BP Share News (BP.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Thursday.
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COMPANIES
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Rio Tinto PLC said it has increased production for iron ore and other metals, achieved record shipment numbers and slashed its annual costs. The major Anglo-Australian miner said it produced 70.4 million tonnes of iron ore in its fourth quarter ending December 31, 2013, a 6% increase on the same quarter the previous year, while full-year 2013 iron ore production increased 5% from the previous year to 266.0 million tonnes. The company said iron ore shipments from its Pilbara mine in Australia exceeded production by two million tonnes in the fourth quarter despite some slight impacts from cyclone Christine.
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British energy giant BP PLC Wednesday published its BP Energy Outlook 2035, expecting 41% increase in global energy consumption from 2012 to 2035 driven by emerging economies - led by China and India. The outlook, which focuses on supply sufficiency, security and sustainability, noted that global energy demand continues to grow but that growth is slowing. The projection of 41% increase in global energy consumption compares to 55% over the last 23 years and 30% over the last ten.
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Aberdeen Asset Management PLC said its clients withdrew GBP4.4 billion in the first-quarter, as investors turned against Asian and emerging markets. At the end of December, Aberdeen had GBP193.6 billion in assets under its management, compared to GBP200.4 billion at the beginning of the first-quarter.
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Experian PLC unveiled a boardroom shuffle with current Chief Executive Don Robert to replace John Peace as chairman, while current Chief Financial Officer Brian Cassin is set to become the company's new chief executive. Experian, which provides personal credit checks, said the changes were made after Peace in May said he would be leaving the company. The move allows him to focus on his chairmanship of Standard Chartered, which unveiled its own array of management changes last week.
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Sports Direct International said it has sold its 4.6% stake in Debenhams, acquired only three days ago, and has instead entered into a put option agreement for a 6.6% stake in the ailing retailer. Sports Direct bought a share in Debenhams Monday after the department-store chain reported a poor Christmas, hit by discounting in the sector in the run up to the key retail trading period. Debenhams said it was open to working with Sport Direct to looks at ways to improve its operating performance. Sports Direct said Thursday that it was required to transfer cash collateral to cover its obligations under the put option, and the maximum exposure is around GBP64 million.
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Food producer and clothing retailer Associated British Foods PLC reported another stellar performance from its low-cost fashion fashion retailer Primark for the first quarter, with sales up 14%. But ABF warned that its sugar business was weaker than expected, and it now expects an even bigger fall in profits for the year from the division. ABF reported flat revenues at actual exchange rates for the first quarter ended January 4, and 1% growth at constant rates.
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Booker Group PLC said total sales for the 16 weeks to January 3 2014, including its Makro business, were up 19.1% on last year, as the firm continues to align the Booker and Makro businesses into a single unit. The food wholesaler retailer said Booker like-for-like total sales, excluding Makro, were 2.0% higher with non tobacco like-for-like sales up 4.1% for the period.
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Electrical retailer Dixons Retail PLC said it saw strong sales growth over the Christmas period, as its UK and Ireland business continues to drive growth, but warned that it faces some tough comparables in the fourth quarter ahead. The group has been streamlining to shed its loss-making businesses. It completed the sale of its French operation Pixmania at the end of December, the most significant of three disposals which also include Electroworld Turkey and Unieuro in Italy.
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Ocado Group PLC said gross retail sales for the six trading weeks to January 4 2014 were up 21% to GBP111.1 million, with the online grocer benefiting from extra capacity and a strong Christmas trading period. Ocado said consumers' increasing desire to shop online for their groceries has boosted its bottom line, also reporting a 20% increase in gross retail sales for the 16 weeks to December 1 2014, reaching GBP271.0 million, up from GBP225.7 million last year.
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Halfords Group PLC said total revenue for the 15 weeks to January 10 increased 6.6%, with like-for-like revenue growth up 5.2%, as the company reported record growth in online retail sales.
Revenue was up 7.3% for the 41-week period to January 10 2014 while Like-for-like revenue growth was 5.9%.
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Home improvement retailer Home Retail Group PLC reported strong sales growth for the 18 weeks to January 4, boosted by a strong Christmas period for both its Argos and Homebase businesses. Home Retail said that, after strong sales in its peak trading period, it now expects to achieve full-year group benchmark profits towards the top end of the current range of market expectations of GBP90 million to GBP109 million. The group also announced at John Walden will be taking over from Terry Duddy as Chief Executive Officer, when he steps down on March 14.
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MARKETS
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UK stocks are trading mixed, with the mining sector outperforming after a positive production update from sector giant Rio Tinto.
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FTSE 100: up 7.09 at 6,826.95
FTSE 250: down 33.04 at 16,259.90
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 1.79 at 884.99
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6340
EUR-USD: up at USD1.3613

GOLD: down at USD1,237.54 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD106.13 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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An index monitoring house prices in the UK came in with a score of 56% in December, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed. That was shy of forecasts for 60%, and down from the reading of 58% in November - although the index remained above 50% for the fourth consecutive month. Among the individual components of the survey, expectations for an increase in house prices climbed to 61% from 59% in the previous month.
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Investor sentiment towards UK listed shares has hit a record high, according to the results of the latest Lloyds Bank Private Banking Investor Sentiment Index Survey. The monthly survey, which began in March 2013, charts the difference between the percentage of investors that hold positive views and those that hold negative views on each major asset class. In January 2014, the amount of investors holding a positive view on UK shares rather than negative was the highest since the survey began. The reading of +38 for the UK equity asset class was up from the +35 recorded in December and up from +16 in the first survey in March 2013.
