT')
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BARCLAYS RAISES QINETIQ TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL W.') - TARGET 220 (210) PENCE
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BARCLAYS INITIATES MONEYSUPERMARKET WITH 'OVERWEIGHT' - TARGET 315 PENCE
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GOLDMAN RAISES HUNTING TO 'CONVICTION BUY' ('BUY') - TARGET 709 (622) PENCE
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GOLDMAN CUTS PETROFAC TO 'BUY' ('CONVICTION BUY LIST') - TARGET 1130 PENCE
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GOLDMAN RESUMES COBHAM WITH 'NEUTRAL' - TARGET 329 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said it has set a target for a further cost reduction of USD750 million in 2015. The company also said that with iron ore prices continuing to fall, it will continue to slash costs so as to maintain the margin between itself and high-cost producers. Speaking at the company's annual general meeting in London, Sam Walsh, chief executive officer of Rio Tinto, noted that compared to the 2012 base, the company has reduced its annual operating cash costs and evaluation spend by USD4.8 billion.
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International Consolidates Airlines Group has turned its back on the European airlines trade body due to a row over the threat posed by fast-expanding Gulf-based carriers, the Financial Times reported. IAG, which owns British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia, said it has pulled out of the Association of European Airlines due to a difference of opinion. Qatar Airways acquired a stake in IAG in January, becoming its biggest shareholder, and the airline has attempted to pursue a conciliatory tone with the Gulf carriers, the FT said. But other European airlines have long complained they are not on a level playing field with the state-owned Gulf carriers.
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AstraZeneca said the US Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation for its selumetinib treatment for uveal melanoma. Uveal melanoma is a rare disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the eye, AstraZeneca said.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Outsourcer Serco Group said it has received 94.7% acceptances for its one-for-one rights issue launched last month after the group posted a huge loss on the back of massive provisions taken on onerous contracts. Serco said in March it would launch the GBP555 million rights issue in order to refinance its existing lending facilities and cut its gross debt pile by GBP450 million. The rights issue emerged after it posted a pretax loss for 2014 of GBP1.35 billion, having booked GBP1.31 billion in impairment charges and writedowns related to problem contracts.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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The UK Competition and Markets Authority said there has been no material change in circumstances or any special reason for it reverse its ruling to force Ryanair Holdings to sell down its stake in Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus Group. Ryanair requested in February that the CMA, the UK's competition authority, re-examine its decision to require Ryanair to sell down its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus to 5%. It argued in particular that the bid made for Aer Lingus by International Consolidated Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways constituted a material change in circumstances. The CMA said that after considering responses from Aer Lingus, IAG and the Irish government, which also holds a substantial stake in Aer Lingus, along with further submissions made by Ryanair, it has provisionally decided no material change in circumstances had taken place to force it to reverse its decision.
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Electronics supplier Acal appointed Nick Salmon as its non-executive chairman from end-July, succeeding Richard Moon, and said it expects its full-year results to meet its expectations despite a hit from the strengthening of sterling against the euro. Acal said that trading continued as anticipated in the year to end-March even though it saw an estimated 8% hit from the strength of sterling, with sales up 28% at actual exchange rates. Excluding acquisitions and at constant exchange rates, sales were up 3% for the year.
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Kazakhstan-focused miner Roxi Petroleum said it has entered into a subscription deal to raise USD20 million at a premium. Roxi said it has entered into the deal with BOCO (HK) Ltd, under which BOCO will subscribe for 75.6 million shares at 18 pence per share. The price is at a premium of around 16% to Roxi's closing mid-market price on Thursday. BOCO is a Hong Kong-based unit of Bright Oceans Corp, a Chinese industrial group.
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Daniel Stewart Securities said its nominated adviser Westhouse Securities has resigned with effect from the beginning of May, and it is in discussions with an alternative nomad. Under AIM rules Daniel Stewart is required to have a nomad in order to keep trading. As a result, if it does not appoint a replacement before Westhouse ceases to be its nomad it will be suspended from trading.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Swiss food giant Nestle reported that total group sales for the first quarter edged up 0.5% to CHF20.92 billion from CHF20.82 billion from last year. Quarterly sales were impacted by negative foreign exchange of 4.5%, while acquisitions, net of divestitures, added 0.6% to sales. During the first quarter, organic growth was 4.4%, composed of 1.9% real internal growth and 2.5% pricing. The firm said it continued to grow in all geographies with a sales growth of 5.6% in the Americas, 4.5% in Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and 2.2% in Asia, Oceania and Africa. The developed markets improved 2.5% and the emerging markets 6.7%.
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Cement giants Lafarge and Holcim, which are planning to merge to create LafargeHolcim, announced details on the package of assets they propose to divest in the US, as part of their planned merger. The divestments include Lafarge 1.1 MT Davenport cement plant (Iowa) and 7 terminals along the Mississippi River to be sold to Summit Materials for a total consideration of USD450 million in cash plus Summit's Bettendorf, Iowa cement terminal.
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Oilfield services provider Schlumberger announced it will cut another 11,000 jobs as the US energy sector continues to worsen due to plunging crude prices. The company also reported a sharp drop in profit for the first quarter, as revenues declined amidst the ongoing oversupply crisis. Nevertheless, earnings for the quarter came in ahead of estimates, but revenues fell short of expectations.
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The Apple Watch would not be available to buy in-store before June, The Telegraph reported, citing a memo from the company's retail chief Angela Ahrendts. Instead, customers will be encouraged to order their watch online to get it faster.
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

McColls Retail
Stadium Group
React Energy
Quindell
Evraz
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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