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LONDON (Alliance News) - Share prices in London have opened marginally softer Tuesday, as markets await the presentation by the Greek government of its list of reform proposals, as part of the debt programme extension agreement struck late last week.

Vodafone and Meggitt lead FTSE 100 fallers, down 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively. Traders say Merrill Lynch has cut Vodafone to Underperform from Neutral. Meggitt reported lower profit for 2014.

BHP Billiton leads gainers, up 4.0%, despite reporting that its first-half profit nearly halved year-on-year. The mining giant declared a 5% increase in interim dividend of 62.0 cents, and SocGen said BHP's earnings were ahead of its expectations.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.1% at 6,908.97
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 17,156.69
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 713.75
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Hang Seng: closed down 0.4% at 24,750.07
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.7% at 18,603.48
DJIA: closed down 0.1% at 18,116.84
S&P 500: closed flat at 2,109.66
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GBP-USD: slightly down at USD1.5447
EUR-USD: down at USD1.1321
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US crude oil plummeted to end sharply lower for a fourth straight session on Monday, as concerns of oversupply firmed, even as data showed a slowdown in the decline of rigs actively drilling for oil. With Libya's major oil shipment port at Zueitina in the east restarting operations and the Sarir oilfield resuming operations after a pipeline blast last week, oil futures found little or no support to move upward. The month-long strike by workers of 12 refineries also did little to support oil prices, with most refineries on the verge of initiating their spring maintenance period.
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GOLD: down at USD1,198.01 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD58.26 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

China Chinese New Year
10:00 EU Consumer Price Index
13:55 US Redbook index
14:00 EU ECB President Draghi's Speech
14:00 US S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
14:45 US Markit Services and Composite PMI Preliminary
15:00 US Consumer Confidence
15:00 US Fed's Yellen testifies
15:00 US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
19:00 Canada BoC Governor Poloz Speech
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Greece will submit new economic reform proposals on Tuesday in a bid to secure a four-month extension to the European share of its bailout, with Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis blaming the one-day delay on the country's international creditors. Athens had been asked to come up with a detailed list of reforms by midnight on Monday, as part of an agreement reached last week with eurozone finance ministers to extend the country's bailout until June and receive loans to repay its debts. But with less than four hours to go until the deadline, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' office issued a statement saying that Athens would send the list off on Tuesday, ahead of a Greek cabinet meeting at 12 pm (1000 GMT). Eurozone finance ministers are then expected to hold a teleconference in the afternoon to discuss the proposals submitted by the new leftist government. According to the statement from Tsipras' office, its six-page list of proposed reforms will include measures to fight tax evasion and corruption, cut down on bureaucracy and address the humanitarian crisis Athens says has been created by Greece's six-year recession.
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Members of Opec have discussed holding an emergency meeting if crude continues to slide, the Financial Times reports, citing an interview with Nigeria’s oil minister. The comments by Diezani Alison-Madueke come three months after the cartel’s decision to hold production at 30 million barrels a day, even as the oil price has plunged since mid-June, and is a sign of their growing alarm over the impact of a lower oil price on their economies, the FT reports.
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Accusations flew over the Ukrainian crisis at the UN Security Council Monday with Russia and the US exchanging scathing comments during an open debate meant to reflect on the work of the UN and the council since their inception 70 years ago. The 15-member council and other UN member states gathered for an open debate organized by China, which holds the council's rotating presidency, to discuss international peace and security in light of the UN Charter, the organization's founding document. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the council had become a tool to merely "rubber stamp" decisions made by Western countries and charged that some nations want "to dominate global affairs, to rule over all."
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The next round of talks between Tehran and six world powers on the Iranian nuclear programme is expected on March 2 in Geneva, the US and Iran said. Some progress was made in the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran, the US and other world powers that ended Monday in Geneva, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. "However, we still have a long way to go until an agreement," he said after talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry, noting that a new round would start likely next Monday in Switzerland, according to Iranian media.