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IRELAND DEC. CPI INFLATION AT 0.2% VS. 0.3% IN NOVEMBER
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Eurozone inflation eased to 0.8% as initially estimated in December, according to final data from Eurostat, released Thursday. The rate was down from 0.9% in November. Inflation has stayed below the European Central Bank's target of 'below, but close to 2%' for the eleventh consecutive month. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in December.
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New car sales in Europe surged in December, growing at their fastest pace in four years, as the region's auto industry recovers from a sharp downturn, according to industry data released Thursday. Registrations in the EU jumped 13% year-on-year to 906,294, helped by heavy discounting by many car dealers across the region, data from the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers Association, (ACEA) showed. December's rise was the biggest since December 2009, ACEA said.
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The number persons employed in German manufacturing sector increased in November from a year earlier, the latest data from the Federal Statistical Office revealed. Almost 5.3 million people were employed in the manufacturing firms with 50 or more employees in November. This was 0.6% more than a year earlier.
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The US economy expanded at a moderate pace in the final weeks of 2013, according to the Federal Reserve's collection of anecdotal information known as the Beige Book. Two-thirds of the 12 districts reported increases in hiring, with most districts expecting the "more of the same" into the new year. Three-quarters of the Districts indicated that retail activity had increased since the last Beige Book report. All Districts reported year-over-year increases in manufacturing activity. The recovery in housing continued in most regions.
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The global growth momentum should strengthen further in 2014, largely due to improvements in advanced economies, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Wednesday. "The world economy had avoided a worst case scenario, thanks to the efforts of global policymakers over the past half decade," she said during remarks at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. At the same time, she warned about underlying risks to global economic outlook. "The global growth is still too low, too fragile, and too uneven," Lagarde said. "It is not enough to create the jobs for the more than 200 million people around the world who need them." While many of the advanced economies face rising risks of deflation, emerging markets are becoming highly vulnerable to risks arising from financial market turbulence and the volatility of capital flows, Lagarde noted.
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China attracted USD12.08 billion foreign direct investment in December, figures from the Ministry of Commerce showed. Investment grew 3.3% year-on-year and was up from USD8.5 billion FDI posted in November. In 2013, FDI increased 5.3% to USD117.59 billion, it said. The Chinese economy expanded 7.8% in the third quarter, the fastest pace in 2013, government data showed in October. The statistical office is scheduled to release the fourth quarter GDP data on January 20.
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China appeared to confirm that it has tested a hypersonic missile vehicle capable of breaching US missile defence systems. "It is normal for China to carry out planned scientific research and experiments within its borders," the Ministry of Defence said in response to a US media report saying China tested the weapon on January 9.
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China reported three new cases of H7N9 avian influenza, the latest of more than 30 cases this month amid a winter surge in infections. The three new cases were in the south-eastern province of Fujian. Twenty-two infections have been reported in the last eight days. State media said health authorities are "deeply concerned" by the rise in new cases of the virus and its possible spread on crowded public transport before and after the lunar new year holiday, or Spring Festival, which begins on January 31.
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The Bank of Japan upgraded its assessment for five of the nine regions in Japan, according to a report published by the central bank. The BoJ's view for the rest of the four regions was left unchanged from that in the previous outlook report released in October.
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Core machine orders in Japan jumped a seasonally adjusted 9.3% on month in November, the Cabinet Office said - coming in at 882.6 billion yen. The headline figure shattered forecasts for an increase of 1.1% following the 0.6% gain in October. On a yearly basis, core machine orders climbed 16.6% - also topping expectations for a jump of 11.7% following the 17.8% spike in the previous month.
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An index tracking the prices of domestic corporate goods was up 0.3% in December compared to the previous month, the Bank of Japan said, standing at 102.8. That matched forecasts following the downwardly revised flat reading in November (originally 0.1%).
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An index measuring tertiary industry activity in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in November compared to the previous month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said, coming in at 100.1. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.7% following the downwardly revised 0.9% contraction in October (originally -0.7%). Industries that saw activity increase included retail trade, finance, accommodations, real estate and health care. Industries that saw activity decline included technical services, communications and utilities.
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More than half of Egypt's eligible voters cast their ballots in a referendum on a draft constitution that marks the first major step in the country's military-backed transition to democracy, an official said on Thursday, citing initial results. "Vote counting is under way. Results available so far point to a high turnout exceeding 55%," police spokesman General Abdel-Fatah Othman said. "Voters who have approved the constitution may exceed 95% of all those who cast their ballots," he told the private broadcaster al-Hayat.
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The Israel air force hit four targets in Gaza in response to rockets fired from the Palestinian territory, the Israeli army said. Militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip launched a volley of rockets toward the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, five of which were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system, an Israeli military spokesman said.
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Anti-government protesters marched on government offices on the fourth day of a "Bangkok shutdown" campaign that is showing signs of flagging support. The protesters, which have occupied seven intersections in the capital since Monday, held marches on Revenue Department offices in the city and the Health Ministry in a bid to encourage civil servants to stop work and join their cause.
The anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) seeks to force caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her cabinet to resign, but the numbers attending the marches have dwindled since Monday, observers said.
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Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone must face trial in Germany for corruption, judges in Munich decided Thursday, according to a court spokeswoman. Ecclestone was indicted in July over allegations of bribery and incitement to misappropriation in a 2006 mega-deal, but the trial remained uncertain until the judges gave their go ahead. Ecclestone, 83, is chief executive of Formula One, the sport he built into one of the world's biggest money-spinners.
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