BP Share News (BP.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - BHP Billiton spin-off South32 is trading slightly higher amid a generally mixed open Monday, as the mining company begins its first trading session in London.

South32, which also is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, is quoted up 0.7% at 104.75 pence in London. The company has 5.32 billion ordinary shares in issue.

BHP Billiton announced its plan to demerge South32 in August 2014 and was given the backing by 98.05% of its shareholders earlier this month. BHP is the worst performer in the FTSE 100 early Monday, down 4.2% at 1,468.00p.

South32 says it is the world's largest producer of manganese ore and owns the world's largest silver mine. It also has assets producing bauxite, alumina, aluminium, thermal and metallurgical coal, nickel, lead and zinc.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.2% at 6,974.66
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 17,998.76
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 762.17
----------
Hang Seng: down 1.0% at 27,535.49
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.8% at 19,890.27
DJIA: closed up 0.1% at 18,272.56
S&P 500: closed up 0.1% at 2,122.73
----------
GBP: down at USD1.5692
EUR: down at USD1.1420

GOLD: up at USD1,229.20 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD67.42 a barrel

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

09:00 Italy Trade Balance
12:00 Germany Buba Monthly Report
15:00 US NAHB Housing Market Index
19:00 US Fed's Evans Speech
----------
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he will announce the Summer Budget on July 8. Osborne pledged to deliver policies for the working people. The Conservatives came to power for a second time following the general election held on May 7. "I am going to take the unusual step of having a second budget of the year - because I don't want to wait to turn the promises we made in the election into a reality . And I can tell you it will be a budget for working people," he wrote in the Sun newspaper. He is likely to reveal the blueprint of a planned GBP12 billion reduction in welfare bills.
----------
British manufacturers reported growth in export orders and sales in the first quarter, a quarterly report released by the British Chambers of Commerce and DHL Express showed. About 46% of manufacturers said increased export orders improved in the first quarter, compared to 36% in the fourth quarter, according to International Trade Outlook report. Likewise, nearly 43% of manufacturers reported an increase in export sales, up from 38% seen a quarter ago. Meanwhile, the proportion of service firms that recorded increased export sales remained steady at 33%.
----------
The average asking price for a new house in the UK was down 0.1% on month in May, property tracking website Rightmove said on Monday - coming in at GBP285,89. That follows the 1.6% increase in April. By region, prices in London fell 2.3%, while the north-east and Yorkshire also were down. Prices in the east climbed 1.4%. On a yearly basis, house prices advanced 2.5%, slowing from 4.7% in the previous month.
----------
The Saudi-led coalition resumed its airstrikes on rebels in Yemen early Monday, a news report said, after a five-day humanitarian truce in the country expired. Warplanes struck at Houthi rebels in al-Awlaban and al-Arish in the southern province of Aden, Al Jazeera reported, citing unnamed Saudi officials. The ceasefire expired at 11 pm local time on Sunday.
----------
The Iraqi government said it would dispatch allied Shiite fighters to the mostly Sunni province of Anbar after a retreat by security forces in the face of advancing Islamic State militants there. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the Shiite paramilitaries, known as the Popular Mobilization, to be prepared for fighting the jihadists in Anbar, which is Iraq's largest province, state broadcaster al-Iraqiya reported. The decision to send the Shiite allies to Anbar comes after the extremists overran the last district held by government forces in Ramadi, the capital city of Anbar that stretches from Baghdad to Syrian border.
----------
Iran poses no danger to the Gulf States and is ready to begin a dialogue with the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said in Tehran. Speaking about this week's meeting between the GCC and the US at Camp David, Marzieh Afkham said: "Iran views dialogue with its neighbouring countries (in the GCC) as necessary and has always demanded this."
----------
Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza made his first public appearance on Sunday after a failed coup. Nkurunziza met with ruling party officials in the Kamenge neighbourhood of the capital, Bujumbura, as part of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy's (CNDD-FDD) election campaign. Local government polls are scheduled for May 26 in the small East African country, with presidential elections set for June 26.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
TRADERS: CITIGROUP RAISES WEIR GROUP TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL')
----------
GOLDMAN CUTS BP TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - PRICE TARGET 364 (410) PENCE
----------
S&P CAPITAL IQ CUTS INTERTEK TO 'STRONG SELL' ('SELL') - TARGET 2300 PENCE
----------
UBS CUTS SIG TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 210 (205) PENCE
----------
UBS CUTS LAIRD TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 400 (365) PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Babcock International Group reported strong growth in pretax profit for its last financial year as revenue was buoyed by major new contract wins and acquisitions. The engineering support services company focused on infrastructure and big projects reported a pretax profit of GBP313.1 million for the year to end-March, up from GBP218.8 million a year earlier as its own revenue rose to GBP4.00 billion from GBP3.32 billion. Revenue including its share of joint venture and associates' revenue rose to GBP4.50 billion, from GBP3.55 billion. Babcock raised its full-year dividend to 23.6 pence, from 21.4p, to reflect the improved financial performance.
----------
Mining giant Rio Tinto is planning to sell unwanted aluminium assets in a potential USD1 billion deal, the latest sign of global miners' attempts to restructure in the face of a commodities downturn, the Financial Times reported. The Anglo-Australian company has engaged Credit Suisse to find a buyer for its Pacific Aluminium business, a group of smelters in Australia and New Zealand, the report said quoting people aware of Rio's plans. The company has tried to sell Pacific Aluminium, known as PacAl, in the past, but halted its efforts in 2013 after there was scant interest in its loss-making operations.
----------
