Imagination Technologies Group Share News (IMG)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Glencore shares were up 4.5% early Wednesday after completing a USD2.50 billion share placing with institutional investors and its own senior management close to the market price. Also gaining in a positive early market are Burberry, SAB Miller and Reckitt Benckiser.

As the two-day US Fed policy-setting meeting gets underway later Wednesday, early attention in London will be on UK employment figures at 0930 BST.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.7% at 6,178.29
FTSE 250: up 0.6% at 17,058.43
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.3% at 738.79
----------
Hang Seng: up 2.5% at 21,997.12
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.8% at 18,171.60
DJIA: closed up 1.4% at 16,599.85
S&P 500: closed up 1.3% at 1,978.09
----------
GBP: flat at USD1.5338
EUR: up at USD1.1270

GOLD: up at USD1,108.30 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD48.18 a barrel

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

09:30 UK ILO Unemployment Rate and Average Earnings
10:00 EU Consumer Price Index
10:00 EU labour cost
10:00 Switzerland ZEW Survey
12:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications
13:30 Canada Manufacturing Shipments
14:30 US Consumer Price Index
15:00 US NAHB Housing Market Index
15:30 US EIA Crude Oil Stocks change
----------
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Austrian counterpart demanded a EU summit next week to deal with Europe's migration crisis. "This problem can only be solved by Europe as a whole," she said, after emerging from talks with Austrian Prime Minister Werner Faymann. They pressed EU President Donald Tusk in a phone call to convene an "emergency council meeting" on the divisive issue, Merkel said.
----------
Japan's economy has continued to recover moderately, the Bank of Japan said in its monthly report. Exports and industrial production have recently been more or less flat, the bank said. This was a downgrade from its earlier view that exports and industrial production have been picking up. "Japan's economy is expected to continue recovering moderately," it added. With regard to inflation outlook, the bank said annual increase in consumer prices is set to be about zero percent for the time being.
----------
Municipal and regional government leaders from the US and China pledged to fight climate change at the state and local level, in a joint declaration signed on the first day of a two-day summit in Los Angeles. The US-China Climate Leaders' Declaration committed mayors and governors from US and Chinese cities, states and provinces to work together to set their own climate agendas, reporting local greenhouse gas emissions and setting ambitious targets to cut them.
----------
The US rejected the renewed call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying it was "destabilizing and counterproductive". White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US would prefer to see more "constructive engagement" from Russia with the 60-member US-led coalition focused on degrading and destroying Islamic State.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
---------
EXANE BNP RAISES RECKITT TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('UNDERPERFORM') - PRICE TARGET 6600 (5800) PENCE
----------
JPMORGAN RESUMES PEARSON WITH 'OVERWEIGHT' - TARGET 1365 PENCE
----------
BERENBERG CUTS INMARSAT TO 'SELL' ('HOLD') - TARGET 870 (900) PENCE
----------
EXANE BNP RAISES GLAXOSMITHKLINE TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERPERFORM') - PRICE TARGET 1420 PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Glencore said it has raised USD2.50 billion after placing shares with institutional investors and the company's own senior management. The multi-commodity miner and trader had late Tuesday announced its intention to raise USD2.50 billion, or USD1.60 billion through the placing of 1.31 billion shares. On Wednesday, Glencore confirmed the price per share was 125.0 pence. Shares in Glencore closed up 0.1% at 128.05 pence on Tuesday and were quoted at 133.80p early Wednesday.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
JD Sports Fashion reported growth in profit in the first half of its financial year, boosted by strong sales growth in sports fashion, and said that trading so far in the second half as been positive. The retailer, which also sells outdoor clothing, reported a rise in pretax profit in the 26 weeks ended August 1 of GBP44.7 million from GBP23.7 million in the same period the year before, as revenue grew 21% to GBP809.9 million from GBP670.3 million. JD will pay an interim dividend of 1.20 pence, up 4.3% on the 1.15p it paid the prior year.
----------
Outsourcer Serco Group said it has struck a deal to sell its offshore private-sector business-process outsourcing operations to a fund managed by private equity house Blackstone for around GBP250.0 million. The consideration comprises GBP220.0 million in cash and a GBP30.0 million loan note, Serco said, and the deal is expected to complete by the end of 2015. The company said its overall exit from the private-sector business-process outsourcing space should be broadly earnings neutral on a pro-forma basis in 2015.
----------