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US President Barack Obama warned that this week's looming expiration of the Homeland Security Department budget would put national security at risk unless the opposition-led Congress passes new spending authority. The civilian department's budget expires Friday. Conservative Republicans, who hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, have sought to use the homeland security budget to counter a November executive order by Obama to protect up to 5 million illegal immigrants from potential deportations.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: MERRILL LYNCH CUTS VODAFONE TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL')
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GOLDMAN CUTS ANTOFAGASTA TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 625 (660) PENCE
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BERENBERG REINITIATES DIAGEO WITH 'BUY' - PRICE TARGET 2350 PENCE
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UBS CUTS HSBC TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - PRICE TARGET 590 (730) PENCE
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UBS CUTS RIO TINTO TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - PRICE TARGET 3400 (3300) PENCE
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TRADERS: CREDIT SUISSE INITIATES BRITISH LAND WITH 'UNDERPERFORM'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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The world's largest miner BHP Billiton Group, comprising of BHP Billiton Ltd and BHP Billiton PLC, said its first-half profit nearly halved year-on-year, despite growth in production, owing to the impact of volatile commodity markets. The company slashed capital and exploration expenditure, as well as declared a 5% increase in interim dividend of 62.0 cents. The Melbourne, Australia-based mining giant reported attributable profit of USD4.27 billion or USD0.80 per share for the first half, 47% lower than USD8.11 billion or USD1.52 per share in the same period last year. Excluding exceptional items, underlying attributable profit for the first-half was USD5.35 billion or USD1.01 per basic share, compare to USD7.76 billion or USD1.46 per basic share in the prior-year period.
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GKN reported a lower pretax profit for 2014, hit by a lower valuation of its foreign exchange contracts in its accounts, although profit rose excluding this thanks largely to a lack of restructuring charges that weighed on its 2013 results. The engineer of components for the aerospace and auto markets reported a pretax profit of GBP221 million for 2014, down from GBP484 million in 2013, as it booked a GBP232 million impact from the mark to market valuation of forward foreign exchange contracts. However, its pretax profit excluding this mark to market valuation and other exceptional items, its preferred measure of profitability, rose to GBP601 million, from GBP578 million, after it booked GBP25 million in restructuring charges in 2013.
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Meggitt reported lower profits for 2014, hit by a range of factors including adverse exchange rates, disposals, research and development spending and higher sales of less-profitable products, but it said it had returned to organic revenue growth in the second half of the year and its order book has increased. The engineer of components for the aerospace, defence and energy markets also raised its final dividend, a move it said reflects its continuing confidence in its prospects. Meggitt reported a pretax profit of GBP208.9 million for 2014, down from GBP269.4 million in 2013, as revenue fell to GBP1.55 billion, from GBP1.64 billion.
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Homebuilder Persimmon joined peer Bovis Homes in reporting a big rise in profit for 2014 driven by higher home sales at higher average prices, and said 2015 had got off to a solid start. Like Bovis, which reported on Monday, Persimmon expects a slight slowdown in the market around May's General Election, but said the improving UK economy and increased mortgage lender support would drive the market for 2015 as a whole. Persimmon reported a pretax profit of GBP467.0 million for 2014, up from GBP337.1 million in 2013, as revenue rose to GBP2.57 billion, from GBP2.09 billion.
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Mondi reported higher profits for 2014, driven largely by cost-cutting and other measures aimed at boosting margins, and said it is confident of "making further progress" in 2015 thanks to the investments it has been making in the business. The South Africa-based paper and packaging company reported a pretax profit of EUR619 million for 2013, up from EUR499 million in 2013, even though revenue dropped to EUR6.40 billion, from EUR6.48 billion. It raised its full-year dividend to 42.0 euro cents, from 36.0 cents in 2013.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Specialty chemicals company Croda International reported a fall in pretax profit in 2014 amid lower sales, as the group was hit by currency translation headwinds. FTSE 250-listed Croda said its pretax profit for the year to the end of December was GBP229.4 million, down from GBP250.1 million a year earlier. Group sales for the year fell to GBP1.05 billion from GBP1.08 billion a year earlier, hit by a fall in its personal care sales and by industrial chemicals revenue. In constant currencies, group sales for 2014 actually rose to GBP1.11 billion.
