3i Group Share News (III)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Vodafone has delivered results in line with expectations Thursday morning, helping to give UK share a positive start. Vodafone is up 1.4%.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has opened down 2.1% after reporting lower revenue and profit for 2013.

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

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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 13.49 at 6,471.38
FTSE 250: up 62.94 at 15,624.32
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 2.52 at 855.10
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DJIA: closed down 5.01 at 15,440.23
S&P 500: closed down 3.56 at 1,751.64
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6309
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3522

GOLD: flat at USD1,258.93 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD106.45 a barrel

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

11:00 Germany Factory Orders
12:00 UK BoE Interest Rate Decision
12:45 EU ECB Interest Rate Decision
13:30 EU ECB Monetary policy statement and press conference
13:30 US Initial Jobless Claims
13:30 US Nonfarm Productivity Preliminary
13:30 US Trade Balance
15:30 US EIA Natural Gas Storage change
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The bodies of eight miners have been found after fire erupted at a South African gold mine, the government said. One of the 18 workers who had been trapped underground was still missing, the news agency Sapa quoted the mineral resources ministry as saying. Eight others were rescued on Wednesday, while one had managed to get out himself. It was not clear what had caused the fire at a depth of 1.73 kilometres in the mine west of Johannesburg. The company Harmony Gold said it could have been started by seismic event that damaged electric cables.
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The US government has warned US and some foreign airlines connecting to Russia during the Olympics to watch out for toothpaste tubes that could conceal materials to build a bomb aboard an airplane, broadcaster ABC reported Wednesday. The Homeland Security Department declined to confirm specific warnings, saying only in an email that it regularly shares relevant information" with airlines, including those involved in international events like the Winter Olympics, which open Friday in Sochi, Russia.
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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called again for warring parties around the world to cease hostilities during the winter Olympics. "Today I am in Sochi to witness countries uniting in a spirit of friendly competition and goodwill," he said in a speech to the International Olympic Committee.
"I repeat my call for all warring parties to lay down their weapons during the Games - and to lift their sights to the promise of speech." Ban cited conflicts in Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry says Syria's government has increased its hold somewhat since the chemical weapons agreement, but disputed that he was winning the three-year-old conflict. "I would describe the situation (as) that Assad is not winning, but also he's not losing," Kerry told CNN on Wednesday in an interview. "It's fair to say Assad has improved his position a little bit."
The top US diplomat called it a "stalemate." Kerry disputed the findings of James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, who told Congress Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government had "strengthened" its position over the past year.
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Secretary of State John Kerry Wednesday said he has warned France that it would face sanctions if it seeks to revive business in Iran. In an interview with broadcaster CNN, Kerry responded to reports that French and Turkish business delegations have travelled to Tehran in the weeks since Iran agreed to reduce some of its nuclear activities in return for the limited easing of sanctions that have squeezed the Iranian economy.
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The latest winter storm dropped more than 30 centimetres of snow Wednesday across a wide swath of the northern US, stretching from Kansas to Massachusetts, leaving more than 1 million people without electricity. Half of those without power were in Pennsylvania. The snow affected transportation, causing cancellations of more than 3,000 flights, according to flightaware.com.
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German Justice Minister Heiko Maas pressed the US again Wednesday for a no-spy agreement in the wake of fresh allegations of US electronic monitoring of top German officials. Germany was committed to a no-spy-agreement despite opposition from Washington, Maas told Spiegel Online.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES CUTS HARGREAVES LANSDOWN TO 'HOLD' ('BUY')
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BARCLAYS CUTS HARGREAVES LANSDOWN TARGET TO 1,650 (1,700) PENCE - 'OVERWEIGHT'
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UBS ADDS HIKMA PHARMACEUTICALS TO 'MOST PREFERRED LIST' - 'BUY'
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S&P CAPITAL IQ RAISES GLAXOSMITHKLINE TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - PRICE TARGET 1700 (1680) PENCE
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TRADERS: CREDIT SUISSE RAISES RECKITT BENCKISER TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Vodafone Group PLC reported its third-quarter group revenue, on management basis, declined 3.6% to GBP11.0 billion, including a 2.1 percentage point impact from adverse foreign exchange movements and a 2.8 percentage point positive impact from M&A and other activity. On an organic basis, Group service revenue decreased 4.8%, or 2.4% excluding the impact of mobile termination rate cuts. On statutory basis, group revenue was GBP9.6 billion, down 1.5% from prior year. Vodafone said the performance of the Group remains in line with its expectations.
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AstraZeneca PLC said it saw revenue and pretax profit decline in the full year ended December 31, 2013, as it continued to be hit by the loss of exclusivity on several of its brands and increased competition from generics. The pharmaceutical giant posted revenue of USD25.71 billion, down 8.1% from USD27.98 billion in the previous year. Pretax profit was USD3.27 billion, down 57% from USD7.65 billion in the previous year. US revenues were down 9%, hit by the loss of exclusivity, and revenue in the rest of the world was down 4%. AstraZeneca said it expects to see low-to-mid single digit percentage decline in revenue at constant exchange rates for 2014, with core earnings per share expected to decline in the teens. AstraZeneca announced a second interim dividend of USD1.90 per share, bringing its full year dividend to USD2.80, flat on 2012.
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Low-cost airline easyJet PLC said it flew over 4 million passengers and improved its load factor in January, continuing its steady ascent after reporting strong Q1 figures during the month. The airline flew 4,021,678 passengers during January, up 3.7% on the 3,878,640 passengers flown in January 2013. easyJet said that load factor during the month also increased, up 1% to 85.4%.