ARM Holdings and United Microelectronics (UMC), a semiconductor foundry, announced the availability of a new ARM Artisan physical IP solution on 55 nm to accelerate the development of ARM processor-based embedded systems and Internet of Things applications. According to the company, UMC's 55nm ultra-low-power process technology is emerging as an ideal solution for energy-efficient IoT applications.
----------
AstraZeneca revealed Movantik - naloxegol - had a similar incidence of adverse events among elderly patients as compared to placebo or usual care, in a presentation at the Digestive Disease Week 2015 in Washington, DC. The study evaluated the effects of daily oral administration of Movantik 12.5 mg or 25 mg versus placebo among outpatients 65 years and older with opioid-induced constipation and chronic non-cancer pain. The results came after further analysis of the Phase III KODIAC-04, KODIAC-05 and KODIAC-08 studies.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
888 Holdings confirmed press reports over the weekend that it was intending to gatecrash GVC Holdings' reverse takeover offer for online gaming company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, saying it has submitted a cash and shares takeover bid for the company. 888 said it thinks there is "significant industrial logic" in combining its business with that of Bwin and has submitted a proposal to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the company for an undisclosed amount in cash and 888 shares.
----------
Pork and poultry producer Cranswick reported a drop in profit in its recently-ended financial year despite a rise in sales, as it booked costs associated with the valuation of assets, amortisation of assets, and a contingent consideration following its purchase of Kingston Foods in 2012. The pork and poultry specialist reported a drop in profit in the year ended March 31 to GBP52.8 million from GBP54.8 million the year before, even though revenue grew to GBP1.00 billion for the first time, from GBP994.9 million. Cranswick will pay a final dividend of 23.4 pence, up 6.4% on 22p the prior year, making a total dividend of 34p, an increase of 6.3% on the 32p paid the year before.
----------
MITIE Group reported a lower pretax profit for its last financial year, as increased costs for completing an exit from its mechanical and electrical engineering construction business and for writedowns in its asset management business offset growth in revenue. The outsourcing and energy services company reported a pretax profit of GBP41.5 million for the year to end-March, down from GBP68.4 million a year earlier. Excluding exceptional costs, pretax profit rose to GBP114.1 million, from GBP113.3 million, as revenue grew to GBP2.27 billion from GBP2.14 billion. MITIE raised its final dividend for its last financial year to 6.5 pence, from 6.1p, bringing the full-year dividend to 11.7p, up from 11.0p.
----------
Satellite communications service provider Inmarsat said it is suspending its guidance of a 8 to 12% compound annual growth rate in revenue from wholesale mobile satellite services over 2014 to 2016, as the launch of its third Global Xpress satellite I-5 F3 has been delayed by the failure of a related satellite. The delay is due to a failure to launch the Proton Breeze M rocket carrying the Centenario satellite on Saturday. According to Inmarsat's launch partner International Launch Services, the rocket suffered a "disabling anomaly" after lift-off, leading to the loss of the satellite and the rocket.
----------
Engineering software company Aveva Group is understood to be an acquisition target for a slew of US and European suitors, The Sunday Times reports. Senior City sources told the newspaper that Aveva is likely to be targeted by French energy group Schneider Electric SA, US conglomerate General Electric Co, and US-based manufacturer Emerson Electric Co. Aveva is set to publish its full-year results on Tuesday following a difficult year compounded by a profit warning it issued in September.
----------
COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Afren said non-executive directors Peter Bingham and John St John have decided to retire and won't be putting themselves forward for re-election at the company's Annual General Meeting on June 25. As previously announced, the company is seeking to appoint additional non-executive directors to the board and will make further appointments in due course as appropriate," Executive Chairman Egbert Imomoh said.
----------
SolGold said Chief Executive Alan Martin resigned on Sunday and will leave immediately, with Executive Director Nicholas Mather taking the role on an interim basis until a suitable replacement is found. Mather was the company's CEO between about 2005 and 2011, holds a stake of about 11% in the company, and recently reviewed its operations at its key Cascabel copper-gold-porphyry project in Ecuador.
----------
Chocolate maker and retailer Thorntons said Chief Executive Jonathan Hart will resign from the company on June 27. Chief Operating Officer Barry Bloomer will act as interim chief executive until a permanent successor is found, Thorntons said.
----------
Insulation provider Superglass Holdings said Chairman John Colley is to step down from his role on June 19. Superglass said the process of recruiting a new chairman will be conducted in consultation with major shareholders.
----------
Transense Technologies said it is working with US industrial giant General Electric Corp to develop new instrumentation applications using Transense's wireless, passive Surface Acoustic Wave measurement technology. The British company said the development aligns the Transense SAW technology expertise with GE's proficiency in large scale production and product delivery, opening up new global opportunities.
----------
COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
----------
French luxury goods company Kering, parent company of Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other luxury brands, filed a lawsuit in the US against Alibaba Group Holding claiming that Alibaba and its associated companies "knowingly encourage, assist, and profit from the sale of counterfeits on their online platforms," according to reports. Alibaba reportedly said the complaint had no basis and that it has a "strong track record" of helping brands fight counterfeits.
----------
Archer Daniels Midland Co announced that it has reached an agreement to purchase Meiweiyuan Biotechnology Co, a privately held sweetener manufacturer near the city of Wuhan, in the central Chinese province of Hubei. ADM also announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Hanchuan County, Hubei Province, in which the government commits to supporting ADM's investment and its future expansion in the region.
----------
Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Centamin
Fresnillo
TMT Investments
New Europe Property
Microgen
Hiscox
Bioquell
Horizon Discovery
Panmure Gordon
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.