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Genus said it is on course to perform ahead of its original expectations for 2015, although it expects to see slow growth in its second half, as it posted a rise in pretax profit for its first half. In the half year to end-December 2014, the animal genetics company posted a pretax profit of GBP28.6 million, up from GBP22.0 million a year before, on a 9% rise in revenue to GBP198.5 million from GBP181.7 million. The strength of sterling hampered results, and at constant currency revenue was up 13%.
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Elementis reported an uptick in pretax profit and sales for 2014 and hiked its dividend on the back of a solid performance in its North American specialty products business and in line trading in its chromium arm. The specialty chemicals company said its pretax profit for the year to the end of December was USD141.9 million, up from USD136 million last year. The group raised its dividend for the year, with its total dividend rising 11% to 15.40 cents from 13.93 cents in 2013.
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NMC Health announced a deal to buy up an 86.4% stake in Barcelona-based fertility treatment clinic Clinica Eugin for EUR143 million, as it posted a rise in pretax profit for 2014. The private healthcare provider in the United Arab Emirates posted a pretax profit of USD77.5 million, up from USD69.1 million, as revenue rose to USD643.9 million from USD550.9 million and it posted a higher depreciation charge. NMC proposed a total dividend per share for the year of 5.4 pence, up from 4.4 pence a year before.
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Ashmore Group reported a 37% rise in first-half pretax profit to GBP110.7 million despite reporting a 15% fall in the assets it manages over the course of the six months. In a report on the six months to the end of December 2014, the emerging markets asset manager said that pretax profit rose due to "rigorous control" of operating costs, higher performance fees, and a stronger dollar, all of which combined to offset a decline in management fee income. Assets under management fell to USD63.7 billion from USD75.0 billion over six months, contributing to a fall in first-half net management fees to GBP133.0 million from GBP149.8 million in the corresponding period last year.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Kerry Group reported a big rise in profit in 2014, owing to a one-off charge taken last year, but the group's sales ticked lower on the back of weaker consumer goods sales. The Irish food company said its profit after taxation for the year to the end of December was EUR479.9 million, up from USD84.4 million last year when it was hit by a EUR352.2 charge. Trading profit for the company was EUR636.4 million, up 4.1% against the EUR611.4 million posted last year. The rise in trading profit was driven by an improvement in its margins over the year, 11.1% in 2014 against 10.5% in 2013, as revenue fell to EUR5.76 billion from EUR5.84 billion last year.
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Aer Lingus 2014 Pretax Loss EUR111.5M, Swinging From EUR39.6M Profit In 2013; Revenue EUR1.56B, Up 9.2% From EUR1.43B In 2013; Operating Profit Before Items EUR72.0M, Up 18% From EUR61.1M In 2013; Board Has "Strong Belief" That Company Should Combine With IAG
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COMPANIES - UK OTHER
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Aldermore has revived its plans to float on the stock market, The Daily Telegraph reported, with the challenger bank set to raise GBP75 million. The bank is set to price its initial public offering at a marked discount to its proposed float in autumn last year, when it was valued at GBP800 million. The new float is expected to value the bank at GBP600 million to GBP650 million.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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The European Commission said it has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether General Electric's proposed acquisition of the Thermal Power, Renewable Power & Grid businesses of Alstom SA is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission said that its preliminary investigation indicates potential competition concerns in the market for heavy-duty gas turbines which are mainly used in gas-fired power plants. The transaction would bring together the activities of GE with those of Alstom, eliminating one of the three main global competitors to GE in this market.
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According to media reports, Viacom is planning a company wide restructuring to reduce costs as the company's cable channels are facing decrease in advertising sales. As part of the changes, Viacom is expected to rearrange itself into two groups, one for entertainment and music, and the other for kids and family. Viacom's media networks include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, TV Land, SPIKE, Channel 5 (UK), Tr3s, Paramount Channel and VIVA.
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Australia's largest investment bank, Macquarie Group has agreed to sell its equipment finance business to Huntington Bancshares Inc for about USD380 million, according to media reports citing a person familiar with the matter. The sale of Macquarie Equipment Finance could be announced as soon as this week. The business has about USD950 million of assets.
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Gresham Computing
OMG
Invesco Property Income Trust
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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