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Smith & Nephew FY Pretax Profit USD802M Vs USD1.09B; Full Year Dividend 27.4c, Up 5%; FY Revenue USD4.35B Vs USD4.14B; CEO: We Believe We're Acquiring ArthroCare At The Right Price
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Tour operator TUI Travel PLC reported a narrower pretax loss in its first quarter, despite nearly flat revenues. Looking ahead, the company said it is confident of delivering full year underlying operating profit growth of between 7% to 10% at constant currency basis. For the first quarter, pre-tax loss narrowed to GBP166 million from last year's loss of GBP181 million. Underlying operating loss narrowed to GBP108 million from prior year's loss of GBP116 million. Revenues for the quarter were GBP2.73 billion, slightly higher than the prior year's GBP2.72 billion. The company reported robust current trading with a strong performance in the key January booking period. The company noted that winter 2013/14 is closing out in line with expectations, and 85% of the programme sold, with higher average selling prices in most source markets.
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Compass Group: Good Start To New Financial Year; Q1 Oraganic Revenue Growth Up 4% At Constant Currency
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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AZ Electronic Materials Says 56.48% Of Shares Now Accepted Following Merck Offer; Says Offer Extended To 1pm February 18
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Beazley FY Pretax Profit USD313.3M Vs USD251.2M; Return On Equity 21% Vs 19%; FY Dividend 8.8p Vs 8.3p; Special Dividend 16.1p Vs 8.4p
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Grainger Says Sales Up To GBP149.3M Vs GBP64.6M In 3 Months To Jan 2014; Says Gross Rents Down To GBP19.3M Vs GBP27.3M In 3 Months To Jan 2014
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Londonmetric Property Sold GBP129.7M Of Disposals At Average Yield Of 6.0%
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Investec Says Considering Sale Of UK Mortgage Business Kensington; Has Received Expressions Of Interest; Investec First 9-Mo Operating Income (Excluding Depreciation) 1% Ahead Of Prior Year; First 9-Mo Third Party AuM Down By 2% To GBP108.0B (Up 6% On Constant Currency Basis); Intends To Transform Australian Banking Business Into Boutique Operation; Says Professional Finance and Asset Finance & Leasing Divisions Could Be Sold
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3i Group-Back SLR Management Acquires HFP Acoustical Consultants In US And Canada
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Supergroup Sales For 39Weeks To January 26 Up 22% To GBP333.2M; Q3 Total Group Sales Up 22% To GBP141.1M; Margins Maintained Thanks To Focus On Full-Price Trading During Quarter; On Track For FY Pretax Profit Between GBP61.1M Vs GBP65.9M; Says Its Well Placed To Meet FY Expectations
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Enterprise Inns: Trading In First 18 Weeks Of Financial Year Encouraging, In Line With Expectations
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Imagination Technologies Extends Multi-Year Licensing Agreement With Apple
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Wincanton Says Trading In Line With Expectations; Says There Has Been No Significant Change To Its General Financial Position From Its Half-Year Results
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Mountview Estates Says Pretax Profit Up 22% Since April 2013; Says Debt Been Further Reduced; Able To Make Suitable Purchases
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Northbridge Industrial Expects FY Results For Year Ended Dec 2013 To Be In Line With Expectations
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Avon Rubber Expects Existing Contract With US DoD To Meet Or Exceed 2013 Levels; Says It Is Well Positioned To Deliver Growth In 2014
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Graphene NanoChem Says Production At Its Seawang Chemcials Facility Recommenced
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Reach4entertainment Says Performance Improved Over Course Of The Financial Year
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Redhall Group Says Operating Profit, Excluding Exceptionals, Up 12.7% To GBP2.1M Vs GBP1.9M; Says Revenue For Year, Excluding Exceptionals At GBP113.1M Vs GBP119.5M; Says Trading In Current Financial Year In Line With Expectations; Says No Dividend Will Be Paid
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Faroe Petroleum Average Economic Production In 2013 6,059boepd; Says H2 2013 Production Lower Than Expected Due To Njord, Hyume Fields Shut For Repairs; Says Work On Njord Field Expected To Be Completed, Production Resumed In Summer; Says Average Full-Year 2014 Production Expected To Be 4,000-6,000boepd From All Fields
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Ryanair To Allow Use Of Portable Electronic Devices Throughout Duration Of Flight; Says Devices Must Be Switched To 'Flight Mode'
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Bowleven Says Has Submitted Gas Exploitation Application To Cameroon Authorities, Awaiting Response
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Hydrodec Says American Carbon Registry Has Approved Methodology For Creating Carbon Credits By Recycling Transformer Oil; Says Its Re-Refining Technology Now Can Claim To Create World's First Carbon-Neutral Mineral Oil
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Aer Lingus Mainline January Total Passengers: 572,000 Vs 573,000; January Total Including Regional Passengers: 651,000 Vs 638,000
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Darty Group Q3 Total Group Revenue Up 2.7% In Local Currency
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Enegi CEO: We Made Significant Progress In 2013, Good Momentum Has Carried Into 2014
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Canaccord Genuity Group Q3 Revenue CAD231.0M VS CAD230.0M; Net Income CAD18.3M Vs CAD100,000 Net Loss
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Cat-Allergy Treatment Specialist Circassia Intends To Float On Main Market In March; Is Imperial Innovations Portfolio Company
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COMPANIES - OTHER
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Twitter Inc had a net loss of USD511 million in its first quarterly report since its initial public stock offering, the San Francisco-based company said Wednesday, falling further in the red than forecast. Total losses for 2013 were USD645 million compared to USD79 million in 2012, according to the fourth-quarter report. The social-media company went public on November 6, selling shares to raise at least USD1.8 billion to fuel continued expansion.
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Thursday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Compass Group
Enterprise Inns
Avon Rubber
BlackRock New Energy Investment Trust
Dunedin Smaller Companies Investment Trust
Paragon Group of Companies
TUI Travel
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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