Character Share News (CCT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - BP's ongoing efforts to cap the amount that it will pay out for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster got a boost Friday, after the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that BP will pay a minimum Clean Water Act penalty of USD3.5 billion and a maximum of USD13.7 billion, several billion dollars less than feared.

While the actual penalty has yet to be determined, the court ruled that 3.19 million barrels of oil were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, well below the US government's initial estimate of 4.09 million barrels which could have led to a penalty of up to USD17.6 billion.

Under the Clean Water Act, the maximum penalty for a "simply negligent" oil spill is USD1,100 per barrel. However, if a company is found "grossly negligent", then the penalty surges to as much as USD4,300 a barrel.

In the phase 1 trial, the court found that BP was "grossly negligent" in its source control efforts for the oil spill, but the court said it has now found that BP was "not grossly negligent" in its source control efforts. However, the judge stock to his ruling that BP had been grossly negligent leading up to the explosion that claimed 11 lives and led to the worst offshore oil spill in US history.

BP had claimed that it is only liable for 2.45 million barrels under the Clean Water Act as some of the crude oil was skimmed from the sea. However, the court has reached the 3.19 million barrels figure after taking the oil skimming into consideration.

The phase 3 of the Clean Water Act trial, currently scheduled to begin in the Court on January 20, will address the penalty assessment. BP has reportedly asked that the per-barrel fine be capped at USD3,000. The oil major has already allocated USD3.5 billion to cover the Clean Water Act penalty, and has reportedly spent a further USD43 billion in spill response and claims.

Forex brokers and trading platforms are counting the cost of the Swiss National Bank's surprise decision to remove its long-standing ceiling against the euro, with the subsequent sharp rise in the value of the Swiss franc amid drying up liquidity catching out market participants across the world.

In the UK, Alpari, the foreign exchange online trading website that sponsors West Ham United Football Club, Friday said it has been forced into insolvency by the Swiss National Bank's removal of the cap on the Swiss franc against the euro.

London Capital Group Holdings said the impact on its balance sheet won't exceed GBP1.7 million, a day after IG Group Holdings said it was looking at a loss of up to GBP30 million. Plus 500, listed on AIM, said the volatility had had "no material impact" on its financial and trading position.

Meanwhile, CMC Markets, the privately held online trading company that was founded as a foreign exchange broker in 1989 by entrepreneur Peter Cruddas, said that CMC sustained "some losses, however, the overall impact including possible bad debts has not materially impacted the group".

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Markets: London stocks are trading flat to lower as investors pore over the actions of the Swiss National Bank, which shocked markets on Thursday by removing its exchange rate peg to the euro, a move that many suggest means the European Central Bank could introduce broader stimulus measures as early as next week. The euro is trading lower against the dollar after eurozone inflation was confirmed as falling into negative territory for the first time since 2009 in December, endorsing the case for stimulus measures.

US stock futures are pointing to a lower open on Wall Street. The DJIA and S&P 500 are set to open down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 is set to open down about 0.6%.

