Barclays Share News (BARC)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened slightly lower Monday, as investors await the outcome of the second meeting between eurozone finance ministers and Greek leaders to discuss the country's debt programme.

Brewer SABMiller is the stand-out blue-chip stock at the open, up 2.4%. A group of South American billionaires is understood to be considering making a GBP75 billion bid for 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.

However, a note issued by Nomura early Monday says simply of the Daily Mail story: "We are skeptical."

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 6,860.29
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 16,827.27
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 701.51
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Hang Seng: closed up 0.2% at 24,726.53
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.5% at 18,004.77
DJIA: closed up 0.3% at 18,019.35
S&P 500: closed up 0.4% at 2,096.99
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.5410
EUR-USD: up at USD1.1421

GOLD: up at USD1,233.40 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD61.02 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
(all times in GMT)

EU Eurogroup meeting
US President's Day
10:00 EU Trade Balance n.s.a.
11:00 Germany Buba Monthly Report
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Thousands of Greeks took to the streets of Athens on Sunday to protest the austerity policies imposed on the country by its foreign creditors. The protesters gathered outside the Greek Parliament to demand an end to the policies they said were "impoverishing" the people and leading to an exodus of young people facing unemployment at home. The finance ministers of the eurozone are due to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss how they should proceed with Greece's mountain of debt.
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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 on Monday - coming in at 279,004 pounds. 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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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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The truce between Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed rebels has "largely been observed" on the first day, despite shelling in the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve, monitors said. Artillery fire was heard for a 69 minute period in the heavily contested area around Debaltseve, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement. Monitors were denied access into town by rebels from the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic and will attempt to gain access again on Monday, the OSCE said.
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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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A video released Sunday claimed to show Islamic State militants beheading 21 Egyptian Christians abducted in Libya, drawing a vow by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi to make an "appropriate response." In the video, masked black-suited extremists appear leading the captives in orange jumpsuits to a coastal area identified as the province of Tripoli by the Mediterranean. The hostages are forced to kneel before they are simultaneously beheaded.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: CANACCORD RAISES TATE & LYLE TO 'BUY' ('SELL')
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GOLDMAN RAISES MELROSE INDUSTRIES TO 'CONVICTION BUY ' ('NEUTRAL')
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TRADERS: NUMIS RAISES LAIRD TO 'ADD' ('HOLD')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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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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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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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 Ltd 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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Acacia Mining reported an increase in earnings in 2014 despite revenue remaining flat from 2013, after the Africa-focused gold miner implemented "stringent" capital controls, which allowed it to increase its full-year dividend by 40%. For the year ended December 31, the FTSE 250-listed miner reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of USD253 million, up 5% from 2013 despite being hit by non-cash charges of USD27 million. Revenue for the year remained flat from 2013 at USD930 million after increased production was offset by the lower gold price.
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NMC Health said it has secured a USD825 million financing facility from a range of international and regional banks through its NMC Healthcare LLC subsidiary. The FTSE 250-listed healthcare provider, which operates in the United Arab Emirates, has secured the financing in two tranches, split between a USD350 million amortising term-loan facility and a USD475 million delayed-draw acquisition facility.
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Animal genetics company Genus said it has struck a deal to buy a 51% stake in In Vitro Brasil SA via its ABS bovine genetics business. In Vitro Brasil is a Brazil-based biotechnology company focused on the production of bovine embryos through in-vitro fertilisation. Genus will pay BRL20 million, or around GBP4.6 million, in cash to acquire the company. It expects to acquire the remaining 49% stake in the company in the first half of 2018 by exercising a call option. The consideration for the remaining stake is capped at BRL49 million, or GBP11.2 million, it said.
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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.
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Takeover talks between TSB Banking Group and fellow challenger bank Aldermore fell apart in the past few weeks, the Times has reported. According to the report, which appeared online on Saturday, the talks over an acquisition of Aldermore are "understood" to have broken down over price, with the target's private equity owners looking for more than GBP600 million.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Aer Lingus Group said it has appointed Stephen Kavanagh as its new chief executive, with effect from March 1. The Irish flag carrier said Kavanagh moves to the role from his current position as chief strategy and planning officer for the airline. Current CEO Christoph Mueller will leave the company on February 28.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Apple has several hundred employees working towards creating an Apple-branded electric vehicle. The project, code-named "Titan," initially is working on the design of a vehicle that resembles a minivan, The Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. The Journal said that Apple executives have flown to Austria to meet with contract manufacturers for high-end cars including the Magna Steyr unit of Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc.
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Google disclosed in a regulatory filing that its co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin each intends to sell approximately 2 million shares of each Class B common stock (converted into Class A common stock) and non-voting Class C capital stock.
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Volkswagen will expand its production capacity in China by more than previously planned to keep pace with soaring growth in the world's largest car market, its chief executive officer for China said Saturday. Jochem Heizmann said VW was boosting its target for production capacity in China by 2019 to 5 million units, up from 4 million previously.
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Eurasia Drilling Co
Gowin New Energy Group
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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