The UK's Department for Transport said Stagecoach Group's East Midlands Trains unit has had its contract to run the East Midlands franchise renewed. East Midlands Trains will run the service, which covers London, the East Midlands and parts of the North of England, through to March 2018 and will deliver a number of improvements, including extra services between Nottingham and Newark Castle, timetable improvements and a freeze on Anytime fares to London, which will remain at the same price until 2017. Stagecoach will pay the UK government GBP150.0 million to run the franchise through to 2018.
----------
Construction and housebuilding group Galliford Try said its pretax profit pushed higher in the first half as its revenue grew on the back of strong performances on both of its main divisions. The company said its pretax profit for year to the end of June was GBP114.0 million, up from GBP95.2 million a year earlier, as its revenue increased to GBP2.35 billion from GBP1.77 billion. Including the contribution from its joint ventures, revenue was up to GBP2.43 billion from GBP1.85 billion. Galliford Try raised its final dividend to 46.00 pence per share, meaning its total dividend increases to 68.00 pence, up 28% year-on-year.
----------
Ladbrokes said Chief Financial Officer Ian Bull will step down from the company in February next year following the merger of Ladbrokes with rival Gala Coral Group. Once the merger is complete, Coral's CFO Paul Bowtell will become finance director of the merged company, and if the completion occurs sooner than February, Bull will leave shortly after that time.
----------
Marwyn Value Investors said it has struck a deal with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to sell its remaining stake in media company Entertainment One. Marwyn will sell its 17.9% stake in Entertainment One for GBP142.4 million via the Marwyn Value Investors LP fund, which will result in the company getting GBP103.4 million from the sale. Marwyn will return GBP10.0 million to shareholders following the sale and will use the rest to back its existing investment portfolio and make further acquisitions.
----------
COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Imagination Technologies said its first half revenue will come in lower than previously expected and said it is not sure this will be made up in the second, even as it expressed a degree of confidence in its medium-term outlook. The chipmaker said the semiconductor sector had a weak quarter to the end of June, though expectations are for an improvement in the second half of 2015. Part of this has been driven by a sharp slowdown in emerging markets growth in the period, particularly in China, Imagination said. The combination of market softness and short-term timing gaps seen in chip replacement leads Imagination to expect its revenue for the first half to the end of October to be lower than previously forecast, which will likely mean it posts a loss for the period.
----------
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners, a fund in which Balfour Beatty invests, said it has agreed a deal to acquire Alkane Energy in a deal valuing the energy company at GBP61.4 million. Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners, a mid-market infrastructure investment firm which operates independently of Balfour Beatty, said it has agreed to pay 36 pence per share for AIM-listed Alkane Energy, a 44% premium to the closing price Tuesday.
----------
COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
----------
Facebook is working on a "dislike" button, founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced. Facebook users have requested a "dislike" button as an alternative to the automated thumbs-up "like" button for years, Zuckerberg said at a public question and answer session at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Citing news events like the ongoing refugee crisis and personal posts about deaths of loved ones, Zuckerberg said "what [people] really want is to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment," he said.
----------
Computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard provided fiscal 2016 guidance for HP Inc, which will focus on the personal systems and printing division after spin off. The company noted that markets are likely to remain tough for the next several quarters with continued competitive pricing in printing and soft demand in personal computers. HP Inc will focus on accelerating in growth areas like printing, graphics, commercial mobility and services. HP is preparing to separate itself into two companies - Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc.- on November 1. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, with more than USD50 billion in annual revenue, will provide the technology solutions customers need to optimize their traditional IT, while HP Inc will be a personal systems and printing company. HP expects Hewlett Packard Enterprise to eliminate up to 30,000 jobs as part of cost saving measures.
----------
Goldman Sachs Group and the other owners of Universal Studios Japan, are in talks to sell a stake in the theme park to Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal, in a deal that could value the Japanese company at USD6 billion, The Wall street Journal reported quoting the people familiar with the matter.
----------
Wednesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Hornby
Creightons
Games Workshop Group
Entertainment One
Intercede Group
Small Co's Div Trust
Trifast
React Group
Hotel Corp
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.