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LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened higher Tuesday ahead of the testimony later in the day by new US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Barclays has said it is in a position to increase its leverage ratio target, despite a loss in its final quarter. Barclays shares are down 2.0% at the open.
Meanwhile, travel agency Thomas Cook has continued its non-core disposal programme.
Goldman Sachs has raised Icap to Neutral from Sell, while removing the interdealer broker from its Pan-European Sell list.
Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 28.38 at 6,619.93
FTSE 250: up 65.92 at 15,976.64
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 2.20 at 868.17
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DJIA: closed up 7.71 at 15,801.79
S&P 500: closed up 2.82 at 1,799.84
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GBP-USD: flat at USD1.6405
EUR-USD: up at USD1.3675
GOLD: up at USD1,283.10
OIL (Brent): up at USD108.90 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
12:30 US NFIB Business Optimism Index
13:55 US Redbook index
14:30 US Philadelphia Fed's Plosser speech
15:00 US Fed's Yellen Speech
15:00 US Wholesale Inventories
23:50 Japan Gross Domestic Product Annualized Preliminary
23:50 Japan Machinery Orders
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Retail sales in the UK rose in January, according to survey results released by the British Retail Consortium. The BRC Retail Sales Monitor showed overall retail sales were up 5.4% compared to one year earlier. Sales at stores that have been open one year or more were up 3.9% on year, BRC said. The same-store sales figure marked a sharp increase from the 0.4% growth in December. The January 2014 same-store sales increase was the strongest gain since April 2011, BRC said.
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The new organisation set to be established by the end of the year in order to raise standards in UK banking would provide a "canopy" under which existing professional bodies would continue to develop and grow, with the goal of moving the industry towards the same sort of professional standards seen in medicine and accounting, the Chair of the Banking Standards Review Richard Lambert, said in a consultation paper. Lambert, previously Director General of the CBI, pointed to the tough minimum entry qualifications required by other industries, saying that rewarding members who have built up specific knowledge and skills thresholds with 'chartered' status can build up credibility, because the qualifications become highly sought after by both industry organisations and individuals within them.
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The EU will review its relations with Switzerland as a result of a Swiss referendum decision to curb migration, top politicians said Monday, warning the country that it cannot pick and choose among its treaty obligations towards the EU. A slim majority of voters in Switzerland, a non-EU country, voted Sunday in favour of introducing quotas for foreigners, which runs counter to existing Swiss-EU agreements on free movement.
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EU foreign ministers insisted Monday on dialogue and political reforms to solve Ukraine's crisis, but left the prospect of sanctions on the table, at talks that also prepared for a troop deployment to Central African Republic. The EU has increased its diplomatic activity with Kiev, as mass protests there have at times turned violent since Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych backed away from an association deal with the bloc last year, favouring closer ties to Russia.
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Several south-eastern US states braced Monday for another winter storm, less than two weeks after ice and snow paralyzed Atlanta and other cities. A major winter storm will affect parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina through mid-week, the National Weather Service said. The area could get as much as a 2-centimetre layer of ice on the roads, the weather service warned. Power outages caused by iced-over tree limbs falling on electrical wires were also likely. Georgia's capital, Atlanta, which was among the worst-affected cities two weeks ago, declared a state of emergency and cancelled school on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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The presidents of France and the US Monday toured the Virginia residence of the nation's third president - Francophile Thomas Jefferson - in a symbolic jaunt intended to seal the two countries' long history of commitment to democracy and liberty. The visit kicked off a two-day state visit by French President Francois Hollande, who flew to Charlottesville, Virginia, with President Barack Obama. On Tuesday, the leaders will meet at the White House, and Hollande will be feted at an elaborate and rare state dinner with a guest list so large that it will be held in a tent on the White House lawn.
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The White House Monday confirmed that North Korea had invited, then dis-invited, a special US human rights envoy who was to have gone to Pyongyang to discuss the fate of an imprisoned US citizen. "We are deeply disappointed by that decision," said spokesman Jay Carney. He noted that North Korea had vowed in May 2013 "not to use the fate of (prisoner) Kenneth Bae as a political bargaining chip."
