Johnson Matthey Share News (JMAT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Wednesday.
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COMPANIES
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Next lowered its full-year earnings forecasts, blaming lower sales as warm autumn weather meant consumers delayed purchases of winter clothes, news that hit the sector as a whole as analysts expect other clothing retailers to be similarly hit. The UK fashion retailer said it now expects sales growth of 6% to 8% for the year to January 2015, down from its previous growth forecast of between 7% and 10%, and cut its full-year pretax profit estimate to between GBP750 million and GBP790 million, representing annual growth of between 8% and 14%.
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Stagecoach Group kept its full-year guidance, saying its overall profitability had remained "satisfactory". The bus and rail operator said like-for-like revenue growth for the 24 weeks ending October 12 rose 3.2% in its UK regional bus operations, 14.5% in its London bus operations, 7.4% in UK rail, 3.5% at its North American operations and 5.8% in its Virgin Rail joint venture. In a trading update before the company holds a series of meetings with analysts, it said there are a number of challenges to growing profit in the financial year ending April 30, 2015, but overall current trading is satisfactory and it is on course to meet its expectations for the year.
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Antofagasta said it remains on track to hit its production targets for the full year, despite reporting reduced gold and copper production during the third quarter. During the third quarter ended September 30, copper production decreased by 5% to 169,200 tonnes compared with 178,800 tonnes in the second quarter. The decrease was caused by lower throughput of concentrates from Los Pelambres and Centinela in Chile. Gold production during the quarter fell by 3.4% to 64,700 ounces compared with 67,000 ounces of gold produced in the previous quarter, also caused by lower throughput of concentrates at Centinela due to planned maintenance work.
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The pace of Standard Life growth in the near term may be hit by difficult investment conditions, Chief Executive David Nish warned, as the FTSE 100 long-term savings and investments company reported a rise in assets under administration in the first nine months of the year. "Although investment markets are unsettled and may affect the near-term pace of asset and revenue growth, we are very well placed for the future. We have the products, experience and proven investment performance to help our customers and clients in all of our markets to save and invest, so that they can look forward to their financial futures with confidence," Nish said in a statement.
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British Sky Broadcasting said it has invested USD7 million in Whistle Sports and the companies will work together to create new content for younger sports fans, particularly those born after the millennium. The investment is the latest in a string of investments that BSkyB has made in start-up companies in recent months, as it looks to try and identify growing trends in online and new media content and be at the forefront of that coverage.
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Specialty chemicals group Johnson Matthey agreed a deal to buy the Energy Storage arm of Swiss chemicals company Clariant AG for USD75 million, with expectations the deal will close in early 2015. The Energy Storage business is the largest hydrothermal lithium iron phosphate producer in the world. The lithium ion cathode material is used in electric vehicles and stationary battery applications.
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BAE Systems has said the US Air Force has halted some initial work being undertaken by the company on a project to upgrade South Korea's F-16 fighter jets amid ongoing talks regarding the second phase of the project, Reuters reported. Brian Roehrkasse, a spokesman for the FTSE 100 defence and aerospace company, said it remains "concerned about the lack of progress in the negotiations between the Republic of Korea and the US Air Force on the KF-16 upgrade programme that has now resulted in a partial stop work order".
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Riverstone Energy said its net asset value increased over the third quarter, buoyed by valuation changes for its investments in Fieldwood and Canadian International Oil Corp, and it has now committed over half the capital it raised in its recent initial public offering. Its net asset value stood at USD1.15 billion on Sepetmber 30, up from USD1.14 billion at the end of June, and its net asset value per share had increased to USD16.19, from USD16.00. It swung to a USD13.4 million profit in the third quarter, compared with the USD2.4 million loss it posted in the first half of the year.
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Tullett Prebon said it is continuing to cooperate with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority and other regulators in the ongoing Libor probe as it noted the Serious Fraud Office charges against one of its former employees. The UK Serious Fraud Office on Tuesday said it has issued criminal proceedings against Noel Cryan, a former employee of Tullett, accusing him of conspiring to commit fraud between February 1, 2009 and December 3, 2009.
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Real estate investment trust Redefine International raised its dividend for its last financial year as earnings available for distribution rose by nearly 30%, helped by increased occupancy in its portfolio and higher portfolio values. The trust, which is converting to become a UK-focused REIT, said it will pay a second interim dividend of 1.70 pence for the year to August 31, bringing the total dividend for the year to 3.20 pence, up from 3.11 pence a year earlier. Its earnings available for distribution rose to GBP39.1 million, from GBP30.1 million.
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Shares in C&C Group were down after the Irish drinks company said pretax profit in the first half fell despite a rise in revenue, as it was hit by rises in excise duties, an increase in operating costs and tumbling US cider sales. Pretax profit for company, which makes Magners cider and Tennent's lager, was down to EUR64.3 million in the half year to August 31, from EUR66 million a year earlier, despite a rise in revenue to EUR528 million from EUR486.4 million.
