Character Share News (CCT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened higher Friday despite negative news from two FTSE 100 companies, Royal Dutch Shell and Shire.

The oil major issued a profit warning, and the pharmaceutical firm said it will book a loss on the sale of its Dermagraft living-skin substitute assets.

Shell shares are down 3.4% at the open, while Shire shares are up 0.8%.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:

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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 5.41 at 6,820.83
FTSE 250: up 18.04 at 16,227.69
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.88 at 884.99
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DJIA: closed down 64.93 at 16,417.01
S&P 500: closed down 2.49 at 1,845.89
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6316
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3595

GOLD: down at USD1,240.80 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD105.64 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

09:30 UK Retail Sales
10:00 EU Construction Output
12:15 UK MPC Member Broadbent Speech
13:30 US Housing Starts
14:15 US Industrial Production
14:55 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Preliminary
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UK Chancellor George Osborne has cleared the way for a rise in the minimum wage to GBP7 an hour, The Times and other media reported. In a surprise recommendation, Osborne said a recovering economy means employers can afford to pay the increased minimum, which currently stands at GBP6.31. The Times said the recommendation is intended to "blunt" claims from the Labour Party that millions of the British electorate aren't seeing any benefit from Britain's improving economic environment. The independent Low Pay Commission will make a decision on the final pay rate next month. Osborne did not recommend a specific rate for the minimum wage.
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The US Senate voted 72 to 26 late Thursday in favour of a massive government spending bill that avoids another government shutdown until at least October. The USD1.1 trillion bill, which eases tough spending cuts in place since March 2013, overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives earlier and now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. Obama is expected to sign it by Saturday, the Washington Post reported.
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The People's Bank of China will adopt various tools to maintain appropriate liquidity, Zhang Xiaohui, head of the monetary policy department wrote in an article published on China Finance magazine.
The bank intends to widen the issuance of interbank certificates of deposit and enhance the role of market forces in determining the exchange rate, Zhang said. The central bank last week said it will continue to keep steady and appropriate credit growth and social financing. It also pledged to increase the use of Chinese yuan in cross-border transaction while preventing risks of capital movements.
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The Japanese government upwardly revised its assessment of the economy for the first time in four months as the recovery picked up, reflecting improvement in household income and business investment. "The Japanese economy is recovering at a moderate pace," the Cabinet Office said in its monthly report. This is an upgrade from its view last month that the economy is "in the process of recovery at a moderate pace."
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Japan's consumer confidence deteriorated unexpectedly in December, monthly survey data from the Cabinet Office showed. The consumer sentiment index fell to seasonally adjusted 41.3 from 42.5 in November. The score was forecast to rise to 43.
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US President Obama updated British Prime Minister David Cameron Thursday on a review of US surveillance programmes in the wake of revelations of the breadth of the spying, the White House said. Obama is due to deliver remarks Friday on reforms to US surveillance programmes based on a review ordered amid outrage from many allies, lawmakers and civil libertarians about the widespread collection of telephone and internet records and spying on foreign leaders by the National Security Agency (NSA). "President Obama also updated the prime minister on the ongoing US signals intelligence review and both leaders noted the intensive dialogue that the US and UK have had on these issues, at all levels," spokesman Jay Carney said after a phone call between the leaders.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry called Thursday for the Syrian opposition to take part in a peace conference in Switzerland next week amid questions about whether they will attend. He urged the main opposition group to vote Friday in favour of participating in the talks that he stressed were "the only way to bring about an end to the civil war that has triggered one of the planet's most severe humanitarian disasters and which has created the seeding grounds for extremism."
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The EU will suspend sanctions against Iran just hours after it has confirmation that Tehran has taken the necessary steps to keep its side of the nuclear deal with six world powers, an EU official said in Brussels Thursday. Iran is due Monday to halt the enrichment of uranium above a level of 5% and to start down-blending uranium enriched to higher levels, according to the official and a Western diplomat in Vienna. Monday's carefully sequenced steps by both sides will start the implementation of the deal that was agreed in Geneva in November and that will also involve other steps to be taken over its duration of six months.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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UBS CUTS SYNTHOMER TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 280 (255) PENCE
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CITIGROUP RAISES PREMIER FARNELL TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 275 (195) PENCE
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JPMORGAN CUTS DIAGEO TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT') - PRICE TARGET 1970 (2050) PENCE