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Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders are scheduled to relaunch peace talks on Tuesday in an effort to end Cyprus' decades-old division. Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and his rival Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu will meet for the first time in nearly two years at an abandoned airport compound located in the buffer zone of the island's divided capital city, Nicosia. The two leaders, together with a UN envoy, are expected to unveil a roadmap and sign a joint declaration outlining the basic principles that should govern a settlement.
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A Taiwanese minister arrived in China Tuesday for the highest-level talks between the two governments in more than 60 years, media reports said. Accompanied by about 20 officials, Mainland Affairs Council minister Wang Yu-chi is scheduled to meet his counterpart, China's Taiwan Affairs Office cirector Zhang Zhijun, in the city of Nanjing at 2 pm (0600 GMT), according to Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA).
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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GOLDMAN CUTS GKN TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 330 (370) PENCE
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TRADERS: JPMORGAN RESUMES OXFORD INSTRUMENTS WITH 'OVERWEIGHT'
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GOLDMAN RAISES ICAP TO 'NEUTRAL' ('SELL') - TARGET 440 PENCE; REMOVES ICAP FROM PAN-EUROPE SELL LIST
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Barclays PLC said it is now targeting a higher leverage ratio after reaching its 3.0% target six months ahead of schedule. In the bank's full-year earnings release, Barclays said 2014 will be another year of transition as it continues to shrink its balance sheet, particularly in its investment bank. The bank, which last year raised GBP5.8 billion in a rights issue after its regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority. said it must attain a 3.0% leverage ratio by June 2014, said it had a leverage ratio of just under 3.0%, putting it ahead of schedule in meeting the PRA's deadline. It said it is now targeting a PRA leverage ratio of 3.5% by the end of 2015 and a range of 3.5% to 4.0% beyond 2015. In a statement for its results for the year ended December 31, 2013, Barclays said it made a GBP514 million pretax loss is the fourth quarter, compared with GBP364 million for the corresponding quarter a year before, putting an end to three consecutive quarters of profitability.
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Vodafone PLC said it was teaming up with money transfer and global payment services company MoneyGram International Inc to allow customers from around 200 countries to be able to transfer funds directly to M-Pesa mobile banking accounts. M-Pesa is a mobile payment system developed by Vodafone which allows users to pay bills, withdraw, transfer and deposit money like a traditional bank account. It is currently available in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Fiji, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania, which additional markets due to launch during 2014.
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Glencore Xstrata PLC said it increased production in 2013 across the majority of its portfolio of assets in a production report. The mining giant said its total own-sourced copper production increased 26% to 1.5 million tonnes in the full year ended December 31, 2013, compared from 2012, driven specifically by strong results from its multiple African copper sites, as well as the Collahuasi mine in Chile, Antapaccay mine in Peru, and Ernest Henry site in Australia.
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Johnson Matthey PLC said Den Jones is joining the board as Group Finance Director, succeeding Robert MacLeod, recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of the firm. The multinational chemicals and precious metals company, said that Jones' appointment will take effect from June 5 2014. Jones was most recently at BG Group, latterly serving as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director after serving as the company's Chief Financial Officer. He left the firm in November last year.