FTSE 100: flat at 6,498.39
FTSE 250: down 0.6% at 15,813.55
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.2% at 695.83
GBP-USD: up at 1.5197
EUR-USD: down at USD1.1587
GOLD: down at USD1,259.45 an ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD49.64 a barrel
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Top Corporate News
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Royal Dutch Shell was among four companies to sign a memorandum of understanding for a floating liquefied natural gas terminal in Kakinada Deep Water Seaport in Kakinada, in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Shell, Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corp, French energy group GDF Suez SA and Indian state-owned natural gas company GAIL (India) Ltd signed two separate memorandums of understanding for the project. The first has been signed by Shell, Andhra Pradesh Gas and GDF Suez and will support development of the terminal. Andra Pradesh Gas will have a 48% equity interest in this portion of the project, with Shell and GDF Suez holding 26% apiece. The second agreement has been signed by Shell, GAIL and GDF Suez and will cover the sourcing of the LNG and the marketing of the regasified LNG from the terminal. GAIL will have a 48% equity interest, with GDF and Shell again taking 26% each.
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Afren shares have risen strongly on the back of news that suitor SEPLAT Petroleum Development Co has secured a refinancing deal which includes an option to increase the facility by GBP700 million to back acquisitions. Afren and SEPLAT have both confirmed the pair are "highly preliminary" talks over a possible bid for Afren by SEPLAT. They have not revealed any financial details on the talks. On Thursday, SEPLAT said it had secured a USD1 billion refinancing deal which includes an option to upside the facility by an additional USD700 million for "qualifying acquisition opportunities".
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J Sainsbury said it has switched its audit account to Ernst & Young LLP from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Ernst & Young will take over the auditing of the supermarket's accounts for the 52 weeks to March 12, 2016, following Sainsbury's annual general meeting in March.
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The escalating price war among big UK supermarkets and discounters has put many smaller food retailers and suppliers at risk of going under, according to a report from insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor. The Red Flag Alert report from Begbies for the fourth quarter of 2014 found the UK food retailing industry experienced one of the sharpest increases on record in instances of 'significant' financial distress in all sectors monitored. The number of businesses considered to be struggling significantly increased to 4,552 in the quarter, up 58% from the 2,878 categorised this way in the fourth quarter of 2013.
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JD Sports Fashion said it expects its pretax profit for the year to the end of January to come in ahead of market expectations following a rise in sales over the Christmas period. The FTSE 250-listed retailer said like-for-like sales rose 12% in the five weeks to January 3, noting the rise comes against strong comparative figures in the year-earlier period. As a result, cumulative like-for-like sales growth in the 48 weeks to January 3 is now at 12%, JD Sports said.
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Moneysupermarket.com said it expects to report that full-year 2014 revenue grew by around 10%, while it also expects one measure of earnings to grow by 13%, helped by improved revenue figures for the fourth quarter. In a statement, the price comparison website, which aims to help customers save money on their household bills, said it expects 2014 revenue of GBP248 million, up 10%, while it expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the region of GBP95 million, up 13%.
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Instrumentation and controls company Spectris said it expects its adjusted operating profit to be around GBP198 million for 2014, in line with previous guidance, as it saw sales up 5% in its fourth quarter on both a reported and constant currency basis. In October, the company had guided that it expected its full-year earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation to be modestly below company-compiled consensus of GBP200 million, due to weaker trading patterns from its second quarter continuing into its third.
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Chemicals company Synthomer said its full-year trading has been in line with its expectations, with demand in the last two months of 2014 falling in line with its forecasts. Synthomer said its trading and profitability for the year to December 31 was in line with its expectations. It expects full-year pre-tax profit to be in the middle of consensus estimates. According to the company, the consensus range is currently between GBP80.9 million and GBP87.3 million.
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Acacia Mining reported a rise in fourth-quarter gold production and sales, with costs also falling, and said its full-year production has topped guidance. FTSE 250-listed Acacia, which changed its name earlier this year having previously been called African Barrick Gold, said its gold production for the fourth quarter to the end of December rose to 181,804 ounces, up from 165,374 last year. Gold sales for the quarter rose to 194,243 ounces from 168,177 in 2013. The group said its all-in sustaining costs estimate for the fourth quarter was USD1,088 per ounce sold, 6% lower than the USD1,171 for last year.
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AIM Movers
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Character Group shares are up after it said it expects to "at least" meet market expectations for its current financial year to end-August, following encouraging trading in the run up to the 2014 Christmas season. Character Group said sales in the current financial year to date are up around 28% compared with the previous year. Software Radio Technology is also up after it signed a deal with an unnamed partner for the supply of its GeoVS maritime display system for a major port in Malaysia. Pure Wafer shares have fallen after it said it doesn't expect full-scale production at its Swansea facility to restart for up to 12 months following the fire at the plant in December. London Capital Group Holdings is another faller after it warned that the impact from the Swiss National Bank's unexpected removal of the ceiling for the Swiss franc against the euro will be up to GBP1.7 million.
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Other Top Economics And General
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Eurozone inflation turned negative in December, as initially estimated, for the first time in more than five years in December, final data from Eurostat showed. The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices fell 0.2% year-on-year in December, reversing the 0.3% rise in November. This was the biggest fall seen since September 2009, when prices decreased 0.3%. Consumer prices declined for the first time since October 2009, when prices fell 0.1%.
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Germany's inflation eased to its lowest level in five years, dragged by lower energy costs amid the falling oil prices. The EU measure of inflation slowed in December as estimated in the flash estimate to reach its lowest level in more than five years, final figures from Destatis revealed. The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 0.1% year-on-year in December, confirming the preliminary estimate, following a 0.5% increase in the previous month. It was the lowest figure since October 2009, when prices fell 0.1%.
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European new car registrations grew in 2014, ending the declining trend seen in the past six years, led by strong sales growth in Spain, Portugal and Ireland, where economic activity is gaining momentum, as well as Greece. New car registrations grew 5.7% in 2014 to 11.88 million units, marking the first increase since 2007, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, said.
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Global recovery faces strong headwinds despite lower oil prices and higher growth in the US, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said. The world growth is still too low, too brittle, and too lopsided, she told the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. The IMF is set to publish its global growth forecasts next week. Lagarde said the year 2015 must be the "year of action" when policymakers redouble their efforts to tackle deep-seated economic weaknesses and show greater political leadership on infrastructure investment, trade agreements, and climate change.
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US President Barack Obama received British Prime Minister David Cameron for a working dinner at the White House late Thursday against the backdrop of the newest terrorist attacks in Europe. They planned to continue meeting on Friday, with a press conference at 1720 GMT. The men were expected to discuss cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and in the coalition fighting to halt the onslaught of the Islamic State in Iraq.
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Ukraine launched a plan to mobilise more than 100,000 soldiers this year as government forces engaged in heavy fighting with Russia-backed separatists in the country's east. The parliament in Kiev voted 268-1 to back a decree by President Petro Poroshenko that stipulates three waves of mobilization. Poroshenko signed the decree Wednesday, saying it enables much-needed reinforcements.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Arab countries for financial support, weeks after Israel suspended the transfer of tax revenues in a punitive measure after the Palestinians applied to join the International Criminal Court. Addressing an Arab League meeting in Cairo, Abbas requested Arab countries to expedite the delivery of USD100 million a month pledged in a safety net to the Palestinian Authority.
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Afternoon Watchlist (all times in GMT)

13:30 US Consumer Price Index
14:15 US Industrial Production
14:55 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Preliminary
16:00 US FOMC Member Williams speech
21:00 US Total Net TIC Flows
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Monday's Key UK Corporate Events

Thorntons - Q2 Trading Statement
Evraz - Full Year Results
Greene King - Trading Statement
WANdisco - Q4 Bookings Update
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Sunday's Key Economic Events (all times in GMT)

01:30 China House Price Index
02:00 China FDI - Foreign Direct Investment

Monday's Key Economic Events (all times in GMT)

All Day US Martin L. King's Birthday
00:01 UK Rightmove House Price Index
04:30 Japan Industrial Production
05:00 Japan Consumer Confidence Index
09:00 EU Current Account
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