Faron Pharmaceuticals Share News (FARN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Royal Bank of Scotland, up 1.5%. The state-backed lender could use up to GBP4 billion of extra capital to pay out a special dividends to shareholders, The Times newspaper reported. RBS Chairman Howard Davies told the newspaper that, despite wanting to use the spare cash to buy the bank's shares from the government, if shareholders wanted the special dividend it was a possible option. The special dividend could be up to 33 pence per share to investors, who have not received a payout from the bank in more than 10 years, the newspaper reported. "If there are a lot of shareholders pressing for a special dividend, that is something we would consider," Davies told the Times. ----------Antofagasta, up 0.9%. HSBC raised the Chilean copper miner to Hold from Reduce. ----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Marks & Spencer Group, down 2.7%. Shares in the food, clothing and homewares retailer were lower after department store chain John Lewis Partnership issued a warning for the full-year, amid "challenging times in retail". For the six months to July 28, John Lewis Partnership, which also owns the Waitrose supermarket chain, reported 81% drop in pretax profit to GBP6.0 million from GBP30.8 million a year before. On an adjusted basis, pretax profit slumped 99% to GBP1.2 million. At the end of June, the company had said it expected its interim profit to be "near zero". Looking ahead, John Lewis said that it continues to expect full-year profits to "be substantially lower than last year for the group as a whole". "John Lewis is the bellwether of the UK retail sector, so the fact it's finding life so hard is an indication of just how dire things are on the high street right now," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Laith Khalaf. Rival chain Debenhams was down 11%. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Grainger, up 5.3%. The residential landlord was raised to Buy from Add by Numis. ----------KAZ Minerals, up 1.8%. HSBC upgraded the Kazakhstan-based miner to Buy from Hold. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Inmarsat, down 2.0%, Equiniti Group, down 1.8%. The stocks went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Bushveld Minerals, up 18%. The miner said it has raised its interest in the Vametco vanadium mine located near Pretoria, South Africa, to 75% from 59.1%. Bushveld has acquired the entire 21.22% interest that Sojitz Noble Alloys Corp held in Strategic Minerals Corp, the 75% owner of Vametco, for USD20 million in cash. Following completion of the deal, Bushveld via its Bushveld Vametco unit will own 100% of Strategic Minerals Corp and therefore have an indirect beneficial interest of 75% in the Vametco mine. The company used its existing cash resources to complete the stake acquisition.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Faron Pharmaceuticals, down 15%. The biopharmaceutical company said its loss for the first half of its financial year increased on higher research costs. For the six months to June 30, the firm posted pretax loss of EUR14.1 million compared to EUR7.1 million a year prior on increased research & development costs by 95% year-on-year to EUR11.7 million from EUR6.0 million. Administrative expenses also increased to EUR2.4 million from EUR1.5 million. As the company focuses on developing drugs, it only generated revenue of EUR20,000 from product sales to Maruishi Pharmaceutical. A year ago revenue was nil. Research expenses increased as a result of clinical costs associated with an unsuccessful trial of Traumakine, a treatment for acute respiratory distress syndrome, as well as an increase in development activities for Clevegen, a potential treatment for various types of cancer, the company explained.----------