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Babcock Traded Well In Q3; Says Performance In Line With Expectations; *Babcock Confident Of Further Progress This Year, In Line With Its Expectations; Says Order Book At About GBP11.5B
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Thomas Cook Group Enters Agreement To Sell Gold Medal, UK Long-Haul Flight Firm,To Dubai Travel Company dnata, In GBP45M Deal; Says Q1 Underlying EBIT Up GBP10M To GBP56M; Says Revenue For 3 Months To Dec 31 2013 Down 0.9%, GBP15M TO GBP1.66B
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Halma Expects FY Pretax Profit In Range Of GBP139M To GBP140M; Says Order Intake Has Remained Slightly Ahead Of Revenue
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The Unite Group Secures New GBP124M Ten-Year Debt Facility With Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers Europe LLP
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Segro Acquires EUR472M Of Prime Logistics Assets In Germany, Poland & France
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Bellway Says Housing Revenue GBP690M For 6Mos, Up 14% From GBP486.7M; Says It Has Benefited From Strong Customer Demand And Strengthening UK Housing Market; Says Average Selling Price Up 13% To GBP212,000 From GBP187,426 Last Year
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Hansteen Holdings Buys GBP42.3M Industrial Estate Portfolio In England, Wales
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Dunelm Group Says 1H Pretax Profit Up 2.9% To GBP61.6M Vs GBP59.8M; Revenues Up 4.8% To GBP356.3M; CEO: We Are Cautious About Consumer Spending Trends
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Creightons Says Q3 Sales Lower Than Year Prior; Says Lower Q3 Sales Due To New Product Launches In Earlier Period, Stock Build By Several Major Customers; Says FY14 Sales Well Ahead On Cumulative Basis
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Tricorn Expects FY Pretax Profit Materially Below Current Expectations; Expects H2 Revenue 15% Below H1; Says It Has Taken Steps To Restructure Business In Response To Lower Revenue Levels
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dotDigital H1 Pretax Profit GBP2.1M Vs GBP211,000; H1 Revenue GBP7.6M Vs GBP5.7M; Not Proposing Interim Dividend; Confident On Achieving Revenue & Profit Expectations For 2014
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Sabien Technology Pretax Loss GBP245,000 Vs Pretax Loss GBP67,000; H1 Revenue Flat At GBP924,000; Confident Of Meeting Full Year Expectations
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Egdon Resources Completes Placing To Raise Roughly GBP3.0M
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ISG Secures GBP30M Office Remodeling Project From Blackstone For Adelphi Building, London
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Hargreaves Services H1 Pretax Profit Up, GBP29.7M Vs GBP21.0M; H1 Revenue Up, GBP460.5M Vs GBP359.8M; H1 Dividend Up 27.5% At 8.8P
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Elektron Technology Says FY Sales From Continuing Operations GBP46M Vs GBP49M Year Before; H2 Sales From Continuing Operations GBP24M Vs GBP23M Year Before; Says Progress Made In H2 But FY Financial Performance Disappointing; Expects A Stronger Second Half In Europe But Coke Markets Remain Uncertain; Says Restructuring Costs Have Increased Net Debt To GBP8.2M On Jan 31 From GBP5.8M
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Incadea Says Global OEM Partnership Announced In January Is With PSA Peugeot Citroen
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LiteBulb Says Revenues For FY Up 167% To GBP8M Vs GBP3M; Loss Reduced To GBP0.6M Vs GBP1.4M Last Year
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McBride H1 Pretax Profit GBP3.7M Vs Restated GBP5.7M Year Before; H1 Adjusted Pretax Profit GBP7.0M Vs Restated GBP8.5M Year Before; H1 Revenue GBP380.3M Vs GBP378.2M Year Before; But Down 3% In Constant Currencies; Maintains Interim Dividend; Finance Director Richard Armitage To Leave Company At End Of FY
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RWS Holdings Says Sterling Strength Has Caused Sales In YTD To Be Marginally Behind Expectations; Says 4M Sales Have Been 27% Ahead Of 2014 Despite Strong Sterling; Maintains Full Year Expectations
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Nature Group Wins 3 Year Contract With SeaDrill Brazil To Process Liquid Waste
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Ludgate Environmental H1 Net Loss GBP5.0M Vs GBP2.0M
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Scancell Holdings Says SCIB1 Granted FDA Orphan Drug Status
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Ashley House Says New Funding Facility Agreed To Support Expanding Pipeline; Says Final Payment Of Owed Monies For LIFT Scheme Adorted By NHS Has Been Agreed, To Be Paid This Week
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Walker Crips Says Current Quarter Has Started Well, Confident On Its Strategy; Says Trading Conditions Have Improved But Uncertainty Remains In Financial Markets; Q3 Like-For-Like Revenue Up 16%; Q3 Net Adjusted Revenue GBP3.47M Vs GBP3.26M
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs
BlackRock Income & Growth Investment Trust
RWS Holdings
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite
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