FJET.L Share News (FJET)

LONDON (Alliance News) - London share prices opened higher Wednesday, the last full day of trading before the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays.

The top-five blue-chip gainers were all mining stocks, led by Anglo American, amid year-end bargain hunting and hopes for fresh Chinese economic stimulus in the new year.

Shire, up 0.8%, will be watched Wednesday, after a second press report that the Irish pharmaceutical company has added a cash element to its GBP20 billion takeover offer for Chicago-based Baxalta International.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 1.2% at 6,155.63
FTSE 250: up 0.6% at 17,275.14
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 723.90
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Hang Seng: up 1.0% at 22,040.59
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.2% at 18,886.70
DJIA: closed up 1.0% at 17,417.27
S&P 500: closed up 0.9% at 2,038.97
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GBP: firm at USD1.4845 (USD1.4814)
EUR: down at USD1.0927 (USD1.0973)

GOLD: soft at USD1,074.20 per ounce (USD1,075.90)
OIL (Brent): firm at USD36.56 a barrel (USD36.39)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

Japan The Emperor's Birthday holiday

09:00 Italy Industrial Sales and Orders
09:30 UK Gross Domestic Product, Business Investment and Index of Services
09:30 UK Current Account
10:00 Italy Retail Sales
12:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications
13:30 US Personal Income, Spending and Consumption Expenditures Price Index
13:30 US Durable Goods Orders
13:30 Canada Gross Domestic Product
13:30 Canada Retail Sales
15:00 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
15:00 US New Home Sales
15:30 US EIA Crude Oil Stocks
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The eurozone's bailout fund cleared the way for Greece to access EUR1 billion in aid, after Athens passed prerequisite reforms. "ESM Board of Directors just authorized the disbursement of EUR1 billion to Greece," the fund, known as the European Stability Mechanism, wrote on Twitter. The funds are part of an EUR86 billion rescue package that was granted to near-bankrupt Greece in August - its third bailout in five years. But the money is only being released piecemeal to ensure that Athens implements economic reforms wanted by its creditors. The 1 billion euros are being released after the Greek parliament voted in favour of reforms that include the reorganization of a privatization fund selling state firms and overhauls in the banking sector, including a decision on how to treat bad loans.
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A terrorist attack against military and police in the city of Orleans, south of Paris, was foiled by French authorities, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the media on Tuesday. In a visit to Toulouse, Cazeneuve said that two French citizens aged 20 and 24 with contact to a third suspect from Syria were arrested in the plot. The minister added that both of the men were already known to the authorities and attributed their arrests to meticulous detective work. The third suspect in Syria is also thought to be a French national.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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NOMURA CUTS BURBERRY PRICE TARGET TO 1450 (1500) PENCE - 'NEUTRAL'
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Liberum Cuts Fastjet Price Target To 90p From 230p, Reiterates Buy
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Royal Dutch Shell said it expects 2016 capital investment by the combined Shell and BG Group to be around USD33 billion in current market conditions, USD2 billion lower than previous guidance of USD35 billion. It marked a reduction of around 30% from what Shell and BG spent separately in 2014, which on a combined group basis was USD47 billion. Shell's operating costs are expected to fall by USD4 billion in 2015, a reduction of around 10% from 2014 levels of USD45 billion.
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AstraZeneca said its Zurampic treatment for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with gout has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The company said that the drug had been approved for use in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, for patients who have not achieved target serum uric acid levels on the xanthine oxidase inhibitor alone.
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Pharmaceuticals group Shire has made a new bid for US peer Baxalta International which is thought to be roughly in line with the latter's valuation expectations, increasing the likelihood of a deal being struck in the next couple of weeks, Reuters reported. The agreement would close out Shire's five-month pursuit of Baxalta, the Illinois-based company which was only spun-out of US group Baxter International earlier this year. The exact terms of the deal could not be learned, but a source told Reuters that Shire has now added enough cash to its previous all-stock bid in order for the talks to advance.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Construction and housebuilding group Galliford Try said its building arm has won places on two UK government frameworks under the Ministry of Defence's Next Generation Estates programme. The frameworks cover the South West and South East regions of England and will be worth up to GBP1.1 billion over four years, with a possible three-year extension to the agreements. The frameworks cover the provision of management, maintenance and development of the UK's defence estate.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Sportech said it has received "a number of indicative proposals" to acquire The Football Pools business. The gaming company said it has invited all the interested suitors to table their best and final proposals for the business by mid-January, after which it will consider the bids and determine whether selling the business is in the best interests of shareholders.
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Stockbroker and investment bank Panmure Gordon said tough market conditions have continued into the second half of the year, leaving it looking robust going into 2016 but with revenue set to miss expectations in 2015. Panmure said a decline in capital market transactions has been seen in the second half of 2015, with a number of transactions pushed into 2016. Due to this, it will make a post-tax loss of GBP4.0 million to GBP4.5 million for all of 2015, which would compared to a GBP1.5 million profit a year earlier. The company said its pipeline for 2016 is strong and should lead to much-improved revenue next year.