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CREDIT SUISSE CUTS INTERTEK TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OUTP.') - TARGET 3200 (3500) PENCE
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DEUTSCHE BANK INITIATES OCADO WITH 'SELL' - TARGET 440 PENCE
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TRADERS: NOMURA RAISES PETROFAC TO 'BUY'
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TRADERS: LIBERUM INITIATES PAGE GROUP WITH 'BUY'
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TRADERS: LIBERUM INITIATES HAYS WITH 'BUY'
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TRADERS: LIBERUM INITIATES ROBERT WALTERS WITH 'BUY'
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TRADERS: LIBERUM INITIATES STHREE WITH 'BUY'
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BERENBERG INITIATES DS SMITH WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 400 PENCE
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BERENBERG INITIATES TYMAN WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 327 PENCE
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TRADERS: MORGAN STANLEY CUTS ROTORK TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL-WEIGHT')
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SOCGEN STARTS MORRISON WITH 'SELL' - TARGET 200 PENCE
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TRADERS: LIBERUM CUTS CSR PLC TO 'HOLD' ('BUY')
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TRADERS: SOCGEN INITIATES SAINSBURY WITH 'HOLD' - TARGET 370 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC issued a profit warning, saying its fourth quarter results are expected to be significantly lower than recent levels of profitability having been hit by a range of issues including weak industry conditions in downstream oil products, higher exploration expenses and lower upstream volumes. In a statement, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said the company's 2013 performance "was not what I expect from Shell". He said the company would now focus on improving its financial results, improving its capital efficiency and strengthening its operational performance and project delivery.
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William Hill Expects FY Group Operating Profit To Be About GBP334M; FY Group Net Revenue Up 16%; Says Experienced Strong Q4; Says Recorded Loss Of About GBP13M In Week 2; Says Football Results Have Gone Against It In Week 2
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Shire PLC said it has sold its Dermagraft living skin substitute assets to the US's Organogenesis Ltd, as it said the prospects of the product had been "significantly" reduced, and will take a USD650 million loss on the disposal. Massachusetts-based Organogenesis will make no upfront payment for the assets but will pay up to USD300 million in milestones payments should it meet certain performance criteria in the next four years. Shire noted that the one-off loss related to the disposal and associated impairment charges would be excluded from non GAAP earnings, and will be reported as discontinued in its fourth quarter and full year earnings. The assets had a value of USD683 million.
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Aviva PLC said it has entered a joint venture with PT Astra International Tbk to create a life insurer - Astra Aviva Life - in Indonesia. PT Astra International Tbk, Indonesia’s largest publicly listed company with a market capitalisation of about USD25 billion, and Aviva have formed the 50-50 joint venture in order to sell life insurance products in Indonesia. Aviva said Astra Aviva Life will become the life insurer of choice for Astra and its subsidiaries.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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FirstGroup Says Overall Trading In Line With Its Expectations; Says UK Rail Delivering Solid Passenger Revenue, Volume Growth; Slowing Of Margin In First Student Disappointing
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Spectris Pleased With Q4 Performance, Well Positioned For 2014; FY Sales Up 2%, Like For Like Sales Broadly Flat; Q4 Sales & Like For Like Sales Up 3%
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Evraz Says Consolidate Crude Steel Production Broadly Flat In Q4 Vs Q3;
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Synergy Health Says Trading In Line With Expectations For Full Year; 9-Mo Revenues GBP286.9M Vs GBP264.7M; Revenues Up Everywhere Except Europe & Middle East
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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BrainJuicer Says Pretax Profit To Be Up GBP3.5M Vs GBP1.5M In 2012; Says UK And US Businesses Performed Well
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Alecto Minerals Raises GBP1.5M In Placing Of 100 Million New Shares
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STM Group Names Therese Neish As Chief Financial Officer
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JQW Expects FY Pretax Profit Of RMB127M
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Surgical Innovations Expects Adjusted EBITDA To Be Significantly Below 2012; Says Profitability Hurt By USD Exchange Rate, Strategy Investment
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Boxhill Technologies Chairman To Say Performing As Expected Since December
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24/7 Gaming Says Gaming Return For Direct Marketing Spend Was Unsatisfactory; Says Gross Gaming Revenue Almost Doubled Each Quarter Of 2013; Seeking Additional Funding To Strengthen Working Capital After Trading Results; Restructuring, Including Layoffs
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Character Group Says Christmas Met Its Expectations
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COMPANIES - OTHER
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The initial public offering of Britain's largest mobile operator, EE, has been delayed by Orange and Deutsche Telekom after the joint owners concluded that they would secure a higher valuation for the business once its 4G telephone service is fully rolled out, the Financial Times reported Friday. The two firms had been working on options for a partial sale of EE for more than a year.
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

No Events Scheduled
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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