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Quartix Holdings said its selling shareholders raised GBP11.4 million in a share placement and it expects to be admitted to London's AIM market in November. Quartix, which supplies vehicle tracking systems, will have an initial market capitalisation of GBP54.1 million, based on the placing of 9.8 million shares at a price of 116 pence a share, the company said. FinnCap acted as adviser and broker in the placing and share trading on AIM is expected to start November 6.
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MARKETS
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UK indices have made strong gains ahead of the US Federal Reserve decision after the close of trading. But Next and other clothing retailers are providing a drag on indices after the FTSE 100 company issued a profit warning, blaming the weather.
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FTSE 100: up 0.6% at 6,443.55
FTSE 250: up 0.6% at 15,210.31
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.3% at 714.14
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The pound is down against the dollar after UK mortgage approvals fell to its lowest level since July 2013.
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6120
EUR-USD: up at USD1.2738

GOLD: down at USD1,222.79 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD86.84 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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UK mortgage approvals declined to the lowest level since July 2013, the Bank of England said. The number of mortgages approved for house purchases decreased to 61,267 in September from 64,054 in August. This was the lowest level since July 2013. It was forecast to fall to 62,000. Total lending to individuals increased by GBP 2.7 billion, smaller than last month's GBP 3.2 billion increase. Within this, secured lending rose GBP 1.8 billion versus GBP 2.2 billion growth a month ago. Similarly, consumer credit increased by GBP 0.9 billion after rising GBP 1 billion in August.
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UK economic growth slowed in the three months to October, but remained relatively solid, the latest growth indicator from the Confederation of British Industry showed. The growth indicator balance fell to 19% from 23% seen in the prior month. Looking ahead to the next quarter, businesses are predicting slightly stronger growth of 25%, similar to the pace expected in September.
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French consumer confidence remained unchanged in October, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed. The consumer sentiment index came in at 85, unchanged from September. Economists had expected the index to remain at September's initial score of 86. Households' opinion of their future financial situation was stable. The corresponding index held steady at -21 in October.
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None of the 2015 budgets drafted by eurozone countries are in blatant violation of EU rules, the bloc's executive said Tuesday, despite concerns surrounding France and Italy's spending plans. Paris and Rome had on Monday moved to assuage EU concerns, offering further savings in their budgets. "I cannot immediately identify cases of 'particularly serious non-compliance' which would oblige us to consider a negative opinion at this stage in the process," EU Economy Commissioner Jyrki Katainen said in a statement. France and Italy, the currency bloc's second and third-largest economies, had faced mounting pressure over the last few weeks given that their budgets were widely expected to run afoul of EU rules.
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Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russia of whipping up tensions in the country's east by supporting "illegal" elections in separatist-held territories. "The holding of any vote on Ukrainian territory by the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people's Republics will hinder the peace process," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis said in Kiev, according to local news agencies. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that Moscow will recognize the November 2 elections, saying that they are an important step to legitimizing the separatists.
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China's consumer sentiment decreased in October, results of a survey by MNI and Westpac showed. The Westpac-MNI consumer sentiment index fell to 110.9 in October from 113.2 in September. In August, the index was at 113.3.
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China should reserve its sizeable policy buffers to maintain macroeconomic stability in case of unexpected domestic or external economic shocks, the World Bank said in its China Economic Update. The bank said that a focus on meeting ambitious growth targets would require more expansionary macroeconomic policies.
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Industrial output in Japan added a seasonally adjusted 2.7% on month in September, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary reading. That beat forecasts for an increase of 2.2% following the 1.9% contraction in August. On a yearly basis, industrial production added 0.6% - again beating forecasts for a decline of 0.1% following the 3.3% drop in the previous month.
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The Ebola outbreak in West Africa requires at least 5,000 additional health workers, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Tuesday. "Health workers are critical. We need 5,000 health workers who must rotate," Kim said in Addis Ababa at a press conference with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
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US President Barack Obama says the US should not institute quarantines or other policies that would discourage health care workers from traveling to West Africa to fight the Ebola outbreak. Doctors and nurses who volunteer to work in West Africa should be "applauded, thanked and supported," Obama says at the White House, after speaking with a US Agency on International Development team in West Africa, amid disagreement with local officials in the US over whether returning health care workers should be forced into quarantine.
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Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and heavy weapons from Iraq arrived in Turkey on their way to the northern Syrian town of Kobane, where fighting by local Kurdish forces against the Islamic State militia is ongoing. The Peshmerga will be backing up the Kurdish Syrian fighters, who have been battling against the jihadists since September for control of the besieged town. Idriss Nassan, a Syrian Kurdish official, told dpa that at least 50 fighters from the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group, were also set to join the Kurdish fighters inside the town.
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A former top Chinese army general has confessed to accepting "extremely large" bribes and military prosecutors are preparing a criminal case against him, state media said on Wednesday, as the ruling Communist Party vowed to toughen anti-corruption systems. The procuratorate of the People's Liberation Army had started filing its case against Xu Caihou, a former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, following his expulsion from the party in June, the official Xinhua news agency and other media said.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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