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GAME Digital said it now expects its adjusted earnings for its first half to be down from the previous year, citing "disappointing" sales since the start of the school Christmas holidays, and recent trends in the UK console and video games market. The retailer said its total group gross transaction value for the 21 weeks to Saturday was down 6.7%, mostly as a result of a 20% fall in low-margin console sales.
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Leather goods manufacturer Pittards said its profit for 2015 will be "materially below current market expectations", as suppressed demand continued to hits its volumes. However, the company said that it still expects its full year results to show a "reasonable level of profit". According to broker forecasts provided by Morningstar, WH Ireland expects Pittards to report a pretax profit of GBP1.6 million for the year. Pittards said that the continued strength of the US dollar, along with lower raw material prices, are beginning to be shown in better margins, and it is well placed to benefit from a recovery in volumes.
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EKF Diagnostics Holdings said it has agreed to sell its loss-making subsidiary Selah Genomics Inc to its co-founders, Michael Bolick and Jeremy Stuart, for a "nominal" value. EKF said the business was disclosed in its balance sheet at a value of GBP41.4 million as the end of 2014, and this will now be written off. EKF expects to save around GBP2 million annually from the sale of Selah in the future.
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Progressive Digital Media Group said it has agreed to buy GlobalData Holding in an all-share deal that values GlobalData at around GBP66.5 million, whilst simultaneously selling its Progressive Trade Media business. It will pay the consideration for GlobalData, a company which is owned by Progressive Digital's Chairman Mike Danson and Wayne Lloyd, through the issue of 26.08 million shares, with the value based on its closing price of 255 pence last Thursday. Shares in the company closed at 265.00 pence Tuesday. Following completion of these deals, the company plans to change its name to GlobalData PLC.
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Chemical, polymer, food and mineral industries logistics provider InterBulk Group said it has agreed to be taken over by Dutch logistics company Den Hartogh Holding, as its annual pretax profit declined. InterBulk said it would be acquired by Den Hartogh for 9.00 pence per share, more than double its closing price on Tuesday of 4.00p. The agreement values InterBulk at GBP42.1 million in total. InterBulk said its board of directors has unanimously recommended the takeover offer and expects the deal to complete in the first quarter of 2016.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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ConocoPhillips has sold its 50% stake in a Russian joint venture and quit the country after nearly 25 years, according to media reports. ConocoPhillips has reportedly sold its stake in the Polar Lights joint venture with Russian state oil company Rosneft to Trisonnery Asset for an undisclosed amount. Rosneft also was said to have sold its 50% stake in the joint venture last week. The Polar Lights joint venture, which is focused on the far north-west of Russia, has recorded a fall in total oil production. In addition, the fall in oil prices and the impact of political tensions on Russia's energy sector have also reportedly prompted ConocoPhillips' decision to exit Russia.
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A US trade judge said that Nvidia infringed Samsung Electronics patents, offering another win for the Korean gear-maker in a running legal battle between the electronics companies. The findings against chip-maker Nvidia by a judge at the US International Trade Commission in Washington are subject to review by the full agency, which can block products from entering US markets.
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Google, a unit of Alphabet, is building a new mobile-messaging service that taps its artificial intelligence know-how and so-called chatbot technology to try to catch up with rivals including Facebook, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. For its new service, Google, plans to integrate chatbots, software programs that answer questions inside a messaging app. Users will be able to text friends or a chatbot, which will scour the Web and other sources for information to answer a question. It is unclear when Google will launch the service, or what it will be called, the report said.
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Shoe and sports apparel maker Nike reported strong second quarter results , bolstered by robust sales in the US and China. The company said its bottom line advanced to USD785 million, or USD0.90 per share. This was higher than USD655 million, or USD0.74 per share, in last year's second quarter. Analysts had expected the company to earn USD0.86 per share, according figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Agressive branding in China has paid off, as sales there surged 24%. North American revenue climbed 9.4%.
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Swiss agrochemical giant Syngenta is exploring a possible deal with rival companies Monsanto, ChemChina and others that would further consolidate the industry, Syngenta's chairman said in an interview published. Syngenta's options include an acquisition by or joint venture with one of the companies, Michel Demare told Swiss magazine Finanz und Wirtschaft. Demare's comments came less than two weeks after US companies DuPont and Dow Chemical announced merger plans to create the world's biggest chemical company.
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Wednesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Aurora Russia
Regency Mines
Churchill Mining
Mosman Oil & Gas
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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